Strange Travel Quirks: Can You Relate?

by joeheg

I was recently thinking about the different strange things people do when traveling. I found an older article from the website Hello Giggles about quirky travel behaviors. Some of them were understandable, like refusing to walk barefoot on hotel carpets. Other quirks ranged from needing a specific number of pillows in order to be able to sleep, to getting to the airport hours early because of a fear of missing your plane.

Sharon has a few things she does when we travel that I shake my head at, like bringing her own pillow from home no matter where we’re going or how long the trip is. I’ve actually started doing this one myself, but only for longer trips so I no longer consider it that quirky (except when it’s just for a night of two. That’s still quirky). (Note from Sharon: Shup! I love my pillow!)

She also wipes the TV remote control down with Purell, but I could see a reason for that, in an effort to prevent others’ germs from getting on our hands. Actually, this one makes more sense over the past couple of years, when we started cleaning “high touch points” in our room with Lysol wipes.

One thing I find odder is that she brings her own soap and shampoo. She’s been doing this for years, and it has nothing to do with hotels doing away with single-use containers in favor of refillable dispensers. What’s strange is that they’re not the same brand of soap and shampoo she uses at home. They’re specific ones that she only uses when she’s on vacation (Note from Sharon regarding the photo below: I don’t ever use Dove and I do not need to use Head & Shoulders. Joe, why did you pick THAT picture?!?!?! LOLOL!).

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I also have a couple of quirky things I do when I travel. I take hotel soaps home with me. I know that’s not uncommon but I’ll also take the half-used soap bars with me or bring them from hotel to hotel.

I also stack my change. It started when I was traveling overseas, mainly so I’d know how much money I had. Coins have value (and weight) in other countries and you can end up walking around with £20 of coins in your pocket before you know it.

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I’ll unpack my suitcase if I stay somewhere for more than 2 nights. By this, I mean I unpack ALL of my clothes in the drawers and closets. If it’s only a 1 or 2-night stay, I’ll begrudgingly live out of my suitcase but more than that I want to feel like I have control over the space. This is getting harder and harder to accomplish as hotels are removing drawer space at an alarming rate (here’s why), like our room at the W New Orleans.

So what’s something you do when you travel that’s a little unusual? Come on, ‘fess up. I told you my little idiosyncrasies (and Sharon’s, too). What are yours?

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5 comments

derek December 18, 2019 - 12:59 pm

I repack everything in the bathroom that I took out (toothbrush, toothpaste, etc.) so that the counter is completely clear except for hotel items.

When I leave, I steal about 5 sheets of tissue (Kleenex).

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StAugustine December 20, 2019 - 4:04 pm

My wife, who likes to get to a baseball game when the first pitch is being thrown and not a minute before, likes to be at the airport 3 hours before the flight. This stems from a flight we took 10+ years ago. There was a snowstorm the day before, many flights were rescheduled, and the line to check bags was snaking through the terminal. We ended up going outside and using curbside check in with no problem, but from then on we get to the airport early.

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Aaron December 18, 2022 - 7:06 pm

The airport can be fun. Browsing the shops, munching on stuff from the eateries, and people watching.

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Jen November 23, 2021 - 5:19 pm

Every time I visit Australia, (my husband is from there) I collect all of the Aussie coins we accumulate and spend as much of them as I can at the airport on our trip home. We keep the folding money for the next trip, but the coins are really a pain in our household.

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Aaron December 18, 2022 - 7:02 pm

I wear the same inexpensive digital watch every time I travel. I leave a “thank you for keeping my room clean” note with my housekeeping gratuity. At an airline lounge, or at buffet style dining at a hotel or resort, I put soup in a coffee mug, and pour coffee into a soup bowl. If the breakfast buffet has Nutella, I always spread the stuff on cheese, then roll sliced ham in, and eat it like a tube. Whenever I fly, I put noise canceling headphones on, and I always play the same song: ‘Late Nite Grande Hotel” as we take off. When I use an airport bathroom, I locate and tap every green “smiley” button to let management know how the cleaning people are doing. I always get to the airport super early – I love wandering the terminal, buying food from the eateries, and people-watching.

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