Packing A Travel Snack Bag

I am a snack person. No matter where I am, I always have snacks with me, as if I also have a small person in tow, but that small person is me, and "me" gets hangry. Is this also you? If not, that's fine. I also find that when I'm away from home, i snack more often. Like fresh air gives me the munchies. So, it's no surprise that when I'm packing for a trip, my snack bag is one of my most important items. 

I'm headed on an international trip, which means I'll need snacks for the plane and at my destination. I'll absolutely be hitting up the store and/or farmers' market while I'm there, but I also just like to have reliable snacks that I know I like from home. Often, I do find new fun foods while we're out and about. Like, we always try new chips and candy when we travel and each shop trip looks like some weird unboxing haul. Do I need to try 12 different chip flavors while I'm away? No, but it's definitely fun. 

Let's look at what my bag looks like that I'll be adding to my personal item under my seat, so I have access to snicky snacks if I should get hungry in between snack and food services.

Starters

First of all, I always bring a Stasher Bag. At least one, but often several. This one is great, because it has a flat bottom, so if there's something liquidy in it, it won't fall over and spill all over everything. Stasher are great because they are thick, durable, and can be used for everything. Put them in the freezer, the fridge, the dishwasher, the oven, the microwave, and even boiling water. If I'm on a road trip, I often fill several of them with water and freeze them to use as ice packs, and most of the time they are still partially frozen at the end of the day. The seals are amazing, too, but if you have issues with gripping things, they might be a bit too strong for you.

Onto snacks!

As you know, we're going to France. We'll be on the plane for something like 12 hours. Although I'll be sleeping a lot of that and there will be food and drink and snacks served, I sometimes find myself in the need of a little something in between. 

I decided on a variety of things that are easy to eat, satisfy some craving, and are easily packable. I may add something salty to this before I go, but here's what I have right now:

• Yoggies by Nature's Garden - I grabbed a package of these on my way home from my niece's birthday party (yes, she's 4 and so were all the other guests). I thought they might be light and airy, but instead, they are really chewy fruit and yogurt bites. I have them in strawberry and mixed berry. I wanted peach, but nobody seems to have them in stock for not a billion dollars, so I'll have to suffer with these delicious ones. They also have them in a trail mix, which...intriguing. 
• RX Bars in Honey Cinnamon Peanut Butter - Aside from the coffee ones they don't make anymore, and the sea salt chocolate ones that always seem to be very expensive or out of stock, these are my favorite bars. They are chewy, but don't stick in your teeth like all the others, and they fill me up for quite a while. They are just a bit sweet as to not be boring. 
• Orville Redenbacher microwave kettle corn - This is an in-the-room snack. We have evenings where we stay in, do laundry, and watch a movie or binge a bit of a show. It's fun to have a little relaxing night and also have an easy snack to go with it. It also satisfies a sweet and salty craving. 
• Trader Joe's peanut butter and jelly snacks - These are a hit or miss at the store. I bought 40 boxes of them (not all at once) and then they disappeared for a year. The other day I went to buy something else and they were back! So, of course, I bought a box. I'll probably go get some more. These are really great at giving you a bit of protein and feeling very comforting. You can buy them on Amazon, but they will cost you twice as much as they do in the store. While crazy, $1.50 per snack isn't the worst deal, especially if they are good.
• Trader Joe's Instant Coffee Packets - Again, this is an in-the-room treat. We've come across times where we were in our room, without coffee, and nowhere to get a decent cup open or nearby. Are these perfect? No, but do I always have them in my pantry? Absolutely. They already have creamer and sugar in them, so you just add hot water and stir. Plus, if you're on a budget and not willing to hit up a coffee shop, then these will certainly do. Again, you can buy them on Amazon for twice the price, but if you don't have a TJs near you, you still can't beat what amounts to $1.15 for a cup of coffee.
• Fancy chocolate - Sometimes you just want a little nibble of some really, really good chocolate. I bought this bar at Dandelion Chocolate for a stupid amount of money, but it's really good, and a little square will do you. You don't have to spend a fortune on ones like OmNom, Raaka, or Theo. Grab a good Cadbury bar or even Moonstruck, and you'll be just as happy to have something a little higher quality.
• Cheapo chocolate - Get yourself a little guilty pleasure that's not expensive. Maybe you love a KitKat or Almond Joy or Oreos (or fake Oreos, in my case). Sometimes some trash food really hits the spot. 
• to be added - I realized that I don't really have much salty/savory options, so I may also add some Nature Valley Sweet & Salty peanut bars. In the past, I've also brought along Vermont Smoke & Cure beef and pork sticks. If I can find them for a reasonable amount, they are easy to pack and great to snack on.

Extras

I use a lot of reusable items, and try to use more zipper bags that are multi-use. As I said, I usually bring Stashers, but I sometimes bring something slimmer for my day bag to keep all my things corralled. I used to bring a bunch of gallon size Ziploc bags, and sometimes I still bring one or two, but often I bring things like these sandwich bags. They can also go into the dishwasher, freezer, and fridge, but they take up less space and are convenient for a lot of things, like hair accessories, makeup, power cables, games, and even change. Just fold it/them up and stuff it in a pocket or in with your snacks. Easy peasy!

And there you go! A whole snack bag for every part of your trip.  Squish all the air out and put it in your personal item. When you get to your destination, pull it out of your bag and toss it on the counter. Now you have a place to find all your snacks and you can pull stuff out as you go and keep your daily snack bag that you keep with you while sightseeing stocked with goodies, so you never get hangry. 

Will we eat it all? Maybe. If not, we'll have free snacks for the ride home. Stay tuned for when I show you how I pack my whole personal item. 

Tell me your favorite travel snacks in the comments!

Disclaimer: Support Shereen Travels Cheap by using the links in my posts to shop. I receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you) so I can continue to create helpful free content. I earn from qualifying purchases made to the featured retailers. Thank you. I appreciate your support!

Why I'll Never Use AI to Plan a Trip

If you know me at all, you know I love to plan a trip. I enjoy finding new things and figuring out how to piece an intinerary together like a puzzle. I know a lot of people aren't like that and there's growing popularity of using AI to plan trips, which seems convenient, but can lead to a worse trip than one where you just show up and wing it. 

Now, even if I didn't love planning every aspect of my trip, I am more than a little skeptical about using AI for anything. First of all, AI is terrible for the environment. Each time you ask it to do anything for you, it creates a ton of heat, which takes the equivalent of six bottles of water (70+ oz) to cool down the server. At some point, if we continue to use it more and more, whole communities will be facing water shortages, and water becomes increasingly necessary with global warming making our summers hotter and hotter and drought conditions being much more common. 

Museum that was highly recommended, but closed on the day we arrived

If the environmental impacts don't concern you, and they absolutely should, then know that AI can never preplace real life research. There have been so many cases where people have relied solely on AI to plan their trip and getting there only to find out that places aren't open while they are there are permanently closed. I used a travel AI site months ago to see what it would give me as ideas on what to do at a destination and it had more exposition than actual suggestions, and what suggestions it did find me, which I tried multiple times, were the most basic activities that I could have easily Googled and also found more interesting options in not much more time. 

Tip: If you are using Chrome and also detest the AI search results on Google, you can download the extension "Hide Google AI Overview" and you'll only get regular results.

This travel writer put ChatGPT to the test with specific prompts, only to learn that the AI could not understand even the most basic things like maybe getting to the attraction before closing time or not planning something when she was supposed to be on her flight home. The stat that OpenAI can only achieve 10% success on a complex travel itinerary is not surprising (to me) and also means a lot of disappointment. 

With AI being so prevalent right now, there are a lot of companies using it as well. Those travel photos of your hotel or view from your window may be AI-generated. If you can't tell the shiny quality of the photos apart from real photos, that can be a real problem, especially when the hotel doesn't look anything like those images and you've paid a lot of hard-earned money to stay there. I always check to see actual customer photos and reviews for every place I stay. 

Not that pretty, but real hotel photo

You might even get fooled into thinking a place is cooler than it is, because so many people are also posting AI images of destinations on social media. It can be tough to tell if something is real or not, but the best way to do that is to Google image search it to see if there are any actual travel sites posting about it, not influencers. You can also tell by how the lines usually don't match up, parts of things are missing, and the pure absurdity of elements. 

I don't know about you, but I'm not a fan of having my time wasted, getting stranded, or only going to the most basic of tourist sites. If I have to spend a bunch of time trying to correct AI's mistakes on my trip, it's not worth it. I might as well have just spent that time before I go to make sure my trip is the best it can be while I'm on it. 

I don't think technology will ever replace real people, especially when I know that I may need to take a nap when I arrive and I'll want more than 10 minutes to enjoy an attraction. If I see some discrepancies, I can cross-reference sites or even call the company to confirm their hours or that they're even open at all. I use Google Maps and blog recommendations has a starting point for my trips.

Have you used AI to try to plan a trip? What was your result? 

Historical Sites In Normandy, France

If you don't know by now, I'm headed to Normandy next month to soak up the history, see new cities, try new foods, and do something scary (drive in Europe for the first time.) At this point in U.S. history, it's even more important to learn about D-Day and the fight for freedom. I'll be trying to get to as much of this list as possible, while also visiting Giverny & Monet's home, and taking a tour of Mont Saint-Michel and possibly Christian Dior's childhood home, turned museum:

I realize this is an old infographic, but it has all the important places on it for the region. While there, I'll also be looking for as much LGBTQ+ and Black history, because a lot of that has been lost or is never taught to us when we learn about wars from our perspective (that whole American Exceptionalism, which isn't true history).

I can't wait to learn more about France, pay my respects to those who died fighting for freedom, and just generally taking in the countryside and beaches before I spend 3 days in Disneyland, eating garbage food and seeing if I learned enough French to not read subtitles. 

If you've been to Normandy, or anywhere between there and Paris, give me some suggestions on what I should do, where I should stop, and what I should eat!

4 Foundational Tips to Packing Less

Hey folks! Let's talk about packing light. I'm often asked by people how I do it, and then every suggestion I give them, they make an excuse why they can't do that. I mean, if you don't want recommendations, don't ask me, and I'll be thrilled to spend my energy on someone who does.

The point is, if you're unwilling to change anything about the way you pack, you're never going to be a carry-on "girlie". It's just not gonna happen. I don't want to stand at the baggage carousel, praying my bag made it to my destination. I want to know where all my stuff is and already be on my trip and also save baggage fees. So, if you actually want some recommendations on how to pack light, here are my top 4 tips to get started:

Choose the right bag

You want to go carry-on only, then you need a carry-on bag. Do not set out a bigger bag. Stick to your goals. Yes, I have a lot of bags, but if don't have any that require them to be checked. I choose a bag for how I'm traveling, who I'm traveling with, and how long I'll be gone.

• Traveling alone, I try not to bring a bag that has to go in the overhead.
• Traveling to hot destinations require a smaller bag, because the clothes are smaller/more lightweight.
• Traveling internationally means I probably need a few extra things and will bring a full-size carry-on for two of us.
• Traveling to a destination where you'll be taking a lot of stairs/escalators means if you can fit it all in a backpack or tote, that's going to be easier for you.

Use your main bag for shoes and clothes and your personal item for toiletries, snacks, odds & ends and electronics, if you need to. If I'm alone, I almost always carry the smallest bag for my ID and other things that can either be tossed into my main bag or in the seat back pocket.

Plan to do laundry

People hate this suggestion, but it saves you so much space and encourages you to take some downtime. That's great if you're a person like me who adopts a "go-go-go see everything and relax when you're on the plane ride home" attitude. I actually include laundry in my travel schedule now, and spend a few hours winding down and chilling in my room, or playing games at a Laundromat.

The key to bringing fewer things is creating a mix-and-match capsule wardrobe when you pack. Every top should go with every bottom and don't forget to strategize your travel outfit. I bring layers and I wear them on the plane. 5 tops + 3 bottoms or 5 tops + 2 bottoms + 1 dress in your bag and your plane outfit. That gives you 20+ unique outfits to work with.

You're going to rewear pieces, which requires laundering. Bring laundry sheets. They take up no space, even if you bring a bunch.

Limit your shoes

Just like with your clothing, you want to strategically choose your footwear. You only need two pair of shoes: everyday shoes like sneakers and a nicer pair that go with a dress or nice pants. Two rules, though. One: both pair should go with everything in your carry-on. Two: you should be able to walk all day in both.

I always bring a pair of sneakers and either ballet flats, cute sandals, or booties, depending on when and where I'm going. Skip those high heels that make you want to cut your feet off after 37 minutes and take up too much space in a bag. If you're like "joke's on you. I don't want to cut off my feet until I've been wearing them for 39 minutes," you didn't win this argument. Leave those things at home. If you can't walk up 180 steps in them after walking 4 miles on cobblestones, they aren't walking shoes.

My only rule break for shoes is if you'll be hitting up the beach or pool. Toss in some flip flops or water socks, because those take up minimal space.

Wear your bulkier shoes on the plane and pack small things in your other pair, if possible. This is a good place for socks, a belt, or jewelry case

Bring smaller items

You, literally, don't need a full-size shampoo bottle or container of moisturizer. Either bring smaller versions or decant items into other containers. I make use of GoTubbs, contact lens cases, and GoToobs, but also save trial size makeup items that I know I like to stick in my toiletry bag.

If you can't live without all your makeup brushes and hair care tools, see if you can pare down your morning routine. Do a little less, get some multipurpose brushes or a smaller brush set and invest in a travel size flat iron, curling iron, or blow dryer.

I have a flat iron with a curved edge that does curls and it has been working for me for over a decade. Or maybe you can use vacation as a good chance to perfect your heatless curl game.

These are the foundations for starting to pack lighter. Eventually, you'll start noticing that you keep packing things you don't use, whether it's an eye liner or a pair of fuzzy socks or a whole pair of pants. Those items can then stay home on your next trip. Just keep note of what works and what doesn't and soon you'll be a pro.

Tell me about your favorite travel items, be it clothes, a bag, or an accessory.

Disclaimer: Support Shereen Travels Cheap by using the links in my posts to shop. I receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you) so I can continue to create helpful free content. I earn from qualifying purchases made to the featured retailers. Thank you. I appreciate your support!

Shereen Travels Cheap Turns 15!

It's been yet another year for this blog and I feel like I'm pretty lucky to have this little space on the internet with some cool people. After a whole summer of travel last year and pretty much only California travel the year before, this year has been interesting. We still didn't get to Toronto or Hawaii, but we are sort of back to normal without any family reunions or business trips.

This year for my blog birthday, I'm getting a gift! 

Portland Gear has graciously gifted me some bags to take with me on my next trip to make our travels more colorful and organized. I can't wait to show you more about them. If you remember, I already have their Standard Cascade backpack in Blossom, and I take it everywhere. I'm so excited to try more of their line.

In March, I went to Vegas for the Travel Goods Show and met a lot of awesome people, learned about some new brands, enjoyed some really delicious food, and went home with a ton of connections and stuff.

In July, we did our annual trip to Vegas to watch NBA Summer League basketball, enjoy time with family, and try some really outstanding food. We drove to Hoover Dam and took a scenic and educational boat tour, we exhausted all the things at Omega Mart with our Portal Pass, including seeing the Great Migration during the Phenomenomaly. I also took in the Princess Di Exhibition finally, and I retreated to my room after to shelter from the oppressive heat.

July also saw a bit of a family reunion, so I saw some people a bunch, and other people not since last year's actual family reunion. I planned to check out some stuff in Tacoma while there, but a lot of things happened and we didn't get to do any of them.

The end of July was Wizarding Weekend, which I put on with the help of other volunteers to celebrate Harry Potter's birthday with a ton of cosplayers, a local elementary school-turned-hotel, and a bunch of Portland area artists selling their magical wares. More on that later.

September I have our local comic con (Rose City Comic Con) and then a bit of downtime before we jet off to France, where we'll be renting a car, through Turo, and driving through the country and staying in the Normandy area. The end of our trip will be 3 days in Disneyland Paris, because when you've spent a week stuffing your brain and eyeballs with history, you need to decompress with something lighthearted. Not that we don't enjoy history - we absolutely do - otherwise we wouldn't be taking this trip, but we also enjoy Disney and really love the Paris parks.

We don't have much planned beyond September, but we do know that we will probably be in Palm Springs in January for Modernism Week, I'll be wherever the Travel Goods Show shows up, and we'll also be back in Vegas in July. We've talked about the possibility of going to Boston next fall, but we'll see how the tourism climate and inflation shapes up by then.

Coming up soon:

• Lake Mead/Hoover Dam boat tour
• Princess Di Exhibition
• Packing light for a getaway to France
• Making long-haul coach/economy comfortable
• Mix and match wardrobe for Fall
• Back to wizard school round-up
• Review of Portland Gear bags
• Saving on holiday travel
• Packing a more streamlined toiletry bag
• Normandy series

And here are some of my most popular posts that you may have missed or want to go back to:

• 8 Budget-Friendly International Destinations for December
• How to Pack Your Road Trip Cooler
• Horror Movies Based Around Travel
• 5 Budget Destinations for May
• FaceCradle Travel Pillow Review <--- I still stand by this review. If you have followed me for a while, you see that I take it on every long trip I go on.

graffiti found in downtown Las Vegas

Thank you for continuing to follow along on my travels, coming back to learn about cool destinations, and learning about the new travel trends and tips to make your trips cheaper and more fun. 

What else would you like to see in the future? Destinations I should cover, more videos, more packing tips, other travel goodies? Let me know in the comments. 

How To Plan a Great Fall Staycation

Fall is coming! I know there are a lot of fantastic budget-friendly vacation destinations for Fall, but sometimes that's just not in the cards. We don't always have the extra money to spend on a getaway, even though we desperately need/want one. It's times like these that I recommend a staycation, even if it just means you're a tourist in your city for a day. 

I love to see everything there is around me. Portland and the surrounding cities are so interesting and pretty, plus there's always something going on all year. I bet most of you have similar cities, even if you don't think so. A quick Google search will tell you differently. Here are some of my favorite activities:

Eric of the corn!

Visit a farm

This is one of my favorite ways to spend weekends during September and October when I'm not traveling. I love a corn maze and often hit up a local farm that has a pumpkin patch, maze, cider donuts and animals. I want to eat some fall foods, drink some cider, get lost in the corn. Sometimes we bring the dog to get some exercise and then pig out on whatever food they're serving. 

This last weekend we went to a farm we'd never been to before to take pictures, go on a hayride, and try their corn maze. It was the first maze we'd been to that didn't have some sort of signage, but it was 1 mile and we got lost and got our steps in, so I call that a win. Most farms have a lot of things to do for kids, so it's a relatively cheap way to spend the day and let them jump and run out all that extra energy.

Hint: If it's been raining, be prepared for mud. I always wear boots and bring a change of shoes for after trekking through the dirt/mud/puddles to head home in.

Head to a nearby city you haven't been to before

I'm a fan of just bundling up, packing a bag of snacks, and just driving off somewhere I've never been. Each new town has funky shops and restaurants and scenery. Spend the day exploring to feel like you're traveling and then go back home. It's a fairly cheap way to enjoy a day doing something different and being somewhere unfamiliar. If you bring a lunch, you can even forgo eating out, so you're basically just paying for gas.

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A post shared by Shereen Travels Cheap (@srayle) on Sep 14, 2018 at 8:01pm PDT

Hit up a local festival

Most people only think about festivals during the summer, but when fall rolls around, there are entirely different festivals, like apple tasting, pumpkin carving, harvest fests and more. Look for a calendar on local events and find any of the festivals that sound cool and interesting and then make a plan to go to them. Just some of the things happening around here: Cider Fest, Giant Pumpkin Regatta (yep, people use huge, hollowed out pumpkins as boats), Howloween at the Oregon Zoo, Killer Pumpkin Festival featuring pumpkin beers, and The Spirit of Halloweentown. It's easy to pack a whole weekend with these things, and it's way cheaper than a trip.

Go wine tasting

If you live in an area that has a lot of wines, or even just one really good winery, plan a tour and then try all the wines on offer that sound delicious. If you do this, make sure you have a sober ride home. Also, lots of wineries have great restaurants on-site, so you can make a whole day of it, and make sure you have something in your stomach to keep you from getting way too drunk. Some places, like Portland, have winery tours where a bus will take you winery hopping over the course of a day. It also means you don't have to worry about having a DD. (If you don't like wine, check out some breweries or distilleries.)

Hole up in a hotel somewhere

Sure, you may not be able to afford a full-on vacation, but that doesn't mean you can't book yourself into a nice hotel for a couple of nights, order room service, do things in a part of town you don't hang out in often. Keep your eye out for hotel deals or call one you've always wanted to stay in and see if they'll cut you a deal.

Host a "destination" potluck 

Call some friends, choose a vacation destination, like Italy, and ask them all to bring a dish from that country. You may not be able to go there, but you can spend a little on decor and food to immerse you in that destination. Your friends who also can't afford to go on a vacation will probably be super grateful and excited. Make it easy on them and post a list of regional dishes they can bring if they don't want to research. Then pop a couple bottles of wine, play some games or create a slideshow of tourist spots to scroll through on your TV and really make it feel like you're there!

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Just some of the reasons I love fall 🍁🍁🍁 . . . . #jetsetter #jetset #ilovetravel #tourist #tourism #tblogger #tbloggers #travelblog #travel #travelblogger #travelgirl #travelgram #instatravel #traveler #traveller #budgettravel #budgettraveler #ftblogger #ftb #vacationmode #travelgoals #womenwhotravel #traveladvice #traveltips #leafpeeping #peakfallinportland #discoverportland

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See the leaves turn

Unleash your inner leaf-peeper and take a drive or just walk around a new neighborhood looking at the gorgeous colors. Make a point to take pictures and post them later on Facebook or Instagram to show everyone how pretty your city is dressed in reds, oranges, and yellows. Maybe you'll inspire other people to appreciate what's going on around them.

If you want more ideas on how to plan an awesome staycation, check out my Pinterest board. You can also follow me on Instagram. I often do a ton of local things over the summer, when it's too expensive to travel, and then go on my big trip in fall, because it's cheaper and less crowded.

What's been your favorite staycation or staycation activity?