Softening demand from a weakening economy, increased seat capacity, and plummeting visits from abroad have led to cheaper flights from or around the USA during the holidays. Prices are lower than they have been for years. This report from Dollar Flight Club shows that domestic holiday flight prices are down an average of 19% across the board and international flight prices are down 9%. The destinations where you’ll find the best deals are the cities in Florida, Dallas, and Cancun. For departure airports, the biggest drops are in Boston, Nashville, and San Jose (CA). For international departures, prices have dropped the most from Houston, San Jose, and Chicago.

Brain Trick for Plane Sleeping

There are as many tips about trying to sleep on a plane in economy class as there are colors of neck pillows at the airport, but I’ve got one trick that has worked consistently for me for a hundred+ flights and bus rides. I pop on an eye mask, put in the noise-canceling earbuds, then play one of the two albums that are my “sleep albums.” These never change. What you pick probably doesn’t matter as long as it’s mellow, but the idea is to find something that trains your brain to say, “Ah, okay, the sleep music. It must be time to snooze.” I’ll put the album on repeat, but I rarely make it past the third song before I’m out.

The Most Powerful Passports

Which passports will get you into the most countries visa-free? This year’s report says the three most powerful ones are all from Asia: Singapore, South Korea, and Japan. Five countries tying for fourth are all in Europe. Australia is tied for seventh, the UK is in the group ranking eighth, and Canada is tied for number nine. For the first time since the index started 20 years ago, the U.S. passport dropped out of the top-10 and now sits at #12. That’s down three places from last year, tied with Malaysia and just one point above Bulgaria and Romania.

The Case for Wearing Patagonia

I was just in Patagonia, around a lot of people wearing Patagonia, and I made a YouTube video about that here. I also published this blog post about buying quality travel clothes that will last instead of throwaway fast fashion. I noted in there that Generation Z is leading a resurgence in buying responsibly and buying used; hopefully it will spread. No company has done more for this cause than Patagonia: they are the most sustainably run large apparel corporation in the world, from every angle. They prove it every day by making clothing good enough to carry a lifetime guarantee, plus they give you a credit for trading in items you don’t want anymore (or accept worn-out ones for recycling). They regularly send staffed trucks into adventure travel destinations to repair rips and broken zippers. And that’s just the start. See more on their website here.

A weekly newsletter with four quick bites, edited by Tim Leffel, author of A Better Life for Half the Price and The World’s Cheapest Destinations. See past editions here, where your like-minded friends can subscribe and join you.