Best Travel Hacks for Trains, Buses, Flights and Hotels in India

Best travel hacks to sort before you leave home

Half of a good trip happens the evening before. These travel tips and hacks take the rush out of departure day.

1. Build your list with the packing checklist maker on this page. Pick your trip type, number of days and who is travelling, and tick items off as they go in the bag. A written list beats memory, especially at 5 in the morning.
2. Keep a grab pouch ready. One small pouch holds ID copies, a charger, a pen, a few safety pins, tissues and a spare mask. It lives in your bag between trips, so you never start from zero.
3. Photograph the bag before you close it. Snap one picture of the open suitcase. If the bag is delayed or lost, you can list exactly what was inside.
4. Tie a bright cloth to your handle. A strip of old coloured dupatta on the handle helps you spot your bag on a crowded platform or a luggage belt where every suitcase looks black.

Train travel tips and hacks for sleeper, 3AC and chair car

Indian trains are the heart of most trips. These hacks make a berth feel more like your own space.

1. Hang a cloth bag from the berth hook. A light cloth bag on the hook beside your berth holds your phone, glasses and water at night. Nothing slips into the gap between berth and wall.
2. Use a shawl as a curtain. On a side berth, tuck one edge of a thin shawl under the upper berth mattress or chain to block the aisle light. You sleep faster and get some privacy.
3. Leave home with a full power bank. Charging points in coaches are few and often busy. Charge your power bank fully at home and keep the phone on battery saver for the journey.
4. Keep dry snacks in steel boxes. Roasted chana, khakhra and thepla travel well in a steel dabba and do not get crushed. They save you from buying stale food at every stop.

Going overnight or longer? Our travel hacks for long trips cover multi-day trains and sleeper buses in detail.

Bus travel and airport hacks

Buses and flights have their own small troubles: rough roads, security queues and luggage weight. Here is what helps.

1. Pick a seat between the wheels. On a bus, seats in the middle bump far less than the last row. If you get travel sick, sit near the front and look out at the road ahead.
2. Carry an empty bottle through security. Liquids are checked at the airport, so pass through with an empty steel or plastic bottle and fill it at the water point inside. You stop buying water at the gate.
3. Keep your liquids pouch on top. Put small liquids in one clear zip pouch at the top of your cabin bag. You pull it out in seconds at the scanner and repack without digging.
4. Wear your heaviest shoes. Travel in the shoes and jacket you would struggle to pack. It keeps the checked bag lighter and leaves room for things you buy on the trip.
5. Keep a pen in your pocket. Forms at counters and on arrival often need a pen and there is never one around. A spare pen saves a long wait.

Hotel and homestay hacks

A room is only good if it is safe, quiet and dry. Check these within ten minutes of arrival.

1. Film the room when you enter. Take a quick video of the room, bathroom and furniture before you unpack. If something is already broken, you have proof at checkout.
2. Wedge the door at night. A small rubber door wedge under the door adds a layer of security in budget rooms where the latch feels weak. It weighs almost nothing.
3. Ask for a room away from the lift and road. Rooms at the end of the corridor and on higher floors are usually quieter. It costs nothing to ask at the desk.
4. Dry clothes on a string line. Pack two metres of thin nylon cord. Tie it across the bathroom or balcony for socks and towels, so damp clothes do not go back into your bag.

Travel hacks with kids and toddlers

Children change the whole plan. These travel hacks with toddlers and older kids come from parents who have survived long rides.

1. Pack snacks in a divided tiffin. A steel tiffin with three or four compartments holds small portions of fruit, makhana and biscuits. Kids get variety, and you hand out one compartment at a time.
2. Wrap small new toys. Wrap three or four small toys in newspaper and give one every couple of hours. The unwrapping itself keeps a toddler busy.
3. Keep a full change of clothes in a zip pouch. Spills and accidents happen. One zip pouch with a full set of clothes and a plastic bag for the wet ones saves the day.
4. Book the window and the next seat. For a 1 year old or toddler, a window seat gives them something to watch, and the seat beside lets you spread out the bag.
5. Put a name and phone number in their pocket. Write your number on a card and keep it in the child's pocket in crowded stations and fairs. Teach them to show it to a police officer or a family with kids if they get lost.

Solo travel hacks for India

Travelling alone is freeing, but you are also your own backup. These solo travel hacks keep you in control.

1. Share your live location with one person. Turn on location sharing with one family member for the travel day. Tell them the train or bus number and when you expect to arrive.
2. Plan to arrive in daylight. Choose trains and buses that reach a new city by evening. Finding your stay, food and transport is far easier with light.
3. Split your cash into three places. Keep some in your wallet, some in an inner pocket and some deep in the bag. If one is lost, you still have enough to get home.
4. Sit near families. In a general coach or a bus, choose seats near families or groups of women. It is a simple way to feel safer on a long ride.

Indian travel hacks for heat, dust and monsoon

Our weather changes how you pack and move. A few easy travel hacks help in every season.

1. Line the bag with a plastic sheet. In the monsoon, put a large plastic bag inside your suitcase or backpack before packing. Even if the outside gets soaked, your clothes stay dry.
2. Carry a cotton dupatta or gamcha. It works as sun cover, dust mask, towel and pillow cover. One light cloth replaces three items.
3. Freeze a wet cotton napkin. Wet a small cotton napkin, wring it out and freeze it in a zip pouch. On hot bus rides it cools your neck for an hour or so.

More travel guides on this site

Each of these pages takes one part of the trip much further.

Students heading to hostel can also check our student hacks, and for tidy cupboards between trips see the organization guide.