The world has changed since my first trip 60 years ago, when research meant leafing through dog-eared guidebooks and pay-phones were still a thing. These days we have apps, e-visas and digital boarding passes

— yet the best advice often comes from fellow wanderers. Over time, I have collected a small cabinet of oddball wisdom from family, friends and personal experiences.

Here are 25 travel habits, which look eccentric at first glance but pay real dividends when you are far from home.

1. Pack for fickle climates

Climate change has made fools of long-range forecasts. A folding umbrella and featherweight jacket belong in every season.

2. Photograph your luggage and bags

A quick snapshot of passport pages, visa stickers, even your packed suitcase lives digitally should the real thing vanish.

3. Leave your heirlooms safe at home

You are surrounded with strangers while on holiday — why impress them? You might be sorry in the end.

4. Pack a mini power strip

Hotel outlets hidden behind wardrobes and hostel sockets are eternally occupied. A palm-sized cube with USB ports makes instant friends and will save your battery life.

5. Bubble-wrap on day one

My friend Rose never leaves Manila without a roll of bubble wrap flattened inside her suitcase. Inevitably someone buys hand-blown glass or a delicate ceramic bowl, and suddenly that humble roll is the holiday’s unsung hero.

6. Reserve the hot tables before you land

My neighbor Nes plans dinner weeks in advance, clicking through booking sites as obsessively as other people compare airfares. Otherwise, you’ll be frustrated when you find out the best restaurant in town is booked until the day after your departure!

7. …and the theater tickets, too

Traveling buddy Freddie applies the same logic to theater shows. Book all the shows, hang the prices — think later! Once again, you will regret it when you see the dreaded “sold out” sign for the show which lured you halfway round the world.

8. Retire the ribbon — tie on a pom-pom

Every cruise passenger has faced the airport-carousel apocalypse: four thousand almost-identical black cases in one cavernous hall. Cheap neon pom-poms from the craft store will out-shine any dainty luggage ribbon.

9. Two spare padlocks and a luggage strap

Promo-sale and old favorite

retire-able suitcases can give up mid-journey. A bright strap keeps a tired zipper from bursting, while extra locks cover hostel lockers and mystery drawers. Thank me later.

10. Lift your own bags

Opt for suitcases, which can be easy to carry in a pinch. Porters will not appear on every platform. If you can’t hoist the suitcase up, reconsider.

11. Dress like a grown-up, feel like a child

Gone are the days of the suit for both ladies and gentlemen at airports. Comfort first, but still remember decorum. A light scarf can rescue bare shoulders at a shrine. Polished sneakers are today’s loafers.

12. Settle your bills and visit the bank

Make online arrangements to pay for your bills in advance. Drop by the bank to inform them of your travel plans regarding the use of your credit cards abroad.

13. Count your steps to the fire exit

My Tita Mary refuses to unpack until she has paced the corridor, counting every stride from her room to the nearest fire exit door. In a blackout — and long before smartphones and torches — she could feel her way to safety. Try it once and you will never ignore the green arrow signs again.

14. Taste boldly, chew cautiously

By all means chase the famous street soup, but know your body’s limits. A single rogue chili can derail a trip more thoroughly than a canceled flight.

15. Hands off the souvenir avalanche

If the snow-globe only looks charming under fluorescent market lights, leave it. Your future self — and your baggage allowance — will

thank you.

16. Collect with purpose

But in the same vein, if you have a hobby — try to take home a related item which can remind you of your travels. Be it a plate, magnet, a postcard, or even other oddities. The ritual itself becomes half the joy.

17. Shoot now, curate later

Memory is cheap and smartphones are ample. Snap the odd signpost or café name to jog your brain.

18. Go on a pilgrimage

Whatever your spiritual leaning, make space in your travels for a journey with meaning. A pilgrimage to a religious site or even a quiet forest shrine offers perspective, intention, and a welcome pause.

19. Accept that you will never ‘see it all’

I have lived 15 years in London and still missed museums, lanes, entire boroughs. Realize no matter how long you stay in a city, you ultimately cannot see everything.

20. Research, then verify

Social media is a goldmine — and a minefield. Cross-check opening times, closure days and dress codes on at least two sources. Screenshots beat roaming-data panic every time.

21. Court airline loyalty early

Pick one carrier and woo it like a sweetheart. Miles, lounge access and priority lines turn long-haul slog into civilized travel.

22. Travel before life ‘settles down’

There will never be enough money, time, or perfect health. Go anyway. Future you will applaud the recklessness.

23. Long hauls young, short hops later

Tackling long-haul flights are easier when knees and stamina are in their prime. Save the closer, slower trips to when you’re older.

24. Embrace travel tech

Digital immigration cards, QR codes, automatic check-in counters, e-Sim data packs, contact-less everything — pilot schemes today are mainstream next season. Being an early adopter can shave hours off queuing and frustration.

25. Have the time of your life — but quietly

Celebrate, smile at strangers, abandon all care in the world — but don’t be annoying to your co-travelers.

Travel well, travel adventurously and travel grateful — whether you thank the Lord, Allah, Buddha, or the universe itself. The road, as ever, rewards the curious heart and the prepared mind.The vehicle-free island of Hydra, Greece.