Long-Term Travel Planning Directory

What is the Best Inflatable Travel Pillow for Your Money?

August 14, 2022January 23, 2021

One of the most unforgiving experiences in travel is attempting to sleep on airplanes. For some this skill comes easy, while the rest of us are not so lucky.

Poor leg room, minimal reclining capabilities, and zero comforts make it incredibly difficult for any sort of rest and relaxation to be had. Amplify that over 12 hours, and the experience can be a nightmare.

Airlines try to provide small comforts such as pillows and blankets, however these are in poor design that leave most people wanting more. With blankets that don't quite cover and pillows that are missing half the required fluff, it is almost easier to go without.

To get around this, many travelers bring external items on board to increase comfort, with the most common site found on any plane being an inflatable travel pillow.

Finding the best inflatable neck pillow, however, may be incredibly challenging as each style has its own pros and cons associated. In this one, we review several options from years of testing!

Standard Luggage Review – A Large Carry-on Backpack

January 19, 2021January 14, 2021

Disclaimer: We were provided this backpack courtesy of Standard Luggage Co. for a review. All opinions are our own.

When it comes to luggage that we can travel with, we often find ourselves balancing form and function. We like our backpacks to look neat and elegant and also have the capacity to match.

For many years, our travel setup included rolling suitcases with separate backpacks for electronics and more sensitive items (generally in the structure of one large checked suitcase, one carry-on rolling suitcase, and two backpacks). But recently many companies have started to merge the two carry-on styles in the form of backpacks large enough to accommodate everything in a single piece of luggage.

Standard Luggage Co is one such company, and we were fortunate enough to put their Carry-on Travel Backpack to the test in this review!

Travel Safely and Comfortably with Hilton Grand Vacations

October 26, 2020

This article is sponsored by Hilton Grand Vacations, part of the Hilton Portfolio of brands. As always, all opinions are our own. Photos were provided courtesy of Hilton Grand Vacations.

The global pandemic of 2020 has changed the world in many ways, and one that may leave the longest lasting impression is in the travel industry. From taking a long-distance bus or train to attending an event, staying at a hotel, or even jumping on an airplane, many in the travel industry are simply holding their breath waiting to see what the future brings.

Us included.

Early trends are emerging; however, and there are recurring themes popping up when discussing the future of travel, namely: familiarity, comfort, and of course, safety.

While we yearn for the days where we can pop around from place to place, stay in an untold number of hotels, and generally move freely, for the foreseeable future we see staying close to home, returning to places we know and love (like our recent socially distant road trip to the Finger Lakes), and booking extended stays at any given destination.

One such travel style that checks all those boxes is vacation ownership, and Hilton Grand Vacations is doing a lot to help travelers feel safe when visiting in the future.

How to Take a Socially Distant Road Trip During the Pandemic

March 11, 2021October 9, 2020

Being stuck at home for six months was not originally on our 2020 travel plans, and as much as we have tried to minimize our outings, there was a point where we hit a wall and needed to get away for a few days for sanity's sake.

So we decided to take a road trip.

Our original intention was to head northeast to Maine to spend some time with friends. But after thinking about it, we decided to stick closer to home and spent a weekend in the Finger Lakes instead. In this one, we wanted to share some of the extra steps we took to safely go on a socially distant road trip during the pandemic.