Have you needed to charge your phone overseas but don’t have an adaptor with you? This clever flight attendant has a solution.
Esther Sturrus always dreamt of being a flight attendant and at the age of 16, she attended an aviation course to train up for her dream job, The Sun reports.
She has since gone on to work with the airline TUI in 2019, and later KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.
Now, armed with her expertise and knowledge, the 22-year-old shares with her social media followers her golden tips and tricks to make travelling easier.
In a video uploaded to TikTok, which has racked up 1.2 million views and over 52,000 likes, she shared insights into the top 10 things to remember while abroad.
Charge electronic devices through a TV
“One of the most innovative travel hacks is to charge your electronic devices through a TV,” said Esther, of Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
“This is extremely helpful if you forgot or lost your wall plug for your charger.”
While this hack will work, it will take a fair bit longer to charge your devices than doing it by using a plug.
Esther shares her best tips from her years as a flight attendant. Picture: TikTok/Esthertravels
She explains how to charge your phone if you don’t have an adaptor. Picture: TikTok/Esthertravels
Leave a shoe in the safe
Many hotels, hostels and holiday rentals come with a safe, which is for holiday-makers to put any expensive items that they’d like to keep locked away.
Esther told needtoknow.co.uk: “My biggest tip is to leave your shoe in the safe.
“This way you will never forget anything from your safe.
“You will notice when you want to leave that you are missing a shoe, it’s also quite a funny one.”
Soak a small towel when you get to your hotel
Planes are infamous for dry air, as they circulate the outside air to keep the indoor air fresh and healthy to breathe.
Unfortunately, this constant onslaught of fresh outdoor air keeps humidity levels way down, which means you dehydrate faster than normal.
“Being on planes means you always suffer from the dry air. And it is not nice if you also have dry air in your hotel room,” Esther said.
“So another big tip of mine is, when you arrive at your accommodation, soak a small towel and place it in front of the heater.
“That water evaporates and in a small hotel room that can bring just a little relief.”
Esther says you should roll, not fold, the clothes in your suitcase. Picture: iStock
Create space by rolling clothes
When it comes to packing, most travellers will try to fit as much as they can in bags and suitcases, and this way, you can fit in as much as you please.
“It always seems like there’s never enough room in your luggage when packing for a great journey,” Esther said.
“However, one of the top travel hacks for packing is to roll your clothes instead of folding them.”
Find cheaper airline flights with private browsing
Travel sites and airlines will often record your browsing history by installing cookies on your browser, which can drive the prices of flights up.
“These companies know how often you visit their site and will typically raise the price because of your frequent visits,” the flight attendant explained.
“Therefore, by using private browsing, nothing can be tracked or traced.”
Email a scan of your passport to yourself
This is one of Esther’s biggest tips, as it could be a massive lifesaver.
“Having proof of who you are is vital when travelling on international flights,” she said.
“This is especially true if you are a victim of burglary or loss.”
Use a hanger for your curtains
Esther uses hangers that have clips attached to seal the gap between the curtains to ensure the hotel room is dark enough for her to get to sleep.
“Are your curtains not closing properly? Use a clothes hanger,” she said.
“You clip this on the curtain so that no more light comes in between.”
Complimentary hotel shower caps can be an essential packing item. Picture: iStock
Use a shower cap for your shoes
“This way your clothes won’t get dirty when you put your shoes in the suitcase,” she said
Don’t put your toothbrush on the sink
“I never find sinks that fresh,” Esther said.
“So I turn a paper cup upside down and stab my toothbrush into it.
“That way I don’t have to put it on the sink.”
Use your hairdryer to clear your mirror
When getting ready in your hotel bathroom after having a shower, the mist will often make mirrors fogged up.
However, a hairdryer can make light work of that and clear the mist away.
“The best place to use it is in the bathroom,” Esther said.
“If your mirror is steamed up after showering, put a hair dryer on it, or hair-dry near it, and it goes straight away.”
Users flocked to the comments to share their reactions, with many left in awe of the hidden tricks.
One person said: “Wow! These are really cool ideas …. Thanks for sharing!”
Someone else wrote: “Shoe hack is a great idea.”
A third added: “The hanger! Thank you, I hate light in the room at 6 am and as a man I don’t have the girls accessories.”
This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission