We are frequently asked for tips and tricks to help with bar focused travel, so here are a few products that we’ve found to be useful. (Most of these are affiliate links – commissions earned from your purchase will help to support the continued development of Bar Notable.)
Thrifty Traveler Subscription
This isn’t a product per se, but it’s still one of the most valuable purchases I’ve ever made – a subscription to Thrifty Travel. Their fare deal alerts have helped make so many of our trips possible! We used them for our trip to Sydney, Melbourne, and Singapore a few years ago. Recently they helped us book round trip *Delta One* tickets to Seoul for ~180,000 skymiles. We also picked up tickets to Milan for 51,000 skymiles. You know, just in case we get invited to attend October’s ceremony for The World’s 50 Best Bars.
Their Instagram shares some deals but if you want to do more traveling, their subscription will pay for itself real fast. Use my code DRINKINGINCONTEXT for $20 off your first year! (Both the subscription link and code are part of their affiliate program and I may earn a commission.)
Travel Needs
Padded Bottle Bags
We’ve been using JetBags since our honeymoon in 2017 and they’ve been amazing for bringing home special bottles from our travels!
The interior padding is also absorbent in case of a break but we’ve only had that happen once, and it was the fault of poor packing.
Because of the ZipLoc style closure, these bags are reusable – unlike the ones with adhesive strip we usually see. Love them!
Rechargable Fan
As someone who does best in cool climates, I definitely struggle with the amount of tropical travel we do.
Tales of the Cocktail in the New Orleans summer. The humidity of Singapore. January in Australia. We always seem to be chasing the heat!
This little fan has been a lifesaver, and can also function as a small power bank. I’ve even set it up on a hotel nightstand to run overnight in hot hotel rooms.
Water Bottle
If you’re going to be traveling on your liver, hydration is key. I cycled through a lot of travel water bottles before settling on the 16oz Stanley Transit bottle.
Uninsulated bottles warmed up too fast (I’m team ice water) and larger bottles were too heavy to carry around. This hits a nice sweet spot.
Pro-tip: at least in the US, ice doesn’t count as a liquid for TSA purposes – so I usually fill my bottle with ice at home and then find a water station after security!
Small Notepad
While I use a larger Bullet Journal for most of my trip notes, I’m never out and about without a small notepad in my bag.
These are great for getting recommendations from bartenders (essential for the best “games” of bar tag!). It’s also nice for sharing notes with other people so I don’t have to tear pages out of my main notebook.
Anker Power Bank
Let’s be honest, we travel with a LOT of tech these days. When traveling with a phone, a camera, an action camera, a laptop, etc etc etc, this Anker Power Bank is a frequent lifesaver.
Having an attached cord is great when I just want to throw one thing in my purse and not panic about having a cable when I need it.
Collapsible Tote
Speaking of things I almost always have in my purse, meet the NanoBag.
I’m a huge fan of the crossbody style for this. It helps keep a hand free instead of trying to hold a small shopping bag while also digging out your phone to tap onto a bus or subway or holding a camera to get a great photo.
It packs up super small and light while holding up to occasionally carrying a bottle or two of whiskey and gin.
Collapsible Duffle
If you’ve used the NanoBag to get things back to your hotel and the JetBags to get bottles into your suitcase, you may need a little extra packing space by the end of your trip.
We never travel without a collapsible tote or duffel in our suitcase. This one from Bagsmart packs down small when it’s not needed and has two size options for when it is.
Sometimes this bag gets brought on as a carry on bag, packed with fragile souvenirs we don’t want to check. Other times it gets checked full of shoes and laundry to make more space in our suitcases.
Insta360 Go Ultra Camera
If you follow me on Social Media (and you should) then you already know that I prioritize having a great experience over getting great photos. And I’m even worse at video…but I want to get better!
After a ton of research into low profile action cameras, I settled on the Insta360 Go Ultra. The size and shape of the “action pod” makes it inconspicuous when clipped to a coat or purse strap. This makes for fun POV footage while we play bar tag.
I’m not the most techy these days but I’ve found it pretty intuitive to use and hope to get better at video content that inspires others to visit great bars in fun cities.
Bombas Socks
I’m a big fan of Bombas socks, both for travel and every day. Their cotton socks are nice when I want something lightweight and their Merino Wool are light, warm, and feel great. The Low-Cut No Show socks are perfect in dressier shoes.
A Good Credit Card for Travel
This feels like a really bougie recommendation but honestly, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card (Refer-A-Friend Link) has been pivotal to our ability to travel. Almost as much as the Thrifty Traveler subscription.
We first opened the card before our wedding and used the sign-up bonus to cover most of our honeymoon to London and Scotland. It’s an expensive annual fee, but we continue to get our money’s worth from it. 3X points are earned on dining and 4X points on flights and hotels booked direct. We rack up points pretty quickly and use the Points Boost feature to use them on hotels. (I’m not a fan of booking flights with points because a)I want my 4X point earn and b)booking direct makes things easier if there are flight issues.)
For our upcoming trip to Asia, we found a 2x Points Boost for the Four Seasons Hong Kong! (Using points to get a luxury hotel feels like the travel version of “Thanks, I got it on sale!” Midwesterners know what I mean.)
The card has no foreign transaction fee which is great because it’s always better to pay in the local currency than to select USD. And it also comes with access to some great lounges around the world, which takes away some of the dread of long travel days. (They are in the process of building out a network of Chase Lounges. I was able to get free spa treatments at one while waiting for my flight out of San Diego!)