Don and I have made it an active goal to travel more for the next few years. This year we discovered a few travel game changers. Some positive, some negative, some neutral.
2) More mass transit is using the tap and pay system. Rather than forcing you to buy a separate card and put money on it, you use your regular credit card to pay for each ride. This reduces the need to buy a separate card, put money on the card, and leave money behind when you leave the country. We were happy when NJPATH made the switch, and thrilled when we could use it overseas. We saw this in Canberra, Australia.
3) Google Maps. This one has been around for a couple of years, it really helps when trying to figure out the best path on mass transit. I still can't believe all the bus and train routs are searchable that quickly! That said, I found the local transit app is better than Google Maps when the trainline I wanted to take was closed unexpectedly in Belgium.
4) Google Flights: There is an option to "find cheap flights from anywhere in the United States." I found a flight for under $1,000 RT to Sydney this way.
5) A negative one is airline clamping down on who can bring carryon bags with them. Flights are filling up again, meaning overhead bin space is, too. Our last flight capped the carryon at 10 kilos (22 pounds), which was fine, but then they added in the weight of our personal item and I like to travel with a couple of books. Fortunately they were not charging for gate checking, and the bags arrived with us. Some are as low as 7 kilos (15 pounds). My carryon empty (with attached wheels) is a few pounds.
6) TSA Precheck, Global Entry, and NEXUS. I'm on the fence with these. TSA Precheck is not always available, and more people have it. Our trips to Canada since getting NEXUS have had very short lines for entry, or no special NEXUS lane, so it hasn't saved us much. Similar with Global Entry. All has to do with timing.
Drop any travel advice in the comments or send me a message.
I too have a goal to travel more. Big trips and small ones. The idea of creating a bingo sheet started out as kind of a joke, but I discovered it's a great way to do more locally. For 2026, I have one for roughly within an hour, one for Pennsylvania, one for bigger trips. Made a NJ one for a friend. And another one for a NYC friend that's heavy on NJ/things to do together. Some overlap within these, but also lots I want to do.
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