At Here Magazine, we get our travel hacks from the best in the business—and this year was no exception. We interviewed people from around the globe and across industries, from K-beauty guru Charlotte Cho to actress and singer Lola Kirke, to collect tips that will improve our lives on the go.  

Below, find everything we learned about mental health, packing, beauty, and exploring new places in 2019 that will help make 2020 your best year of travel yet.

Beauty, Skincare, and Fitness Travel Hacks

The Full Monty

“The first thing I do after checking into a hotel is to grab my workout clothes and head to the gym. It gets my energy going, gets me acclimated to the time zone, and it forces me to drink a ton of water. Also, my skincare routine is crazy. No matter how small my bag is I always pack full-size toiletries. Even if I’m just going for a night I have to bring all fourteen steps with me—it’s how I know to start and end my days.” —Olivia Kim, Nordstrom VP of Creative Projects

Take precaution on the plane

 “There are so many germs on airplanes. I try to do sheet masks once in a while, but usually at most I’ll do eye patches. Overall I just don’t want to get my hands dirty. And I always turn off the air vents—they’re too cold and dehydrating.” —Charlotte Cho, Soko Glam co-founder

How to reinvigorate tired eyes

“These eye drops that I always carry with me, they’re a Japanese brand called FX Mio, I became hooked on those when I was in architecture school. We would spend entire nights working and then in the morning you would have to present. These are like Red Bull for your eyes—they really freshen up your eyes and it takes away the tired red look.” —Alberto Bustamante, aka DJ Mexican Jihad

Battling jet lag with gym time

“The first thing I do when I arrive anywhere is try to find the nearest yoga studio and go to a yoga class. If I can’t find a yoga class that’s convenient, I’ll go to the gym or go for a run right when I land. That’s been a game-changer for helping me arrive physically at a place. From that point on, the plane feeling is gone, you kind of wash that off, and you’ve arrived. It helps me with jet lag a tremendous amount.” —Joe Kudla, founder of Vuori

Get your beauty sleep

“I’m a fairly healthy person in the sense that I go to bed really early no matter what I’m doing or where I am. Those eight hours are very, very crucial to anything. To me, it’s all about my sleep and regaining all that energy back. We charge our phones every night; we need to also think about charging our bodies every night.” —Amirah Kassem, founder of Flour Shop

The product that solves it all

“Coconut oil. I use it my hair as a sleeping mask a few nights a week. I like to put it in at night when I know I’m going to surf in the morning because it comes out pretty easily. I also really like dry brushing before I shower—it’s good for detoxifying. I like it this time of the year because my skin is so dry in New York. —Quincy Davis, pro surfer

How to Maintain Mental Health While Traveling

Activate the senses

“If you’re sitting on the tarmac, you can’t control so many things—like the person next to you is eating McDonald’s or you’re delayed and they’re deplaning or all those things. But what you can control is your internal rhythm. I think of scent as a rope that can take you deeper into the cave of your mind. If I’m sick, I really like to use this Japanese mint because it helps clear your nasal passages. I don’t consume any caffeine, and I use mint to fight jet lag—it’s a way to actually wake up your spirit.”  —3rd Ritual founder Jenn Tardif

Stay organized

“I was talking to somebody else we are touring with about the sanctity of a well-packed suitcase. Just having things packed as well as they can be, trying to get joy out of doing laundry and having fresh clothes when you can, and having things well organized—that makes you feel better. That makes you feel like you’re doing your best.” —MUNA lead singer Katie Gavin

CBD for all occasions

“CBD obviously I can take to other states, and that’s something I never leave home without. One of my favorite things ever is an inhaler—it has different herbs in there plus CBD, and I’ve never had anything work so fast. If I’m having an anxiety attack, I just, like, go off alone and smell it for a little bit, so it always goes in my purse.” —Ladies of Paradise founder Harlee Case

Wind down with an oldies playlist

“I love Joni Mitchell and I always listen to Hejira when I travel because it’s her record about traveling. She drove cross-country when she was 30 and she wrote that record about the experience. It makes me feel less alone when I travel. Other than that, I always listen to Bob Dylan to fall asleep on the plane. For some reason he just does that to me—particularly his album Self Portrait. Another record of his I really love is Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid. It’s mostly instrumental so it’s really nice to fall asleep to.” —Lola Kirke, actress and musician

Set boundaries

“I highly recommend setting boundaries and using your calendar to block out time for yourself. Our time and energy is important. Make sure that you are allocating time throughout the day to accomplish all that you need to.” —Danielle Cooper, actress and fashion blogger

Indulge where you can

“[My go-to in-flight drink is] white wine for sure. I also like to play my Nintendo Switch—Super Smash Bros., Mariokart, Crash Bandicoot. Sometimes it’s good to pass the time, sometimes it’s just some fun to get my mind off work.” —Raven B. Varona, celebrity photographer

Top Packing Tips from Pro Travelers

You never need as much as you think

“You do need to pack the essentials but you do not need to pack as much as you think. I really wear the same three t-shirts over and over again and wash them.” —Jedidiah Jenkins, author

Invest in the good stuff

“When you’re young, all you want to do is buy the cheapest thing, but I’m at the point in my life where I don’t want to buy the cheapest thing anymore. I want something that will last and something I will use all the time. I want to invest in things that allow me to feel good when I go to the airport.” —Michelle Zauner, lead singer of Japanese Breakfast

“I want to invest in things that allow me to feel good.”

Shop like a traveler

“I don’t own anything that I can’t throw in my suitcase at a moment’s notice. I dress for the destination I’m headed to, that way I can hop off the plane and seamlessly integrate into my new surroundings. I don’t believe in wasting time.” —Gregory Dava, fashion writer

Take time to unpack

“As soon as I arrive at my Airbnb or hotel, I always unpack my suitcase so I don’t have to open it back up during my stay. This simple action makes me feel so much more at home wherever I’m staying.” —Alyssa Lau, founder of New Classics Studios

Solve for the big things 

“Honestly, you have to solve for everything that’s going to be the most problematic first. So bug repellent, SPF, after sun spray—those are the things that are really gonna make you miserable. You cannot sit out and look at the stars if all you can think about is how you’re getting eaten alive by the bugs.” —Nichole Powell, founder of outdoor essentials brand Kinfield

Packing tips for first-time parents

“Definitely come prepared with wipes all the time, not only for them but for you, too. A change of clothes and a Ziplock have saved my life several times over when the orange juice spills, when the milk spills. And don’t be overambitious with things that you bring on the plane—think about how little space you have. Bring paper and crayons and things that are contained.” —Ariane Goldman, CEO of Hatch

Create a travel kit

“I’m not a very stressed traveler because I have everything planned out, from my outfits to all my devices and chargers. I have a go-to travel kit, so if I had to leave tomorrow I have a kind of “go bag” with everything I need in it.” —Lisa Bühler, founder of Lisa Says Gah!

“Don’t be overambitious with things that you bring on the plane.“

Iron out your looks

“Once I figure out what to bring, I make sure to iron the clothes before packing them. This ensures that as soon as I arrive at my destination, my clothes will be wrinkle-free, thus allowing me to spend the minimum amount of time getting ready for what I have planned that day.” —Duc Dubois, fashion writer

Plan (far) in advance

“I normally start packing 2 days before, because I really love the day before I leave. I think I inherited this from my aunt. My aunt raised me and she’s always like, “I’m going on a trip next month, I’m already packed.” Since I know I love to have a lot of little things, I normally start getting my stuff together early.” —Alynda Segarra of Hurray for the Riff Raff

The Best Ways to Explore a New Place

Ask locals for advice

“If you can find one great place—one weird, interesting place—you just ask the person there what they think the weirdest, most interesting place in the area is. And then you go to that place, you ask the people there, and you get even more interesting places.” —Dylan Thuras, co-founder of Atlas Obscura

Go analog

“I normally have two 35mm cameras and two medium format cameras—I love bringing them all. Some locals don’t like big crews or big teams because it’s very invasive and intrusive, so it’s good to be by myself with just my film and my backpack. And with film people often feel even less threatened, because it’s more personal.” —Pia Riverola, photographer

“You feel like you found a little secret.“

Take a long walk

“I’m a big fan of walking around and just looking at things—stuff that’s unadvertised—and you feel like you found a little secret. We’re being marketed to constantly, and it’s nauseating, so when you can find something that you love that didn’t come to you by a company being like, ‘You would love this!”—that’s nice.” —Ezra Furman, musician

Throw your plans away

“Do lots of research of fun places to visit and stay, but be ready to throw them out at the last minute for more spontaneous opportunities.” —Alex Eagle, stylist and creative director

Drive around

“One of my favorite ways to travel is just to pick a state and rent a car and drive around the whole state. I’ll treat it like a tour, where I’ll actually do all this research on the state and the places to go and the right route to get there. It’s the best way to see America in my opinion. —Lady Lamb, musician