Will you be opting out this weekend?

Website Infowars.com has declared this Thanksgiving week as “Out Opt and Film Week,” similar to an opt-out protest held two years ago around TSA check-points at U.S. airports. To be honest, I hadn’t heard about this protest until I read about from Christopher Elliott’s post at Huffington Post. I know why people want to opt …

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Wall Street Journal Recommends Packing Light to Deal With Delayed Flights

The Wall Street Journal has just published an article called “Sly Ways to Beat Delayed Flights” to deal with flight delays and cancellations, particularly in light of all of the issues American Airlines is currently facing. In the article, they include an infographic that recommends: Getting to the airline counter as fast as possible to …

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More to Traveling Light Than Just Traveling With Less Stuff

Recently, Piers Morgan (who replaced Larry King when he retired from his “Larry King Live” show on CNN in 2010), interviewed actor-turned-travel-writer Andrew McCarthy on his show. In the interview, McCarthy said he thought Americans had an aversion to traveling overseas primarily due to fear. Specifically, he said: “I think Americans don’t travel because they …

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What is the ONE Unusual Item You Always Travel With?

When you pack light, you leave unnecessary items at home. There may however, be an item you just don’t want to do without. For me, that is a Japanese Salux scrub cloth (available here and through Amazon). I find that it’s the best scrub cloth in the entire universe, and it’s practically indestructible. Fortunately, Salux …

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Pros and Cons of Hard-Sided Rolling Uprights

Recently, a reader named Heather posted the following comment on one of my earlier posts: Thanks for all the advice. A poster on Lonely Planets directed me to your interesting site, and I’ve just been having a browse around. They were right – great site! I’m planning on treating myself to a new carry-on suitcase …

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Smartphones: A Light Traveler’s Best Friend?

Remember just a few years ago when folding phones were all the rage, and everyone had a Motorola Razr phone? Times sure have changed, and much of that can be credited to one person: Steve Jobs. Whether you’re an iPhone aficionado or not, you can’t disagree that his little index card-sized gadget has changed the …

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Passports, national parks, and museums, oh my. How the government shutdown could affect you

First of all, let me say that a government shutdown is gonna really suck. Hundreds of thousands of ordinary Americans who have jobs with the federal government, won’t get paid. Although a lot of the essential services will still be operating as usual—including air traffic controllers and airport security screeners—many travel-related services will come to …

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November 24 is National Opt-Out Day

Are you uncomfortable with the thought of having a “naked picture” of yourself visible to airport security? Are you worried about the radiation exposure you get from the full-body scans, like a lot of airline pilots are? Do you think a full-body scan using advanced imaging technology is breaching your privacy? Do you think that …

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Travel Around the World for 6 Weeks Without Luggage?

I thought I was ambitious being able to travel to Europe for two weeks with just a single 6-kilogram carry-on, but it looks like someone’s got me beat by a mile. Travel writer Rolf Potts earlier this year embarked on a six-week, round-the-world journey that took him to 12 countries in 5 continents. Dubbed the …

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