travel wallets Archives - A Friend Afar

Our Top 10 Passport Cases

Boarding passes. Trans-Atlantic flights. Multiple layovers. Labyrinthine customs lines. Re-entry paperwork. Sometimes just knowing where to find our small, time-worn passports makes our journey that much easier! While these can’t guarantee a shorter customs line, if you’ve got a long way to go, you might as well accessorize with travel goods that get you excited about your trip while making it run just a tad more smoothly.

We pulled together a Top 10 List of our favorite cases on the market right now, from feminine to masculine, from budget-friendly to Treat Yo’ Self splurge. You can definitely tell that we have more than one style around here! Preppy and bright? The rugged explorer look? Sleek and professional?? We alternate between them all!

: London Love

: Passport Stamps

: Leather World Map

: Kate Spade Cedar Street

: Hayden Harnett Bon Voyage

: Jack Spade Dipped Leather

: Jonathan Adler Fractal

: J.Crew Leopard Calf Hair

: Dodo Leather Case

: Kikki.K Adventure Awaits

I’m definitely in love with the Hayden-Harnett Bon Voyage case, but how CUTE is that London Love case by whitelilly at Zazzle?? Corgis and teapots! The adventurer in me, however, loves the rugged beauty of the Leather World Map case! You can get it on Etsy, and it comes in all sorts of shades.

Which of these are your favorites? Do you have a favorite that we missed? Share it with us in the comments!

[Featured Image Credit: Walsh Worldwide]

Meagan Martz at A Friend Afar

Meagan grew up in the North Georgia Mountains and spent her first trip abroad in Italy. She’s been traveling all over the world ever since, learning Spanish, Japanese, and Thai. She travels for the food, the culture, and the history.

http://www.AFriendAfar.com

The Best Tips and Tricks for the Most Organized Travel Planning Possible

I’m a hyper-organized travel planner. I definitely love a lot of spontaneity, but when I have too much time between booking and departing, I tend to spend a lot of my free time planning out all of the details. That’s just how I satisfy my wanderlust in the meantime. I have a few tools and apps that help me keep it all together for the most organized travel planning possible:

Google Drive

I save so many details here, and I love that I can access it very quickly on my phone. I usually create a spreadsheet schedule that includes arrival and departure times, especially if I’m traveling by trains in addition to planes, hotel confirmation numbers and contact information, and any other details I might need. Another perk: you can share all the details with your fellow travelers!

sched Above: Schedules are easy to make and view in a spreadsheet.

In addition to my travel schedules, I save the following in Google Drive for easy access:

Custom Google Maps with my many destinations (click here for a tutorial)
PDF receipts, booking confirmations, and tickets
Packing lists

Paris Map Above: the custom Google Map I created for an upcoming trip.

Think about it. You’ll look less like a tourist if you’re looking down at your phone instead of at a large, unfolded map.

Offline map apps

You definitely need to try out City Maps 2Go and MAPS.ME. These apps are a recent discovery for us. These apps, available for both iOS and Android, allow you to save your destinations on detailed maps even when you don’t have Wi-Fi or data. How brilliant is that? It’s another easy way to find your destination without having to pay for roaming or Wi-Fi!

Airline Boarding Pass Apps

Most airlines now have apps for your phone that let you check-in online without having to print a ticket. They can scan your phone at the gate. So easy! This is especially great for the minimalist traveler with just a carry-on. There’s no need to stand in line for a check-in counter or kiosk!

Hard Copies

Call me old-fashioned, but I like to have some hard-copies as well. For a big trip with lots of stops and connections, there’s something that just eases my mind about being able to quickly flip through a stack of reservations and train tickets so that I know they’re all there and in order. I have a trip coming up that includes 3 hotels, one AirBnB, 3 separate train journeys for 3 people, bicycle rentals, and a car rental. I’ll do a quick print out of all my reservations, color-code them by city and put them in chronological order.

Finally, consider printing directions and addresses in your destination’s native language, if it isn’t one that you speak well. This can save you lots of headaches when hiring a cab!

Yes, I’m a huge organization nerd, but now I have a simple back-up system stowed neatly in an envelope. For what else are you going to use that flat exterior suitcase pocket?

Here are some of my favorite document organizers. You can use a travel wallet or just a flat, zip-pouch to keep your documents close by!