Travel can be a wondrous experience. No really, it can be. In terms of traveling to a new location and experiencing new people, culture, and food, it is truly a thing of wonder. To start learning some basics as to how to make a plan that works for you, refer to the tips below.
To prevent injury or illness from ruining your trip, check that your medical insurance policy applies when you are away from home – especially if you are planning a trip abroad. If you find out that you are not covered, don’t worry. Check with your travel agent or online for vacation insurance.
Always know where your luggage is. Airline and bus employees have been known to steal items out of cases when they are checked in. Additionally, other travelers might “accidentally” pick up your bag in hopes of finding expensive items. This also allows you to move between transit options faster, instead of standing around waiting for your luggage.
Study up on the area you are going to and take precautions to protect yourself from crime. Some tourist areas have especially high theft rates. It is very important to know about these things before you go. There are often simple precautions you can take to make yourself less of a target.
If traveling with children, keep a recent, color picture of them with you at all times, just case they become lost. The idea of losing your child is a terrifying one. Unfortunately, children get distracted and wander off or something else happens. Having a photo on you to share with authorities could mean the difference in whether or not your child is found quickly.
Having earplugs handy while traveling will save your sleep and sanity! Be it on the plane or in your hotel room, the use of earplugs will allow you to shut out at least fifty percent of the noises that will give you a headache, keep you from sleeping, or otherwise highlight travel in a negative way. They are also very cheap so bring plenty.
In countries that you travel to, be aware of the cultural view of how questions are answered. In some places, especially India and Asia, it can be considered very rude to tell someone that you don’t know the answer to their question. Others may simply answer “yes” to any question asked in English. Pay attention to doubtful body language.
If you are traveling to an area where the tap water tastes strange to you, try using the hotel ice machines to get your water. The ice machines make use of water filters, so the quality is better but you don’t have to cover the expense of bottled water. This can be used for your coffee maker in the room as well as other drinks.
One way to deal with the tedium of being away from your family due to work-related travel is to take advantage of the time for yourself. Typically, meetings end at 5 and you’ll have until the next morning. Take the world’s longest bath, and use up all the toiletries. Watch three movies in a row. Write those couple of actual snail-mail letters you always said you would, but haven’t had time. Knit a hat. Read a book. In short, do all the nice things for yourself that you wouldn’t take the time to do if you were surrounded by your family. You’ll feel better knowing you took the time, and you’ll be that much happier and more relaxed when you see your family again.
If you are traveling with other people check and make sure they have everything they need. Sometimes people you are traveling with can remind you of items you may be forgetting to bring. They could also give you some advice on what to bring as they too are probably thinking of what items to bring on the trip.
You can save yourself a lot of time and avoid hassles by traveling as light as possible. If you just take carry-on luggage and don’t check any bags, you won’t have to waste your time standing around the baggage carousel after your flight and you’ll never have to worry about the airline losing your bags.
Challenge yourself to pack only one bag. The more bags you have, the more weighed down you will be making it harder to move from one location to the next. A great way to meet this challenge is to map out your clothing needs prior to packing, and then consider ways to mix and match clothing to do double and even triple duty.
So, now do you see why traveling is such a wondrous experience? Discovering new lands, places, people, and food is truly a thing of wonder and can be a life-changing experience. The tips above should have created a good foundation for you to build upon and create your own wondrous traveling experience.
