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| Traveler's Survival Guide | |
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| Top Ten Tips For Travelers | |
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| While every trip is different, there are some basic bits of advice that apply to international travel in general. Hopefully none of the below comes as a major revelation to you, but we can all use a little reminder sometimes to avoid some of the most common pitfalls of the disastrous vacation. Some are fairly tactical activities while others more of a mindset, but none are particularly difficult to follow. All of them will help you maximize your travel experience. | |
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| 1) | Get out there! It may seem redundant, but the point is you need to just go. You can plan, hope, worry, bargain and second guess yourself right out of a trip too easily. Be prepared that not everything will go exactly to plan and that the best moments in your travels will likely be the ones you never saw coming. So if you take no other advice from this list, just take that first step and get out there. |
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| 2) | Buy the guide book, but don’t live by it. Guide books are nothing more than informed opinions. The book can help you prepare for your trip, provide you maps and translations, and give you some perspective about a place before your feet hit the ground, so it has a lot of value that you shouldn’t just dismiss. But remember that it is someone else’s perspective, that maps change, that hotels and restaurants go out of business and new ones start up. In short: the best guide will eventually be your own eyes, ears and mind. Use the book to prepare yourself for your travels, but not necessarily as the ultimate source of information on a place. |
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| 3) | Learn the language. We are not suggesting that you need to become fluent, but know some of the basics. Of course, you can get by in a large part of the world with English alone these days. But learning even a few helpful phrases will make your travels more enjoyable, more rewarding and open up new doors to you that are closed to the mono-linguistic tourist. It is also a sign of respect for the culture and people where you are traveling. And trust us - everyone will appreciate that you are making an effort to communicate. Remember, it’s not they who are foreign there – it is you. Everything you can do to bridge that foreigner gap on your own will pay dividends. This means not only learning what you can of the spoken language, but also learn about the customs and body language. Pointing, touching people, where you place your feet, hand gestures, etc. all carry vastly different meanings in different cultures. Don’t be afraid to look silly either. You will undoubtedly mangle a phrase or have to resort to miming at some point. It’s all ok! Learn what you can before you go, and pay attention to local customs once you arrive. |
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| 4) | Use the right luggage for the trip. Think before you go about where you are headed. How will you be getting from the airport to your hotel. How will you be getting around once you are there, and what will you need to carry? A little common sense goes a long way. It only takes trying to wheel a 25 kilo bag across the sand to your bungalow once before you begin to rethink your luggage strategy. Think as well about what you actually need to take with you, which leads to: |
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| 5) | Don’t over pack. Many people we know panic at the thought of finding themselves thousands of miles from home without some crucial item. To combat this, they end up getting the biggest bag they can find and then cramming it full of stuff they only MIGHT need to use “just in case”. But if you step back a moment, you will realize that a lot of these “just in case” items can actually be purchased where you are going as well. It won’t apply absolutely everywhere, but spare batteries, razor blades, pain reliever, bandages, umbrellas, etc. can all be picked up later if you truly need them or run out. But what about clothes you say? Two tips: First, find out what local laundry services might be available. Doing some wash along the way can cut your luggage needs in half or more. Second: step back and think about what you will be doing. Will you REALLY feel like dressing up one night for dinner if you are planning on spending a week at the beach? Even if you do, can you “dress up” some of the items you are already taking with you rather than packing a whole new outfit? If you can cut down on your “maybe” wardrobes, you will save another big chunk of space. And finally, remember that part of the joy of travel is to be away from home – how far from home are you really if you’ve packed it all in your suitcase? Finally in these times of extra costs for excess baggage, restricted carry-on weight and increased security procedures, less baggage is almost always going to be better. It will save you money and save you hassle allowing you to just get on with your vacation. |
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| 6) | Know your water. If there is one thing that can make or break a trip, it may be water. Before you go, find out what the sanitation situation is where you headed. Can you drink the local tap water? How much does bottled water cost and is it readily available? Think too about how much water you might need to carry with you during the day, especially if you will be walking a lot. Water is your best friend, especially when traveling. It will help you get over jetlag and keep your energy level during the day. It will help wash down that interesting local dish you just tried, and wash the gravel out of your knee after a truck forces your bicycle into a ditch. Even if you leave everything else on your trip to chance, we advise you to think about your water needs. |
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| 7) | Keep an open mind. Try the food. Enjoy the local beer. If you are lucky enough to be invited to participate in a local event, take advantage of it! There is no point to travel if you only ever do just what you would do back home. Never thought you would bungee jump or take a canoe down a river or stay out all night dancing to celebrate a holiday? What better time to try it than on vacation. Be sensible, but don’t let the sheer difference of an experience hold you back either. This also means, not being afraid to ask for help. Be open enough to suggest tips and support from strangers. Don’t spend half a day wandering in circles out of fear of looking like a tourist and asking for directions. If you can’t read the menu or don’t know enough about the local cuisine ask someone else what they recommend. The more you put yourself out there, the better your travel experience will be. |
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| 8) | Leave open spaces on your itinerary. Don’t plan too much. Sure, you want to see the sights that inspired you to visit in the first place. But don’t push yourself. Leave time to explore away from the main tourist areas. To talk to the people who live there. The more your travel plan resembles an open book rather than a checklist, the more opportunities you will have to really experience a place. Prioritize and know what are your two or three “must do” items and figure out when and how you will accomplish them, but then leave as much of the rest of your trip open to the fates as possible. I promise you that if you plan every minute of your trip, you will only end up disappointed. Something will invariably go wrong, take too long, or be closed when you intended to visit. Keep the calendar flexible and remember… you’re on vacation! |
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| 9) | Make a record. Take pictures, keep a journal, or even just pop into an internet café and write an email home to your friends or family from time to time. Your trip will go by so quickly. Help yourself to remember your adventures, your new friends, and the places you visited by keeping some sort of record. I doubt very much you will be disappointed. |
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| 10) | Be aware. Scams and crime are a reality. As much as we encourage off the beaten track travel and direct engagement with the local population, you need to always be aware of your surroundings and think twice about who you rely on as a traveler. And this applies even when solidly on the tourist trail. Yes, in many cases the helpful stranger is just that – someone who recognizes a person in need and offers to help. This can be very rewarding. But if the help begins to lead towards a scenario where the helpful stranger will possibly gain access to items such as your passport, or your bank card think twice. Common scams include offering to help with train/subway ticketing machines, help with an ATM in a language you don’t understand, and offers to assist with getting a taxi. Again, common sense should prevail in most of these situations. Pay attention to what is going on around you and you should be just fine. |