Invest in some merino wool long underwear. It’s attractive, lightweight, doesn’t hold odors and doesn’t take up much space in luggage.

I am concerned about a one hour layover in Iceland on our flight from Minneapolis to Berlin in late September. With the new EES rules entering the Schengen countries I am seeing on the internet that we should be allowing 2.5-3 hours for this layover. My travel agent tried, then I tried to change our flight to leave 3 hours earlier but Iceland Air wouldn’t budge on our economy tickets even with these unusual circumstances. Do you know anything about delays entering the EU countries and what recourse do we have if we miss our connection? We have hotel and other reservations we would be penalized for not canceling ahead as the next flight isn’t until the next day. Also would Iceland Air have to pay for our overnight lodging, food and transportation?

It's Friday and we're staring a new tradition on Backchannel. You can ask me anything, and I will try my best to answer. (Hat tip to Reddit for the concept.)

d

One of our readers booked a studio apartment in Penang, Malaysia, through Booking.com and walked into what looked like a crime scene.

My husband and I are planning to take a cruise (Oceania) in May 2028 from England to Ireland and Scotland and return to England. It's been a bit since we traveled internationally. After reading, probably too much, I am looking for clarification on taking medications on our trip. Things I've read are:

--All RX and OTC medications have to be in their original bottles/containers.

--A doctor's written script is also required for each RX.

--Any RX that may contain a controlled substance, which I haven't seen a list of anywhere, so far, must be declared when going through Customs, boarding the ship, etc.

--I've looked at the UK Embassy website but will do so many more times I'm sure to be sure I haven't missed anything. However, things are overly clear.

--What are the VISA requirements?

Our passports are currently good, but one of them will expire before the six-month window of return, so it's on the list to be renewed.

Thanks for any insights you can offer and references for us to research!

My wife and I prefer to drive on most of our European visits (with exceptions for some of the largest cities) but have started running into a problem of cross border restrictions. Recently, we rented a car in Budapest, and drove into Croatia, where we had to drop the Hungarian car (for a substantial fee) and then rent a car in Croatia so that we could drive to and stay in Montenegro. Just wondering if anyone is find some work-around (legal) that allows more cross border rental car use? In May next year I had hoped to rent a car in France, use car ferries to visit Corsica and Sardinia, then cross to Italy and drop the car there -- oops, none of that works with restrictions to the islands, etc.

This 70-year-old is taking her first trip, solo, no less, to Glasgow in January. I have a passport, I know about the ETA, otherwise, any suggestions? The flight booking, hotel, all done. Oh, and I'll be there for the Robert Burns' birthday celebrations!

If I've registered for EES on my first entry, when I enter to another country, will it take a long time again?

I am curious as to how others handle serious allergies on flights? I have a very serious allergy to cats (not as severe for dogs). When a fellow passenger is transporting a pet or another allergen is known to be present (particularly airborne), how do you handle it?

I was just on a flight with a cat across the aisle from me. The woman with the cat did her best to keep the cat calm, and she did pet it a lot. The flight was completely full. Once I realized why my eyes were itchy, I got out my rescue inhaler for easy access if needed, paged a flight attendant and asked if they could request the captain use maximum fresh air for the cabin mix. I always travel with emergency rescue inhalers and meds just in case.

I’m open to ideas and suggestions.

I have learned much from following Chris' posts and groups, picking up a gem of a tip here and there. There is a rhythmic comfort and quiet confidence in traveling knowing you having learned from others and can manage almost anything. I look forward to learning more as travel evolves, for better and for worse.

We are permanent roaming expats traveling the world and meeting amazing, kind people. Many have given us gifts of food, or invited us to celebratory and ceremonial meals like Ramadan iftar. My husband will eat anything but I don't eat meat, game, or heavily spiced food. I have not found a gracious way to turn down a plate of food that has been presented with kindness and pride. Any ideas?

A friend and I are going to Vietnam with side trips to Cambodia and Thailand. What is the best airline for flights to Hanoi? I want to use United Miles.

Barbara Bibel

I will never pay for overhead bin space. What does not make sense is what happens if you are on the bulkhead seats. Are you going to have to pay to put your carry on in the overhead bin?

I love this, I hope it happens within the next year. I really could of used it this last trip I had traveling from Seattle to Norfolk, Va

We traveled to Europe through AMS this past April 2026 and did not use EES at that time. Going back this October to Italy through FCO. What is suggested to do ahead of time if anything. There’s an EES app you can use to preregister but it appears only Sweden and Portugal are currently using that.

I'm hoping to hear from people who use a Wise account (and debit card) to handle foreign currency purchases while travelling internationally. I'm thinking of trying it on an upcoming trip to Europe for most of my day-to-day spending (restaurants, cafés, attractions, etc.).

I realize I'll be giving up the points I'd earn on my credit card, but I'm pretty certain that the better exchange rates Wise offers will more than offset their value. (I'm Canadian, and most of our premium travel credit cards charge a 2.5% foreign transaction fee.)

Have you been happy with it? Any downsides I should know about?

The Issue: In July 2026 Avis Heathrow Terminal 5 rented my family a vehicle (BMW 3 Series) with a pre-existing, dangerous tyre bulge ( unfortunately we noticed this only after the trip). This structural failure actively endangered the lives of me and my family on the road.
I have provided Avis with the original photograph taken prior to taking delivery of the vehicle. The verified, uncompressed metadata proves beyond a shadow of a doubt the exact date, time, and GPS location of the vehicle's defective state at collection.
Despite this incontrovertible proof, Avis has issued a generic refusal to accept the facts, stated that the damage occured after delivery and abruptly "closed" the investigation. Raising my concerns with the General Manager UK did not even warrant an answer.
Ofcourse nothing happened and we concluded our trip without accident, but is this not something that Avis should take more serious?
Eddy DV - Belgium

wish more airlines offered reserved bin space then wouldn't care what group I'm in to board.