12 Travel Tips For Everyone
Traveling is a very individual and unique experience for everyone and everyone experiences traveling in their own special way. However, there are some ultimate travel tips and tricks that everyone can benefit from and today we are about to share them for you, because we are sure that everyone can find something useful and helpful for themselves. Maybe not all of them will be your cup of tea, perhaps not all of them will match your personality and character, but what better time getting out of your comfort zone than when you are traveling and experiencing new stuff, new life, new world and the limits of yourself! Right?
Be annoying!
Or not that much of annoying, but be braver and try to talk to anyone and everyone. You never know who can help you with useful information and additional tips and tricks. Talk to strangers, talk to locals, talk to the people that work in the local restaurants, hotels, bars. Start a small talk with other tourists, with the customers on the next table, with the people waiting in a queue with you. Ask them where to go, what to see, what to try and experience and you will be surprised with how comfortable people and strangers feel with sharing such type of information. You never know, maybe you will be able to discover new and exciting things, find a travel company, or even make a friendship.
Get up early
Yes, we know, it is not particularly easy to get up early. Especially when you are on a holiday. Especially when you are struggling with jet lag. You deserve laying in bed, rolling around and having a rest, but do you know how much you miss by doing so? It may sound like not worth it, but believe us, you are one amazing sunrise away from making getting up early your habit. Especially if you want to take some amazing pictures, the best time to do so is when the sun starts rising and the lights are golden, and there are no tourists and locals around to get in the shot and destroy the whole concept. Finally, the earlier you get out of the bed, the more time you will have for experiencing this amazing world.
Charge your devices on the go
There are many pity things that may happen, while you are traveling, but you can certainly prevent many of them. For example, died batteries are no more a problem, if you have a portable charger. A portable charger for telephone, laptop and tablet devices is a very smart investment, especially considering the fact to what extent we are attached to technology. So no more worries and situations, where you are left without an Internet connection, or a map, or without any contact with anyone, or a camera for taking all those wonderful pictures.
Your Favourites
Do you remember the name of this wonderful restaurant in Positano you visited a few years back? Or the cosy small hotel in Barcelona from the family vacation 8 years back? Of course you are not! But it would be really nice, if there were a way to remember all these wonderful places and have the chance to visit them again! Well, what if there is a way?! Modern technology is coming in handy once again! Simply log into Google Maps and tap the name of the place you want to remember and then hit “Save”. As easy as that and you will always have your favourite places marked with a star on your map.
Carry Cash
Of course, there is hardly anything that can beat the comfort of using a credit or debit card, but there are many places around the world, where you simply cannot use your card and cash is the only way to go. In addition, it could happen that your card can physically break (yes, it already happened to some people, as strange as it sounds) or you can lose it, get it stolen, etc. Furthermore, sometimes the taxes for using your card abroad are simply unbearable! Because of that, the best thing you can do is always having and carrying some cash in the local currency with you and this way you can always have the peace of mind that whatever happens – you are prepared and you can sort it out!
Do Not Forget Extra Bags
This one might sound a bit too stupid, or too obvious, but we won’t miss to share this simple trick with you – do not forget to pack some extra bags. There are many situations and things you can use the bags for. For example, you can pack all the clothes you have already worn and prevent them from mixing with your clean clothes in your luggage, so you will have less to wash once you are home. Furthermore, packing all your toiletries on the way back and once these are already open and used, is a smart way to prevent them exploding, or at least ending up with your whole luggage being soaked in shampoo, cream or lotion.
A Taste Of Home
Of course, traveling, going abroad and getting to know new cultures, new flavours and new exciting things are amazing and some of the best things in life. However, it is not mandatory that you are going to enjoy everything new you try. In this case and if you are really attached to your tea or coffee drinking habits, make sure to pack a few bags of your favourite tea, or a small size of your favourite coffee and this way you are guaranteed to enjoy your favourite drink (or snack) in case the local ones are really not up your alley.
Book In Advance
Booking in advance can really save you a fortune! No matter if you are booking flight tickets, travel tickets, a hotel room, even a ticket for a museum/gallery/event/concert, it is one simple rule always working – the earlier you book it, the better deal you get. This is how tourism and traveling work in most of the cases. Of course, booking one year or a few months prior to your holiday can be dicey, and in most of the cases you should be really flexible with your time, but other than that you can save a lot of money!
Hire A Car
Hiring a car, when abroad, is one of the best things you can do, because it allows you to spend your time, whatever and wherever you want, allows you the freedom to get to so many more places, go out of the classic tourist routes and discover hidden gems. Hiring a car is not simply a lot of comfort, but a window to thousands of new opportunities. So if you want to have a more authentic experience and view on the country, hiring a car is the best decision.
Take Off Your Shoes
Well, we are not suggesting you to go barefoot the whole vacation (definitely do not do that!), but we are mentioning the airport security. Of course, the whole process is pretty annoying and boring, but airport rules should be respected, and since you are most probably going to be required to take off your shoes anyway (it is a really rare occasion, when you are not asked to do so), make sure to save yourself some time and take off your shoes without anyone asking. Additionally, make sure to travel with comfortable shoes you can easily take off, when needed.
Forget The Airplane Queue
You are sitting at the gate and your flight gets called. Of course, you immediately stand up, grab your hand luggage and add yourself to what seems like an endless queue waiting for checking their boarding passes and getting on the plane. So why don’t you wait a bit? You are already there, the chance of your airplane leaving you at the airport is little to none, so finish your coffee in peace, answer your e-mails and take your time, then finally join the queue once its end reaches the gate. This way you will save yourself all the hassle and stress.
Get Yourself a Guidebook
Probably you don’t see the need of buying a guidebook, especially with all the technology we have the privilege of using this modern days. However, just remind us of this one time when a guidebook left you because of a dead battery, or break down in a key and important moment, or get stolen? Well, no matter how hard you try, there is no way you can remember a situation, when your guidebook has let you down (something your phone probably did many times). So buy yourself a guidebook and discover new places and countries. Finally, once you are back from your journey, you will always have this wonderful guidebook as a souvenir to remind you of all those wonderful places you visited and the amazing experiences you had.
