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ZDNET's key takeaways

AI is great for ideas, but weak for real logistics unless it's nudged.
Tag everything you can: bags, keys, wallet, and passport.
Freeze your travel card until the moment you pay.

There's no doubt that tech has made travel so much easier. From mapping on a smartphone to real-time translation, gone are the days of relying on a dead-tree travel guide passed down from your parents. I can remember being in countries where I couldn't speak or read the language. Heck, a couple of times I didn't know what the local currency was (or the exchange rate).

Now you have all that information -- and much more -- in the palm of your hand.

Also: I tested Google Maps vs. Waze to find the best updated navigation app - and this one wins

But despite the fact that we now have more tech power in the palms of our hands than they had to go to the moon, things can still get stressy. And with a few 2026 trips already in the rearview mirror and a few more lined up, I've become pretty good at keeping travel stress to a minimum.

1. Use AI cautiously

Generative AI is being used everywhere, from Facebook posters to last-minute term papers. It's also increasingly being used for travel planning and booking. As usual, digging for statistics pulls up all sorts of numbers, with estimates of AI use in trip planning varying wildly, from roughly 40% to figures as high as 80%, depending on how loosely "used AI" is defined.

The real numbers are likely to be somewhere in that ballpark. But it's fair to say that a lot of people are ChatGPTing their trip information.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, ZDNET's parent company, filed an April 2025 lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

I love planning trips. I love getting all into the maps and the guidebooks and creating detailed spreadsheets filled with plans. Last year, I walked the last 115 km of the Camino Frances, a trip that took over two years from planning to execution, and a few weeks after I came back, someone mentioned to me that this could have been planned with ChatGPT "in five minutes".

I tried it, and having just walked it myself, I knew that the output was a confidently delivered hot mess.

Also: How I used Claude AI to plan an entire hiking trip to the Adirondacks in 30 minutes - for free

I've also been section hiking Hadrian's Wall here in the UK, and I thought I could get AI to pull up parking spots for me close to the trail, something I could do easily by eyeballing a map, but if I could get a list, that would be cool.

Well, it would have been cool, but what I got was a word salad filled with maybes, oversights, and car parks miles away from where I needed to be. There were some good nuggets of information in there, but nothing that a web search wouldn't have uncovered.

Then, for my Spanish solar eclipse trip this month, someone suggested I try AI for travel logistics. I tried querying flights and got confident answers that I knew were incorrect, incomplete, or far from ideal. The same happened when I started planning a trip to see another solar eclipse in August 2027. I found that I had to nudge the AI tools to find the right answers, nudging that I could only do because I'd already done a lot of research.

And it ended up taking me more time compared with how I'd normally plan a trip.

Also: I tried Google's new trip-planning AI tool, and I'll never plan my own trip again

As for getting deep into details -- like asking for a terrain shadow map for eclipse locations so I could shortlist viewing spots -- that turned up nothing useful.

I can't imagine the level of stress it would cause me if I printed off a bunch of AI "guides" and relied on those for my travels.

Note: If you're looking for terrain shadow mapping, you need a tool like ShadeMap.

And before you yell at me, I tried free and paid-for versions of ChatGPT and Claude.

Maybe I just like planning too much, or maybe my trips are too weird, or maybe I'm an old man yelling at clouds, but given what I've experienced, AI is going to have to take my maps and guidebooks out of my cold, dead hands.

Bottom line: AI is great for inspiration and good for pulling together information of various degrees of accuracy, but weak when it comes to replacing a blog post, guidebook, or web forum with active users. But if you are going to use AI tools, check, double-check, and then check everything again before you pay for anything like hotels or flights or step foot out of your house.

2. Give yourself plenty of time

If you don't like stress, give yourself plenty of time. I don't understand people who cut it fine at airports, train stations, and ferry ports. You never know if you're going to be delayed in traffic or if there's chaos at the airport when you get there.

That thing that you paid a lot of money to take you from A to B will leave without you if you're late.

For example, right now there's a new system rolling out in EU countries called EES -- Entry/Exit System -- which is replacing passport stamps. The first time you travel into an EU country, your fingerprints, facial image, and passport details are collected, and this is causing huge queues at some ports, and people are missing their flights, especially since the rollout hit 100% of ports on April 10, 2026.

Also: 40+ hidden Google Maps settings that every user should be taking advantage of

The general rule of thumb is to arrive 2 hours early for domestic flights, 3 hours for international flights, and 30 to 90 minutes early for trains and ferries. I like to add an extra 30 minutes to those times to cover parking, sorting my stuff out, and generally getting the lay of the land.

This is general guidance, so it's always a good idea to check your ticket for more specific information.

I don't like rushing unless I absolutely have to.

3. Pack for going through security

I always pack my carry-on gear with the idea that I'm going to have to pull everything out of my bags only to then repack it again. That means keeping the clutter of cables and tech to a minimum and making sure that any clothing or loose items I have are in bags -- this is one of the reasons why I'm a huge fan of packing cubes.

For those traveling with a lot of tech -- especially laptops and tablets -- try not to stack them when they're packed, if at all possible. Otherwise, you will almost certainly have to remove them from the bag they're in for screening, increasing the risk of things being damaged.

Last time I flew, I saw someone's MacBook hit the floor while they were juggling it in security, and it wasn't a pretty sight.

As for carrying liquids, the safest rule is to use the TSA's 3-1-1 rule for carrying liquids, gels, and aerosols through airport security in your carry-on -- 3.4 ounces (100 ml) maximum per container, a 1-quart clear resealable bag to hold them all, and one bag like that per passenger. There are exceptions to this rule, such as baby formula, breast milk, and medications, but remember that these will need to be declared to airport staff.

Also: My 7 essential laptop-bag items after decades of working remotely

An increasing number of European airports are being equipped with new CT scanners, and these now allow liquid containers up to 2 liters in size.

But there's a catch -- these scanners are far from universal, and unless you've confirmed both your departure and connecting airports have the new scanners, you will have to stick to the 3-1-1 rule. For example, here in the UK, Heathrow, Gatwick, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Bristol, and Belfast all have the new scanners installed, but Manchester, Luton, Stansted, Liverpool, and Glasgow do not.

This is the same everywhere. Some airports have had scanner upgrades; others haven't.

Here's my packing strategy for getting through security smoothly:

Put the quart liquid bag and any large electronics in an outer pocket or the top of my bag -- not buried in the bottom, as I may need to pull them out fast.
Keep my phone, keys, belt, and anything metal in a jacket pocket, the bag itself, or a small secondary sling bag. I don't keep these on my body because I don't want to be unloading pockets into trays at the metal detector.
I'm now mindful of new power bank rules (here's an explainer I wrote earlier), so I keep my power bank and charging cable handy for charging before I get on the aircraft.

4. AirTag everything

OK, for Android users, it will be some other finder tag, but the idea is the same -- tag everything that's important.

Keys, wallet, and luggage -- I have tags on them all. Everything has an AirTag on it.

Also: These 12 tiny travel gadgets will upgrade your flight or drive - and they won't break the bank

For my passport, I have a cover with a finder built into it, which has put an end to those heart-stopping "where's my passport?" moments.

5. SIMs and eSIMs

I feel bad for people who are traveling with phones that are locked to their provider. Some end up paying extortionate amounts to use their data abroad (for example, AT&T customers pay $12 a day to use their unlimited plans abroad).

If your smartphone is locked to a carrier, your only other option is to carry a mobile hotspot that can be used internationally. It's not the sleekest of choices, but if your trip is more than a couple of weeks, it can pay for itself.

Also: Still using a physical SIM? This $25 kit brings eSIM to your old phone - here's how

If your phone is unlocked (or you have access to one), then the whole world of travel SIM cards and eSIMs is open to you. If your phone doesn't support eSIM, you can either buy a local SIM card from an airport kiosk or store down an alley behind your hotel (oh, do I have a story about trying to find a SIM, but I can't tell it here), or you can buy a physical eSIM from the comfort and safety of your home.

A physical eSIM is a SIM card that allows your SIM-only phone to make use of eSIMs. These come with plans that you can activate or can be loaded with a third-party eSIM (the instructions that come with the SIM will guide you through this).

If your handset is unlocked and supports eSIM, getting one installed is as easy as downloading an app. If it's data only that you want, I've tested Saily (iOS/Android), Airalo (iOS/Android), and Jetpac (iOS/Android) and found them all to offer excellent coverage, connecting to the best carriers on offer. If you want voice calls and SMS, you're looking at more specialist providers like Holafly (iOS/Android) and Flexiroam (iOS/Android).

Going on a cruise? One of the few eSIM providers that I've found that covers major cruise lines such as Carnival, Disney, and MSC is GigSky (iOS/Android).

Also: The best satellite phones of 2026: Expert tested and reviewed

But remember that eSIMs -- or, more accurately, the local network -- can let you down. I think I feel this particularly hard because the UK has, despite the complaining, incredible cellular coverage. When abroad, there have been plenty of times when I've had to rely on hotel or café Wi-Fi despite having dropped hard cash on a data plan.

Oh, and here's how to tell if your phone is unlocked:

iPhone:

Go to Settings > General > About.
Look at Carrier Lock; if it says No SIM restrictions, your phone is unlocked.

Android:

Go to Settings > Connections (or Network and Connections).
Tap on Network operators, and if you see multiple networks available, this usually means your phone is unlocked.
Alternatively, do the same as above and go to More connection settings.
Select Network unlock and look at Network lock status; this will tell you whether your phone is locked to a specific carrier or unlocked.

6. A bank card trick that's saved me more than once

A great feature that seems to be widespread nowadays is freezing or locking a bank card via the app. And I've seen a lot of people suggest that you know how to freeze your card if it's lost or you suspect fraud, but I've taken things one step further.

I have two bank accounts, actually -- one a regular account and one a Revolut account -- that I only use when traveling. They have no regular payments going out of them. I transfer money into the accounts to use when I'm away from home. It's worked really well like this and puts an air gap between my main accounts and the accounts I use when traveling.

Also: Traveling soon? 5 simple ways I thwart phone thieves - and you can too

But what I've been doing for the past year or so is freezing the cards when not in use and only unfreezing them to make transactions, after which I immediately freeze them again so that no secondary transactions can happen.

You do need to make sure that there are no regular payments, subscriptions, or scheduled payments coming from those accounts in case you incur late charges.

7. Tech can fail

Your translation earbuds can't keep up with someone talking superfast, there's no coverage when you're trying to use the Google Lens app to read a Greek road sign, or Google Maps fails on you when you're deep into a souk in Marrakesh.

Also: Best travel VPNs of 2026: Expert tested and reviewed

As much as tech is the lifeblood of my life, it's failed on me more times than I can remember. Sometimes it's funny (I found out that the chap who was speaking fast Italian also spoke perfect English); sometimes it isn't (things got a bit tense in that souk when I refused the services of a group of ne'er-do-wells who tried to "insist" that they take me back to my riad -- for a fee, of course).

But when tech fails, my advice is: Don't panic. Oh, and maybe pull out that old guidebook from your back pocket.