Ten tips to make travelling easier
Global travel, on the whole, has never been easier but there are still things we can do to help our trip run smoothly. Follow these simple tips to a hassle free trip abroad.
1. Don’t put everything in one bag
You’ve done it! You’ve booked the holiday of your dreams, enjoyed a glass of bubbly on your flight and finally arrived at your fairytale destination. Sadly, your case hasn’t. Avoid that feeling of impending doom and make sure you’ve packed some essentials in you hand luggage. Think bikini if you’re on a beach holiday, walking boots if you’re hiking or flat shoes if you’ve travelled in heals. It’s no fun being anywhere for 2 days or more without your luggage, especially if you have no access to somewhere to get temporary replacements from! Style it out and make the most of your mini-disaster.
2. Make sure you split your bank cards/spending money
No one likes to think that the worst could happen on holiday but if it does you don’t want to find that every bank card you possess have been whisked away without you noticing (trust me, I learnt this the hard way!) Leave a bank card and some money somewhere you can access it in an emergency, ideally somewhere like a hotel safe. Worried about forgetting to clear it out? Put one of the shoes you are travelling home in in there as well and you won’t be able to leave without it!
3. Download offfline maps
How easy is it to get lost? And how scary can it be to be lost in a foreign country where you might not even be able to speak the language! Download Google Maps in advance of your trip so that you can always know where you are, even with no signal. You may still not be able to hail that taxi or find out those all important public transport routes but at least you have a general idea of what you need to do to get yourself to that museum you thought would be easy to find.
4. Take a portable charger
As sad as it is we have become hugely reliant on mobile tecnology when travelling. It’s not just so we can have all those pretty memories saved as photos and videos but so we can use translators, read reviews of somewhere to have dinner or use contactless travel systems. Your phone going down half way through the day can sometimes be more than just an inconvenience, it can be a downright nightmare. Although lots of public spaces now have charging points (including trains, busses and coffee shops) these can someimes be hard to find when you’re desperate for some juice – especially in more remote areas. Avoid these problems and make sure you have a working portable charger and lead with you at all times. Don’t forget to keep it fully charged!
5. Always have insurance
It should go without saying that anyone travelling should have insurance but as one of the more mundane things that surrounds travel it is also something that is easily overlooked. Travelling without insurance though is a mistake that could be incredibly costly. You only need to look in the press to see horror stories of tourists left paying out thousands of pounds for a basic error in judgement. Don’t become that horror story! Stop making excuses, hit those comparison sites and buy that insurance. Some major banks also offer insurance with their bank accounts.
6. Things don’t always go smoothly
You know when you get on that plane and you think “I can’t wait to eat that plane food, I’m starving” or “I can’t wait to watch that movie I’ve wanted to see for the last year”. Well, news flash, things don’t always go smoothly. What happens if you’re hit by a lengthy delay or the in flight entertainment system simply refuses to work? Instead of crying all the way to paradise, why not prepare for the unexpected. Download a movie to your phone as a back up and bring some snacks on the plane just incase. A good lesson to apply in all areas of travel.
7. Join those travel clubs! Collect those Airmiles!
Nearly all airlines, hotels, tourist attractions and everything in between have ways avaliable to you so that you can interact with their brand. Not only do points mean prizes but you can add seat preferences or meal options, get discounts or sometimes even upgrades using these means. The wonderful world of loyalty schemes is incredibly complex but if you’re prepared to put in the effort it really can pay you back.
8. Respect local cultures and traditions
Depending on where you live in the world local cultures and traditions may vary a lot from your own. To avoid embarassment (or worse!) it is vital that travellers do a little bit of research. If you are travelling to the UAE for example, sex between an unmarried couple is considered illegal and even quite normal things to the Western world, like holding hands or kissing in the street, are not allowed. Of course this should be no reason not to visit the UAE but it does serve to show why it is important to get to know the area you are visiting.
9. Never underestimate the power of the Sun
As someone who will never learn I would like to hypocritically preach to you the importance of protecting yourself against the Sun. Not only does sun burn look terrible but it will totally ruin your holiday, and in extreme cases it could even land you in hospital. If you head out for the day and its grey and overcast don’t think it will stay like that all day! You might live to regret your decision not to take that cream with you just in case. And remember, YOU CAN BURN THROUGH CLOUD!
10. If the world isn’t going to end, try to let it go
A friend of mine once said (in the process giving me my travel mantra) “lets just throw money at the problem and deal with it later”. Sometimes things don’t work out quite as we hoped. How we deal with them is what makes, or ruins, our adventure. Try to deal with a situation as best as you can and move on to prevent your dream break becoming a breakdown. Any fallout can be dealt with when you’re back home.
Happy travelling!
