Travel has never been this loud. Here’s how to lower the decibels

Travel Troubleshooter

Travel has always been loud — but never this loud.

From the roar of jet engines to the constant construction noise at hotels, it’s hard to find a moment of peace on the road. 

“The noise is becoming problematic,” said Malia Everette, who called me from a hotel in Oaxaca, Mexico, during a raucous street festival. “It’s especially bad during high season. The traffic is loud. The people are out on the street having the time of their lives. And you can’t sleep because you hear booming music.”

Everette ought to know. She runs a tour company and has to deal not only with noise but also with noise complaints from her customers. 

Her go-to travel advice lately: “Pack some quality earplugs.”

Interestingly, a recent survey by JBL found that 75% of Americans think earbuds and headphones are “essential” for mental health when they travel. Survey respondents also said they go out of their way to avoid noise, and especially the noise of a chatty passenger next to them. (Almost one-quarter of the respondents said they’d rather sit next to the restroom than have to deal with a talkative seatmate.)

How bad is the problem? And how do you find some peace and quiet when you’re traveling?

How is travel getting louder?

Travel is getting louder in big and small ways, but one of the most significant contributors to travel noise is the travel industry itself. Airports are expanding to accommodate more passengers. Roads are busier. And hotels are constantly being built or renovated.

Noise complaints to the Federal Aviation Administration have been climbing steadily in the past five years, rising from 4,025 in 2019 to 23,251 in 2024.

“Throughout the tourism space, there will always be a cycle of transformation and reinvention that causes noise pollution,” said Brandon McConnell, a hotel industry consultant.

Experts were hard-pressed to identify just a single culprit. 

It depends where you go. For example, I’m staying in an apartment in Dublin, which is across the street from a popular pub. The traditional Irish folk music starts around 2 p.m. and continues until 2 a.m., and later on weekends. 

Even when there’s no music, the noise can still be deafening. There are jackhammers from the construction crews working on the street during the day, drunken tourists screaming at each other at 4 a.m., police sirens and squawking seagulls. And if you’ve ever been to Dublin, you know that the seagulls are the loudest.

I get a lot of complaints from travelers about noise. I know this is a trend because I’ve suffered it, too. And I can see it: Those earbuds people are wearing — do they ever take those out?

Bottom line: It’s true. The noise has never been worse.

How to find a quiet place when you travel

You don’t have to dream of finding a little peace and quiet on your next trip. And there’s no need to find one of those sound-absorbing anechoic chambers where it’s so quiet you can hear your own heartbeat. There are plenty of places in nature, like the Haleakalā crater in Maui, which is consistently rated one of the quietest places on Earth. Olympic National Park in Washington also has some areas known for their lack of noise. 

But practically speaking, you want to lower the decibel levels where you are. Earth.fm, a nonprofit organization, publishes a list of the quietest places in loud cities. They’re mostly parks in urban areas, where the noise level drops dramatically because of the lack of cars.

For example, when I lived in Tampa earlier this year, I could escape the cacophony of Florida’s west coast by visiting Weedon Island Preserve (Quiet Score: 4.60 out of 11.16; the higher the score, the more peaceful the place) or the Courtney Campbell Trail (Quiet Score: 3.72).

“Escaping noise pollution isn’t necessarily about finding silence,” said Olivia Lott, a spokesperson for Earth.fm. “Not all noise is bad for our health.” 

She’s right. There’s growing evidence that the sounds of nature, like ocean waves or birdsong, can relax you. Or if you’re more hardcore, you can plug in your earbuds and listen to white noise. To each their own.

How to protect yourself from noise when you’re traveling

Here are a few tried and true tips for shielding yourself from noise when you’re on the road.

Buy a pair of noise-canceling headphones or earplugs — and use them

This is probably the single most effective thing you can do to reduce noise levels, particularly on flights and in noisy hotels. Then you can replace the outside noise with your noise. “I upload loud dance music onto my iPhone that I can crank up in my headphones or earbuds to muffle loud situations that I encounter on planes, trains, buses and boats,” said Elaine Lee, editor of “Go Girl!: The Black Woman’s Book of Travel and Adventure.” 

Plan your flights and accommodations carefully

Avoid flying during peak hours or on smaller, noisier planes. When booking a hotel, request a room on a higher floor or away from busy streets, ballrooms and elevators. You can also look for hotels that advertise soundproofing features like double-paned windows. For example, the room 2 Belfast offers a special quiet room without windows designed to maximize your sleep. A hotel representative told me it was a favorite with flight crews who just wanted a good night’s rest.

Download a white noise app or calming nature sounds

This can help mask disruptive noises in hotel rooms and other environments. You can also try playing calming music or ocean waves. Mary Cropper, a travel expert at Black Tomato, likes the Babelio Mini Sound Machine, which creates white noise in your room. “It’s a good travel hack,” she said.

Most important, don’t tolerate loud noise. That’s especially true if you’re staying in a hotel or vacation rental. Some of these facilities don’t meet basic standards for sound transmission, said Toh Tsun Lim, an architect and frequent traveler. “It’s not just sounds coming from other guest rooms, but also noise leaking from outside — airports, construction, street traffic and emergency sirens.” 

The best way to deal with it is not to deal with it. Complain to the hotel and ask for a different room.

The travel industry can do more to shield you from harmful noise, and it should. Hotel rooms need better soundproofing. Upgrading aircraft engines can reduce harmful noise. And EVs make almost no noise at all. But the industry doesn’t feel any urgency because, well … we’re plugging our ears with those ubiquitous AirPods.

As travel continues to amplify its decibel levels, maybe it’s also time for travelers to take matters into their own hands — or ears. By packing a pair of quality earplugs and having a well-thought-out travel plan, you can reclaim your right to enjoy the journey without feeling like you’re stuck in a rock concert.