My Travel Advice – You Can Learn From My Mistakes

Travel Advice I’d Give Myself

I’ve always been a pretty good traveler, but there are some basic things I wish I’d learned earlier in my journey. If I had a time machine I’d go back and give myself the following travel advice:

Pull Waaay Back on the Anxiety

• There’s no reason to be so afraid of the unknown. 

• Learn to go with the flow a little earlier. 

• Don’t be so anxious about airplane rides and transportation, and instead focused on the magic of the journey itself. 

Spend Travel Money Wisely

• Spend a little more money and stay in a central location in a busy city. It’s a waste of time and money to stay in a cheaper hotel outside of town only to spend more on transportation to get back into the center of town.

• It’s of vital importance to pay a little extra and buy tickets in advance for big sites with long lines, places like the Vatican Museum, the Accademia and the Uffizi Gallery. Don’t fret over a couple of bucks in service fees if it means you’ll save hours waiting in line (and sometimes if you’re ticketless you might wait in line for hours and never get inside.)

Study Human Behavior

• I wish I’d developed better coping skills when traveling with difficult people. Your traveling companions make or break your trip. It’s worthwhile to give some pre-emptive thought on how to handle folks who want to spend all their time at the bar, or who pout, get angry, have manic mental episodes or treat everyone around them like servants . . . all of which I’ve experienced. 

• Most people around the world are good, kind, loving people (not scary, crazed murderers as some would have you believe). Most travelers never experience any trouble on their trips. People who do have trouble are usually in stupid places at stupid times, or they’re a bit too flashy with their dress, jewelry or cash.  

Side Note About Money

Tuck your cash into a money belt or a lanyard under your shirt. Wear black shoes and a black jacket. Do everything you can to blend in. If a stranger asks you for directions in a foreign language, smile back . . .  you’re absolutely on the right path.

Foreign Language

• It’s okay not to speak the local language. In fact if you’re reading this in English, you’re in luck. English is the most popular second language spoken in the world. I only speak English (and about five words in Spanish) and I’ve personally never peed my pants, died of starvation or gotten so lost that I’ve never returned to civilization. 

Believe it or not, there’s an international sign language for common needs, Google Translate is a game changer and you can always point and grunt. 

In fact I’ve found that a nice loud laugh at myself for not speaking the language goes miles with any local. Even better, I’ve learned that if I say something in a very ridiculous way, for example, “Mi espanol is muy feo” . . .  (my Spanish is very ugly) . . . I’ll usually get a laugh while simultaneously reassuring the person that I don’t take myself, or the situation, very seriously.

Research

• It’s important to do most of your travel leg-work at home. Even if your travel pals refuse to help pre-plan your trip, you should (quietly and behind their back if necessary) do as much pre-planning before your trip as possible. Research is key.

Enjoy the process of learning as much as you can about a new place. Planning the trip, imagining what you’re going to see and how you’re going to feel is half the fun. 

That being said don’t over-commit, always leave time for relaxing and surprise experiences. 

A List of What I Wish OTHER People Knew:

That’s Right. It’s Not All About You.

• I wish EVERYONE knew that when traveling with other people YOU are responsible to be on your best behavior. You have an obligation to bring your best attitude and sense of adventure. 

If you refuse to participate in trip planning then you have absolutely no right to complain about anything. 

Choose your travel companions wisely for they can make or break your trip. 

Your Phone is a Nuisance

• Put your phone down and take in the experience.

We toured a very opulent hotel in Abu Dhabi where afternoon tea costs $90. Every Single Person having overly priced afternoon tea was staring at their phones. That isn’t enjoying the experience, that’s enjoying your phone, and that sucks. 

If you’re going to have $90 tea, have $90 tea and put your phone away.

• I wish people would take less photos and live in the moment, away from their screens.

Do take lots of photos, but your trip should predominantly be full of memories, photos should come second.

Be The Person You’d Like to Travel With

• Go out of your way to be a fun, easy-going travel companion. Although technology makes it difficult to leave the drama at home, it should be our goal as travelers to become fully immersed in a new culture while being easy to travel with.

I drag all of my travel companions to museums. It’s good for them to get cultured. I hope this doesn’t make me a bad travel companion. Haha.

Thanks for Stopping By

Please feel free to share your questions or comments below. If you see any typos, let me know!

I encourage you to share my tribal knowledge with someone who loves or would love to travel.

The Art of Travel (TAOT) ~ Written by Kylie, a huge thanks to Alex for the great photos.