I have been travelling with my family for over 14 years now and wish someone had given me a list of travel tips like these when I first ventured onto the road!
Travelling is an amazing adventure and offers many once in a lifetime experiences. Whether you’re traveling to a foreign country or are looking for a destination just a few hours away, you can never have enough travel planning tips.
In this post, I have collated some of my best travel tips I’ve discovered over the last 14 years to alleviate stress, save time and money, and help ease travel burdens.
Whether you want to eat street food in Asia, journey off the beaten track in Central America, or simply want to check out the tourist attractions in Europe, this is the ultimate travel tips guide for you!
Travel Planning Tips
1. Make Sure Your Passport is Up To Date!
Obvious I know, but many countries won’t let you in if there’s less than 6 months on your passport. So double check your dates and make sure you’re good to go!
2. What Visas Will You Need?
Over the last few years as remote work has accelerated, more and more countries are opening up their borders and offering digital nomad visas. That’s not to say you need one.
The visa you’ll need depends greatly on where you’re from, how long you intend to stay in your destination, and what you plan to do while there.
Resources such as ivisa.com or atlys.com can help you determine the type of visa you need.
3. Get Your Shots
These days whenever we talk about vaccinations the first thing that springs to mind is the dreaded C word. However if you are traveling a fair distance, you should really think about what other shots you may need.
Your local healthcare provider will be able to advise you on what vaccinations you need for what countries. Also google is your friend!
Don’t risk Malaria or Yellow Fever. Get vaccinated!
4. Get Some Local Currency
It won’t be long before we live in a cashless society, but for now, even if you have payment systems all setup on your phone, it’s a good idea to get a small amount of local currency.
Particularly if you’re traveling to a developing nation.
Many local taxi’s, tuk-tuks, or cheap sim card providers will want cash, so don’t get caught out trying to find an ATM on arrival. Plan ahead and stash a little local cash in your purse or wallet.
5. Get Travel Insurance
Essential travel tip: Get insured!
No one ever expects the unexpected but it’s always great to have a safeguard just in case. Whether it’s to protect you should any of your belongings get stolen or if you have any medical emergencies abroad, the peace of mind having travel insurance is really priceless.
Getting insured won’t break the bank.
Recommended travel insurance companies include;
6. Arrange Car Insurance Excess
Hot travel tip! If you think you might be doing a lot of car hire, take out car excess insurance.
Car hire firms notoriously charge astronomical damage excess fees. But with car excess insurance you’ll only ever pay up to the amount of excess you’ve stipulated, and the car hire insurance company will pay the rest. We use reducemyexcess.co.uk.
7. Use Social Media for Free Travel Agent Advice!
These days, your friendly high street travel agencies are getting fewer and fewer but fear not! One of my top travel tips is to use your social network online for first-hand experiences and advice.
Try places like Facebook and Reddit to ask questions, get opinions and check out other travelers’ experiences for the ultimate travel experience! Also Pinterest & Instagram are Your Travel Planning Friends. I have an entire folder of ‘saved’ images from destinations I’ve seen on Instagram.
When thinking about and planning future trips, creating Pinterest boards and saved IG folders will be your inspiration for places to go and sights to see!
8. Take Your Original Passport, Passport Photos AND Copies
It’s always the question we ask ourselves as we are leaving for a trip “have I got my passport?”. For me, I ask myself at least 20 times before setting off, twice en-route and another five or six times at the airport!
Great stuff, but in terms of top travel tips, don’t forget the other important stuff! In addition to your actual passport, take; copies of your passport, passport size photos, travel insurance documents, and copies of any and all important documents!
Travel Booking Tips
How you book your travels, very much depends on your personality.
You might be a forward planner, wanting to plan out in detail your entire trip day by day, ( like my husband). Or you might be more of a fly by the seat of your pants person, preferring to just ‘head out’ and see where the wind takes you (like me!)
Either way, here are some top travel tips for booking your adventures.
9. Try Not to Plan Too Much
While it’s great to have a semblance of a travel plan, in my experience more often than not, things easily get off track.
Don’t let it stress you out, take it as it comes and enjoy. Some of the most interesting adventures I’ve had are unexpected and “off-plan”
10. Be An Early Bird When Booking Flights
There are two schools of thought here and you can get a good deal either way. The first is, to book flights early.
The chances are by booking early you’ll find the best prices on both short and long-haul flights. I usually check out these sites as a starting point:
- Skyscanner
- Google Flights
- Agoda
- Kayak
- Booking.com
- Expedia
11. Book Flights Last Minute for Some Great Deals
By the same token, you can also get some crazy deals by booking at the absolute last minute!
One of my top travel tips (even when you aren’t actively out on the road) is to register with travel sites for upcoming deals (you can tailor these to specific locations too!).
You will receive a ton of information about offers on flights, hotels, destinations, and events right to your personal inbox and may even find some inspiring destinations that were not previously on your radar.
Check out sites like;
- Momondo
- Secret Flying
- The Flight Deal
- Fareness
- Next Vacay
- Wego
- Cheapoair
12. Remember Direct Flights Aren’t Always Best
If you’re looking for cheap flights and are trying to save money make sure you shop around.
Sometimes a schedule with a connecting flight can be much cheaper than direct (assuming you have a little extra time for the layover).
13. Book Refundable Accommodation
Personally I like to book just 1 or 2 nights initially. There have been too many times I’ve disliked the accommodation I’ve booked or the area, but by the time we’ve booked, paid and arrived, it’s too late.
My recommendation is to use an app like booking.com (my personal favorite) and pick only refundable rooms. Then check out the room and the area to see if you want to stay longer or move on. It’s the ultimate in flexible travel!
14. Sharing Sites Are A Game Changer
Sites like Couchsurfing.com and Tripping.com have literally changed the travel game.
If you are looking for a more intimate and boots-on-the-ground travel experience, these sites provide home-sharing and free hosts who can help you find everything you need with their local knowledge!
15. Best Booking Apps
There are so many travel apps right now that can make your next trip awesome! Whether you want to book cheap flights, a place to stay or local trips and experiences, there is most certainly an app!
Here are some of my favorite booking apps;
- App in the Air
- Rome 2 Rio
- Trip Advisor
- Booking.com
- Agoda
- Airbnb
- Klook
- Viator
- Flight Aware
16. House Sit Your Way Around the World
If you love pets and don’t mind the responsibility, house sitting could be for you.
Sign up to sites like trustedhousesitters.com and apply for house sits in your chosen destination at the times you’ll be there. In return for free accommodation you’ll look after the owners furry companions while their away.
17. For The Novice: Start With an Easy Foreign Country
If you are just starting your wanderlust adventure and haven’t had much travel experience you might want to consider somewhere that’s newbie-friendly.
For example, try to find somewhere with a common language, that caters to foreign visitors, and has a fairly easy route to your final destination. Once you have mastered this bit, you’ll have the confidence to be a bit more adventurous.
Travel Packing Tips
18. The Right Luggage is Critical
It’s super important to pick the most suitable luggage for your trip. A 2 week family vacation is very different from a 12 month backpacking trip which is also different from a 3 month staycation! Whatever you buy, you’ll want decent quality so it doesn’t fall apart when being thrown into the baggage hold!
For longer or multi-destination trips, if you can, only take a carry on bag as it will save you time in airports and make it easier to move around your destination.
If you do have to check-in luggage, pick something lightweight, ideally with an inbuilt combination lock and of course something that stands out for easy ID at the luggage belt!
19. Pack Light
Save luggage costs and time waiting at the carousel by packing light and taking only what you need!
Packing cubes help organise your clothes and save space like these ones on Amazon.
See my post on how to pack lightly here for more tips!
