For those planning to travel over the festive period this year, you may or may not be worried about catching something while flying. Travelling often exposes us to a mix of health challenges, from jet lag and bloating to bacteria-laden surfaces.

Is it true that air quality on planes is poor? Will you be susceptible to catching illnesses in-flight? Experts and flight attendants agree that maintaining good health while travelling comes down to practical, evidence-based strategies. Here’s how you can safeguard your health while travelling.

Air quality on planes

One of the most common misconceptions is that recirculated air on planes is a breeding ground for viruses. According to Dr. April Wilson of Loma Linda University Health, this is largely false. “The air quality inside airplanes is generally quite good due to advanced filtration systems,” she explains. Modern aircraft use HEPA filters that remove over 99% of airborne particles, including viruses, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

However, the real health risks often come from frequently touched surfaces such as tray tables, seatbelt buckles, and armrests. These can harbour germs for hours, if not days. Dr. Wilson advises passengers to carry disinfectant wipes to clean personal spaces before settling in, emphasising that “taking a few minutes to sanitise the immediate surroundings can significantly reduce the risk of contracting infections.”

Essential hygiene habits

Hand hygiene remains crucial. Wash your hands regularly or use hand sanitiser after touching communal surfaces and try to avoid touching your face. Dr. Wilson also suggests using knuckles or elbows rather than fingertips when interacting with shared spaces like light switches or lift buttons.

Stay hydrated and eat healthy

Staying hydrated is vital for your immune system, especially during flights. The Aerospace Medical Association recommends drinking 237 mls of water every hour you’re in the air. Try to avoid the tempting salty snacks, caffeine and alcohol, which can cause bloating and dehydration. Consultant dietician Ro Huntriss suggests packing nutrient-dense snacks like nuts or fresh fruits to maintain stable energy levels and avoid energy crashes. However, nuts can be a problem if you’re on a flight with someone who has a nut allergy.

Prioritise sleep to combat jet lag

Flight attendants swear by the importance of sleep to counteract fatigue. If you’re travelling with young children, then this is of course easier said than done!

Whether it’s a trusty neck pillow, a silk eye mask, or meditation apps, find what works for you. Natural sleep aids like melatonin can help, but avoid mixing these with alcohol.

To beat jet lag, some flight attendants recommend sticking to your home time zone for short trips. For longer stays, adjust gradually by eating when hungry and sleeping when tired. If you’re landing with immediate plans, avoid sitting down to prevent unintentional naps.

You can also try grounding – this is standing barefoot on grass or natural earth when you get to your destination. A report in The Times noted: ‘The theory is the practise draws energy needed to help reset your inner body clock, soaking up the ground’s negative charge to leave you feeling more refreshed.’ It’s worth a try!

Keep moving in-flight

Long hours of sitting can take a toll on your body. Flight attendants suggest walking around the cabin and stretching, when safe, to promote better blood flow. Some airlines, like Qantas, even offer “Wellbeing Zones” on long-haul flights. For shorter journeys, try simple seat exercises, like rotating your ankles or stretching your arms.

Boost your immune system

Frequent travellers often rely on immune-boosting vitamins. A healthy diet rich in vitamin C, zinc, and selenium can help keep your defences strong. Consider supplementing with vitamin D, especially if you’re travelling to a destination with limited sunlight exposure.

Avoid stress and act responsibly

Travelling can’t be completely risk-free, but taking proactive measures can make a significant difference. As Dr. Wilson says, “It’s not just about protecting ourselves – but about being responsible travellers and safeguarding the well-being of those around us.”

Whether you’re hopping between EU cities or heading further afield, a little preparation goes a long way.

To celebrate the slew of one-of-a-kind sights on ‘Top of the World’, we’ve put together an album of our favorite scenes from the mile-a-minute city of Tokyo, Japan. Be sure to hit the ground running—this metropolis doesn’t stop.

Shinjuku Skyscrapers

Cinéphiles (and fans of five-star luxury) know the towers to the left of this aerial shot well: They house the Park Hyatt Tokyo, where Sofia Coppola and her crew filmed Lost in Translation on location in 2003.

Rainbow Bridge

Since 1993, the Rainbow Bridge—which owes its name to the vivid lamps that collect solar energy during the day and illuminate it after sunset—has connected Shibaura Pier with the Odaiba waterfront area in Minato. The bridge isn’t multicolored every night, but it’s bathed in festive hues for the holiday season every year, and for special occasions.

Sensoji Temple

Sensoji Temple is also known as Asakusa Kannon Temple: As legend has it, in the 7th century, two fishermen found a golden statue of Kannon (or Guanyin), the Buddhist goddess of mercy, and the temple was constructed for her. According to The Japan Times, Sensoji receives more than 30 million visitors a year.

Kabukicho

Kabukicho (in Tokyo’s Shinjuku neighborhood) is the city’s largest red-light district, though most of the entertainment to be found there isn’t quite so X-rated. Host and hostess clubs rub shoulders with everything from love hotels to bars and pachinko parlors. It’s a marvelous place to go people-watching, but be on the lookout for unexpected costs: At a host and hostess club, a few cocktails can ring in at over 10,000 yen (about $90).

Flood-Control Silos

Tokyo sits squarely in the middle of a floodplain and 30 percent of its population lives below sea level, which means that summer monsoons (which can dump four inches of water on the city per hour) can cause catastrophic damage. The city’s elaborate flood control system—including five futuristic silos like this one, full of 60-foot-high concrete pillars—is so efficient that it can clear enough water to drain an Olympic swimming pool in 12 seconds.

Tsukiji Market

Located in central Tokyo between the Sumida River and the Ginza district, Tsukiji Market is the largest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world. It opens at 3:00 most mornings and between 5:20 and about 10:00, licensed bidders from around the world compete to purchase tons of fish. Much of the auction process is closed to tourists, but they can view the action from designated areas between 5:00 and 6:15 (and shake off their jet lag with a sushi breakfast in the market’s retail space).

Capsule Hotel

Tokyo’s Nine Hours is a capsule hotel, where floors of podlike, streamlined rooms (which have little more than a bed, shelves, outlets and sometimes a television) provide travelers with the bare necessities and offer communal bathing areas and lockers. While they wouldn’t suit claustrophobic travelers, capsule hotels are exceedingly budget friendly: A bed and a shower can be yours for about $30.

Shibuya Crossing

At peak times of day, more than 1,000 people are said to stream along the crosswalks each time the light changes at Japan’s busiest intersection. Connoisseurs say that the hypnotic view is best on Friday and Saturday nights and that the Starbucks on the second floor of the Q-front building is a particularly good vantage point (if you’re lucky enough to get a seat there).

Robot Restaurant

Since opening its doors in the summer of 2012, Robot Restaurant—a cabaret-style show featuring scantily clad dancers, massive robots, raucous pop music and lasers—has become one of the most popular tourist attractions in Tokyo. Each 90-minute performance culminates in a battle between two robot armies—and an opportunity for guests to pose for pictures with the stars of the show.

Tokyo Tower

At 332.9 meters in height, Tokyo Tower is the second-tallest structure in Japan. When its 90-meter antenna was bolted into place at the conclusion of its construction in 1958, it was the tallest freestanding tower in the world—since the Eiffel Tower in Paris was 13 meters shorter.

Sam Shank, cofounder of HotelTonight, guides you through the most common pitfalls.

When it comes to staying in a hotel, there are some definitive dos and don’ts to follow. Don’t walk around the hallways barefoot. Don’t steal the towels or bathrobes. Do put all your trash in the bin before you leave. Do tip for good service. These unofficial rules will make your stay more enjoyable — for you and the staff — but a misstep at check-in or checkout can have a major impact on your overall experience.

To ensure everything runs smoothly from arrival to departure, we asked Sam Shank, cofounder of the booking app HotelTonight, how to check in to and out of a hotel without falling prey to these common mistakes.

Not Asking About Resort Fees

The last thing you want on vacation is to fall victim to hidden fees. Sometimes built-in additional costs are inevitable — “resort fees are unfortunately becoming more common,” says Shank — but at least knowing about them ahead of time allows you to prepare and budget accordingly. Even when they seem set in stone, he always asks if they’re optional. “Sometimes,” he says, “I am successful.”

Not Requesting an Early Check-in or Late Checkout

When booking your hotel, remember that many properties are making moves to nix the typical check-in and checkout rules. Take The Hoxton for example. The hip chain with hotels around the world from Williamsburg to Rome has a Flexy Time policy that allows you, the guest, to choose when you check in and out. So, don’t be afraid to ask about arriving early or leaving late. Shank says it’s best to be flexible about your room type, as that may increase the chances of the hotel being able to accommodate your request. “I have found that early check-in and late checkout is as easy as asking nicely about it at the front desk,” he says. “Be willing to trade a particular room type for early access.”

Not Asking for a Specific Room If You’re a Light Sleeper

Always be aware of your sleeping preferences when traveling — this is, after all, your time to recuperate and relax. If your sleeping habits dictate the type of room you’ll be happiest in, speak up. “I’m a light sleeper, so I always ask for a room far from the elevator, on a high floor, and facing the least busy street or a courtyard,” says Shank.

Forgetting to Do a Final Sweep of Your Room

Do you ever stop before leaving your house and whisper to yourself, “wallet, phone, keys?” If you don’t, now might be a good time to start. Go through a mental checklist and do a walk-through of your hotel room before leaving. “I can’t count all of the device chargers I’ve left in hotel rooms,” Shank says. “Now, I make sure to look at every outlet during my final sweep of the room.”

Not Providing Your Contact Information at Check-in

Shank makes an interesting case for leaving his information with the front desk as soon as he arrives at a hotel. “During check-in, I leave my email address and ask for my folio to be sent to me after checkout,” he says. “This way, I can skip checkout and walk out of the hotel, knowing I’ll have a chance to review any charges later on my own schedule.” This isn’t acceptable at every hotel, so read up on the checkout policies before dashing out the door.

Not Leaving a Tip for the Housekeeping Staff Before Checkout

In the U.S., it’s customary to tip servers, bartenders, hairstylists, and cab drivers. Leaving a gratuity for the housekeeping staff at a hotel is also a good travel habit. If you’ve forgotten to tip housekeeping daily during your stay, the best thing to do is leave a tip in the room before you check out. “I always make sure to leave a tip for the cleaning staff — they do as much as anyone to make sure I had a great stay,” says Shank. The American Hotel and Lodging Association suggests a tip amount between $1 and $5 a day.

Waiting in Line to Check Out If You’re Crunched for Time

Hotels today don’t always require you to stand in line at the front desk to check out. You usually just have to make sure you vacate the room on time, whether that’s at the designated checkout time or a previously agreed upon late checkout time. Make sure you have a chance to review your bill and that the hotel has a credit card on file for any room charges. Go ahead and visit the front desk if you prefer to review your bill in person, but if you’ve followed Shank’s tip to give an email address and card upon checking in, you can typically just head out. Don’t forget to leave your keycards in the room so the hotel can reuse the plastic.

Forgetting to Look at the Itemized Bill

If you’re worried that the hotel won’t email you a bill — or that you won’t see it because your inbox is a mess — then skip the previous tip and leave yourself extra time to review your bill with the front desk before checking out.

Not Asking (Nicely) for an Upgrade

Shank is very much in the camp of asking for an upgrade if there’s an opportunity to do so politely. “On the day of arrival, the front desk will have a lot of discretion to assign rooms,” he says. “They likely will have a few nicer rooms that they have to put someone in. That someone could be you, so ask nicely.”

Overpaying for an Upgrade at Check-in

The song and dance of getting an upgrade at a hotel is not unlike trying to qualify for an upgrade on a flight. In either instance, it’s wise to put in the request as soon as you can and set a threshold for the amount you’d be willing to pay. If it comes up, Shank recommends “offering a reasonable amount for an upgrade — my rule of thumb is 10 percent of what you paid.”

Picture this: You’re on vacation in a city abroad, exploring museums, tasting the local cuisine, and people-watching at cafés. Everything is going perfectly until you get a series of alerts on your phone. Someone is making fraudulent charges using your credit card, sending you into a panic. How could this have happened?

Cyberattacks targeting travelers are nothing new. But as travel has increased in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, so has the volume of hackers and cybercriminals preying upon tourists. Financial fraud is the most common form of cybercrime experienced by travelers, but surveillance via public Wi-Fi networks, social media hacking, and phishing scams are also common, according to a survey by ExpressVPN.

Spokeo consulted cybersecurity sources and travel guides to determine some of the best ways to protect your phone while traveling, from using a VPN to managing secure passwords.

Online attacks are not the only type of crime impacting travelers—physical theft of phones is also a threat. Phones have become such invaluable travel aids, housing our navigation tools, digital wallets, itineraries, and contacts, that having your phone stolen, lost, or compromised while abroad can be devastating. Meanwhile, traveling can make people uniquely vulnerable to both cyber and physical attacks due to common pitfalls like oversharing on social media and letting your guard down when it comes to taking risks online.

Luckily, there are numerous precautions travelers can take to safeguard against cyberattacks and phone theft.

Use a VPN

Hackers can—and do—target public Wi-Fi networks at cafés and hotels to gain access to your personal information or install malware onto your device, particularly on unsecured networks. Travelers are especially vulnerable to these types of cybersecurity breaches because they are often more reliant on public Wi-Fi than they would be in their home countries where they have more robust phone plans. This reliance on public, unsecured networks means travelers are more likely to use those networks to perform sensitive tasks like financial transfers, meaning hackers can easily gain access to banking information or other passwords.

One easy way to safeguard yourself against these breaches is to use a virtual private network, or VPN, while traveling. VPNs are apps that encrypt your data and hide your location, preventing hackers from accessing personal information. An added bonus is that VPNs allow you to access websites that may be blocked or unavailable in the country you are visiting. To use a VPN, simply download a VPN app on your phone or computer, create an account, choose a server, and connect.

Wear a cross-body bag or antitheft strap

Pickpockets, scammers, and flagrant, snatch-your-phone-right-out-of-your-hand thieves can be found pretty much everywhere. In London, for instance, a staggering 91,000 phones were reported stolen to police in 2022, breaking down to an average of 248 per day, according to the BBC. Whether you’re visiting a crowded tourist attraction or just want peace of mind, travel experts advise taking precautions to make sure your phone isn’t physically stolen or compromised while traveling.

There are several antitheft options to choose from. If you want a bag that will protect your phone from theft, experts recommend looking for features like slash-resistant fabric, reinforced shoulder straps, hidden zippers that can be locked, and secure attachment points, like a cross-body strap or a sturdy clip. For tethers, look for those made of tear-resistant material with a reinforced clip or ring.

Back up your phone’s data

If your phone falls into the wrong hands, there’s a good chance you won’t be getting it back. Out of those 91,000 phones stolen in London in 2022, only 1,915 (or about 2%) were recovered. The good news is that you can take precautions to make the loss of your phone less devastating by backing up your data before you travel.

With backed-up data, you can acquire a new device and still access your photos, contacts, messages, and passwords. Moreover, if you have “Find My Device” or “Find My Phone” enabled, you can remotely wipe your stolen phone’s data so the thief cannot access it. It’s safest to back up your data to a hard drive and not just the cloud. That way, if you have to wipe your device, you don’t accidentally erase the backup, too.

Turn on “Find My Phone”

In order for the previous tip on this list to work, “Find My Phone” must be turned on in advance, but remotely wiping your device isn’t the only thing this feature allows you to do. The “Find My Phone” feature enables you to track your device, as long as it’s turned on and not in airplane mode. This is particularly helpful if you misplaced your phone or left it somewhere since it can help you retrace your steps. While this feature won’t show you the live location of a phone that has been turned off, it will show the phone’s last known location.

With “Find My Phone,” you can also remotely lock your phone or enable “Lost Mode,” which locks down the phone, suspends any in-phone payment methods, and displays contact information for returning the phone to you. If your phone was stolen, experts caution against taking matters into your own hands by chasing down the thief, since this could land you in a potentially dangerous situation and is unlikely to result in getting your phone back.

Protect your passwords

Strong passwords for important accounts help protect your information while you travel, but it’s just a first step. The National Cybersecurity Alliance recommends creating long, unique, and complex passwords for every account and combining them with multifactor authentication to create maximum barriers to entry.

If you’re worried about remembering these passwords, password managers can be a vital tool for both creating and storing strong passwords. Password managers are apps that act as secure vaults for all your passwords. Some even come with a feature that allows you to temporarily delete sensitive passwords before you travel and then easily restore them once you return.