How To Improve Your Travel Experience
Seeing a new continent, country or city can be overwhelming and exciting, even for regular travelers. Plan ahead, using these travel tips, and get the most out of your next trip!
Prepare ahead of time if you’ll be traveling by airplane. If an airport is in a major city, it can be quite difficult to get to, especially during rush hour when traffic is at its heaviest. Make sure to have your luggage packed and waiting on the night before you leave. To reduce your pre-flight anxiety, prepare for your trip well in advance. Missing your flight can be a very devastating experience.
Certain Foods
It is important for you to be conscientious of food allergies when you travel to foreign lands. If you are allergic to certain foods, you should know what the name of the food is in the native language. By doing this, you can tell any wait staff or food handlers that you must avoid these certain foods or, even in a worst case scenario, you need to be able to tell medical professionals what is wrong.
There are some criminals in foreign cities that pretend to be police officers, so be careful. You must not give anyone your original passport; it may be gone for good if you do. Walk with them if they want to transport you to a nearby office. Don’t enter a vehicle with a local you don’t know.
Bring clothespins on your next trip. Clothespins can be useful when you are traveling.
When traveling, be vigilant about protecting your possessions. Tourists are easy marks for criminals. If you carry a purse, you want to make sure that it is tucked under your arm securely. If it has a long enough strap, you should have the strap crossing your body. Also, try not use a bag that is easily accessible in a crowded area like a subway. When buying a travel bag, keep this in mind.
Hotel Staff
Always remember to tip any hotel staff. Generally speaking, it is about a dollar for each piece of luggage, and between $2 to $5 for cleaning the room. Tipping ensures good service and is sure to make your interactions with hotel staff more pleasurable.
When traveling by air, be sure to wear light shoes that are extremely comfortable and easy to kick off. This makes security checks easier since you can easily slip them off. Comfort over style is paramount when traveling. Most of the time during air travel is spent sitting, not walking, so you don’t need a lot of foot support. Sandals of flip-flops are great when traveling by air.
Educate your family by traveling. As long as you are careful, you should feel confident about visiting developing nations, as they can offer extremely enlightening experiences for your children and you. Spending time abroad is a great way to build an understanding of, and tolerance for, other cultures.
The stark views offered by a desert have their own unique beauty, and you will enjoy experiencing their exotic flora and fauna. Visiting the desert for the first time can be an especially exciting adventure; it’s something you should do at least once during your lifetime, just to experience the awe and wonder of the desert.
Look at when your passport expires. Different countries have different passport regulations. Depending on the expiration date of your passport, a country may not let you visit. As long as the passport is not set to expire within the next six months, you should be fine for most countries; however, certain countries require eight months, or even up to one year.
When you begin planning your travel, check with major airlines to see if they offer e-newsletters. You will be notified of discounts, special deals and last-minute offers. While you might think that these e-newsletters are just extra clutter filling up your inbox, it will be worth it if you save money.
Jet Lag
If you are traveling to a different time zone, keep yourself awake until around 8pm or later in the new time zone in order to help you adjust. If you go to bed early, even if you’re tired, it can make your jet lag stay longer because you keep your body in sync with the time zone from home. Getting over jet lag quicker will give you more time to enjoy your vacation.
When going to a different country, stay away from exchanging currency. Try getting foreign currency at a bank ATM. The easier method is getting your currency from an ATM. ATMs usually offer better exchange rates, and are more convenient than going to a currency exchange anyway.
If you can remember all the great advice this article has to offer, you should have a new and exciting time on your next journey. Regardless of how often you travel, your next trip will be the best you can remember.