Travel Tuesday question of the week – what’s your favorite travel tip?
No matter where you travel or who you travel with, all of us learn something from our travels. We may learn more about who we are, the sights and cities we visit, the friends and loved ones we travel with, or how to travel better. Traveling always means we have stories to share. Some are good memories, some are bad. Hopefully, we can look back on all of them fondly for the experiences and lessons learned.
From your travel experiences, what is your favorite travel tip? It could be a lesson on money, relationships, a city secret or destination, a transportation or packing tip, or a multitude of other tips you have learned.
Sharing the tips we have learned does a lot of things. For one, experiences (good or bad) make the greatest teachers. So sharing them tells others how we have grown and learned as people. Travel tips also help others enjoy their trips as well. And finally, it allows us to connect with the experiences we have with the person we are becoming to make us better people in life.
For me, I have a number of travel tips. While I tend to focus on ways to save money, my best travel tip would be that traveling is about people. You can see a country a famous landmark or a historical attraction and check it off your list. However, if you didn’t connect with other people – those you were traveling with or encounters with other people in your journey – your trip won’t mean nearly as much. The best travel experiences and memories are with the people we meet, those we travel with, and those special moments we discover. While I have seen some amazing places, my best memories always involve other people.
So share your travel tips and post your comment at the bottom. At the end of the week, I will take some of the best ones and post the top travel tips from readers. So include your name and your blog along with your travel tip!
I couldn’t end this without sharing one budget travel tip. Since saving money is important, I tend to focus on the planning part of a trip to save. While these tips don’t work for every itinerary, try these 6 tips for finding the cheapest flight.
I totally agree with you that travelling just isn’t the same unless you connect with the local people! Anyone can travel the world by their own rules and stick to their own routine, but where is the fun in that?
Getting an insight into how different culture’s live and involving yourself in their lives is a fascinating aspect of travel. It really makes a trip what it is, living your life by different rules for the duration of your trip can help you understand an array of cultures and traditions. Getting to know people on your travels completely opens your eyes to the rest of the world and makes travelling all the more memorable and tempting!
Whether you are travelling the world, on a business trip, on a family holiday or even your honeymoon – make sure that you interact with different cultures and watch your eyes open to a whole new world!
Thanks Sarah! I admit I am a bit of an introvert and I don’t always like being around people. I like hiking or doing things on my own when traveling. I like to avoid tourists when I travel. However, the best experiences in my travels have always been with people I travel with or those I meet. It’s not the city or the landmark that I remember most but the people. This is true when we aren’t traveling as well!
I also agree that travel is about making the connections with other people. My tip would then be to make an effort to learn some of the language of the country you are visiting and use it when you are talking with the locals. You’ll discover that they love it and it opens so many doors for conversation and connecting. Don’t worry if you make a mistake, usually it brings laughter to the interaction. We often use phrases and words from other languages when we meet someone of that origin in our own country. The other day we received a huge hug, smiles and cheers when we greeted a Chinese lady in Chinese. She was a stranger but almost became a friend in that one barrier breaking Nia How.
Make an effort to sit and talk to others, ask about their lives, and make it light hearted fun.
Thanks Caz! That is a really good tip! Wherever I have traveled, I spend time learning phrases that I can use. From my first trip to Estonia, I sat on a bus with a translator learning phrases in a language I would only use for 10 days. I loved it. I love languages. And I think it shows a tremendous amount of effort and respect to the people and culture you are visiting to try and speak their language. Just make the effort and you can make friends.
This is true even for the French! (JK friends from France – sorta!)
A few of my favorite travel tips. 1. leave the toiletries at home. go to the store and buy some. have fun with it. try something new. meet the sales clerk, ask questions. 2. check local customs before you go. they may be very different from home. observe the locals and follow their lead.
Denis, good suggestions. My toiletries are so small, they fit in a really small bag. I have travel sized everything. I have run out of stuff before and bought it in a store. I think I actually did that in Paris. It works and it can also save you money. Packing lighter all the way around can prevent baggage fees if you carry on your luggage. Good tips!
I also have to agree that the best part of traveling is connecting with people, whether it’s other travelers or really getting an insight into your host culture by talking with locals. Like you, Jeremy, I can be a bit of an introvert, especially when I’m not entirely sure of myself (language, directions, etc.). So the tip I always try to follow is to take a deep breath, relax, be myself and interact with those around me. I remind myself that, if I say something dumb, no one’s going to think about it for very long anyway. And you can’t learn from people and local cultures without opening up, talking and asking questions!
I think that this is a good reminder to be outgoing. Like you said, it’s not always easy for introverts. However, having the perspective that few people are going to care or ever see you again can make it easier to make that effort.
We don’t know what people did before ziploc bags. Large ones for wet clothes/towels/things that might leak, etc., and small ones for snacks/organizing small items. These can be really hard to find overseas and really, who wants to spend their trip searching for ziplocs? So it pays to bring them along!
A good handy thing to have, especially if you are traveling with kids!
Oh, I have quite a few!! As a matter of fact, I wrote about the topic not too long ago: http://www.travelstoriesandphotos.com/category/tips-and-recommendations/
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If I’m to choose one – buy a book by a local author. You will bring the place back home with you and learn so much – from a very local perspective.
My travel tip is that you can easily have as much fun and as much of an adventure walking the back streets of an interesting neighborhood than the paths of a popular palace or temple. The joy of finding a small shop or restaurant where you can feel like it is your own, if even only for an afternoon, has always been more satisfying for me than taking the same picture of the same statue as everybody else. And you are more likely to avoid scams and meet someone genuinely excited about interacting with a foreigner. Get out and explore. Isn’t that what travel is about?
@ Andre – One of my favorite things to do when I travel is finding a coffee shop to relax in. It gives you time to read local papers, soak in the atmosphere, and sometimes even meet people. Doing what locals would do is never a waste of time. During my visit to Paris, I skipped the Louvre, but and instead found the best coffee I’d ever had.
Andre, completely agree. One of my favorite things to do is wander the back streets and find locals while getting away from tourists. While in Lisbon, we took the metro there out to the suburb to a mall. While a bit odd, it was nothing but locals shopping and was an exciting experience to experience locals in every day life. While I could care less about going to a mall here, it was fascinating.
These type of experiences (believe me, I do more back streets than malls) make a trip memorable!
If you travel to the #Amazon #Colombia pack confotable breathable Clothes in ligth colors #TT #FavoriteTip
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That makes sense! Amazon is hot, humid, and the lighter the better!
I agree, connecting with the locals and other travelers is one of the best things you can do during your trip, and it will be one of the most amazing memories you will take with you.
My tip is nothing technical or fancy, but is one that has always helped me… always keep an open mind to things you encounter and experience on the road… it will make you a happy traveler and absorb the foreign culture in a better way.
I think that is one thing that many Americans could benefit from. People travel and then want everything to be like it is back home. Just realize that things are different and understanding those differences will make your trip more enjoyable. Good tip!
Relax and expect something different