The most important elements in having a happy, hassle-free travel experience are your travel documents. Before you even get to the airport, plan out a separate location for your travel documents. Reserve a pocket in your carry-on bag in which you will place nothing but your travel documents. Airports can be hectic, and it is easy to slip your documents in a coat pocket or stuff them into your bag with the rest of your belongings. This can lead to a panic when you are unable to find the elusive documents when the time comes to present them. Remember, those documents are your ticket home. Protect them at all costs.
A good rule of thumb is to pack everything in your carry-on that you would need for one day. This means packing all of your essential toiletries and medications along with one change of clothing and a pair of pajamas. If your airline does lose your luggage, you do not want to be stuck in a strange land with nothing but the clothes on your back. Be conservative in your packing, but make the most of your carry-on bag and prevent yourself from being stuck in a bad situation due to luggage loss.
Because of the potential for terrorists to use innocent looking-liquids to create bombs, there are many new restrictions that govern liquids in carry on luggage. To avoid running into trouble, follow the 3-1-1 rule outlined by the Transportation Security Administration. Under new regulations, travelers are not allowed to carry on any containers that contain more than 3 ounces of liquid. All of your 3-ounce containers should be placed in a single 1-quart bag. When you go through security, place one bag containing all of your liquids in the security bin. This means that you need to leave your bulky shampoo bottles and containers of mouthwash at home. Not only will they take up an unnecessarily large amount of room in your travel on bag, they won't even be able to make the trip with you because regulations will not allow you to take them on the plane unchecked. Opt instead for sample, travel-size bottles that can be purchased at any drug store. These will fit easily in your bags, and placing them in your carry-on luggage will ensure that, regardless of what may happen to your checked luggage, you will have all the necessary products to wash up once you reach your destination.
While ideally you do not want to lose any object you own, misplacing the tacky flowered shirt that you intended to wear on the Hawaiian beaches is much preferable to losing your mother's antique necklace. The best practice is to avoid taking valuables with you altogether as they are easily misplaced in this shuffle and can lead to heartache upon loss. But, if you must take valuables, make sure that you carry them on. Most luggage lost by airlines is eventually recovered, but there is no way to tell what will happen to the luggage when it is out from under your watchful eye. Be proactive and carry on your luggage to prevent the loss of a valuable that could easily ruin your vacation.
