After 15 years of touring the world, I’ve learned all the secrets of the trade to help you see the world for less money, with fewer hassles, and with more confidence. I’ve had my fair share of travel-related epiphanies, from being mugged on a train because I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings to realizing that Scott and I didn’t have a car rental when we arrived at the Bozeman Airport.
Some of these hiccups are inevitable, while others can be avoided. There are some things that can’t be anticipated. However, if you keep a few things in mind, your trip will go off without a hitch. When people come to us for travel advice, they usually want to know, “What is your top travel tip?” So, we compiled the essential dos and don’ts of travel and came up with these 20 guidelines!
20 Best Travel Tips For 2024
1. Make A List
I usually start thinking about what I need to bring on a vacation a week or two beforehand, but if I don’t write it down, I’ll inevitably forget something. I’ve learned that when I think of something, I need to write it down.
2. Be Flexible
When something goes wrong, we try not to get too worked up about it, and we always factor in extra time for the process. Traveling requires a great deal of patience!
3. Always Bring A Sarong
A sarong is a piece of clothing that can be worn in dozens of different ways. It can also be used as a blanket to keep warm, a towel, or a cover. I love this skirt if you want something that stands out. Solid colors are great too.
4. Don’t Forget An Extra Camera Battery (Or Two)
Have you ever arrived at a great place to take a picture of the sunset only to find that your camera battery is dead and you don’t have a spare? I always bring at least three camera batteries with me on trips so that we don’t miss the perfect picture.
5. Learn Common Phrases Of The Local Language
They are very helpful if you say “Please,” “Thank you,” and “I’m sorry” in their language. I like to learn the word for beer too, but that’s just me.
6. Put Important Items In Your Carry-On
Some important things that should always be in your carry-on are your tools, medicines, toothbrushes, and extra underwear. If you’re going to the beach, you should also bring a swimsuit. If you lose your bag, you can buy most of these things, but having them in your carry-on will save you time and money if your bag gets lost.
7. Pre-Plan Your Outfits
I’m lazy and pack at the last minute, so I’ve gone on too many trips with only black or gray clothes because I didn’t plan what to wear. When I look at the pictures, I wish I had packed more carefully.
8. Pack Extra Underwear
Everybody should have a few extra pairs of underwear on hand since they are small. These quick-dry underwear are another choice. They are easy to wash while you’re on the road.
9. Make Photocopies Of Important Documents
When I was in my early 20s, I made sure to keep a copy of my passport in a bag separate from my original. After that, I was lazy.
A friend of mine lost her passport at the airport not long ago. They told her they would have let her go if she brought a copy of it and extra passport pictures. She lost a $2,000 trip and a week in Europe because she didn’t do it. I now always have a copy with me.
10. Always Buy Travel Insurance
You could lose all of your savings in a disaster, or even worse. When we travel, we use and trust Visitors’ Coverage.
11. Save your hotel’s room number and address to your phone.
Is my hotel room number completely lost to everyone else? Someone else has to be out there like me.
12. Beware Of Free Public WIFI
When I’m in a public place like an airport with free Wi-Fi, I try not to enter any passwords or log in to my bank accounts. When I get to my hotel, I’m not as strict about it, especially if their wifi has a password.
13. Book Early For Cheap Flights
When I plan a trip, the first thing I always do is book my flights. Sometimes I do this almost a year in advance! Most of the time, booking earlier will get you a better deal. The price of a plane ticket doesn’t usually go down unless there is a sale or a flight pricing mistake.
When I want to find cheap flights, Skyscanner is the first site I look at. It looks at hundreds of sites to find the best deal and covers both high-end and low-cost airlines. The calendar (or “map”) tool tells you which days of the month are the cheapest to fly in the month you want to go. I also get warnings from Scott’s Cheap Flights, and their secret flight deals have saved me a lot of money.
14. Travel First Aid Kit
We bring a small first aid kit with things like Neosporin, aspirin, Benadryl, cold medicines, Tums, cough drops, bandages, Activated Charcoal pills (which are great for traveler’s diarrhea and mild allergic reactions), and other things that we might not always have easy access to when we’re away. A cheap little first aid kit can be bought at J&J.
15. Bring A GoPro
Going diving with a GoPro is fun, but you can also use it to take selfies. They don’t weigh much and don’t take up much space in your bag.
16. Download Safety Apps
A lot of people like the safety apps bSafe, ICE, Shake2Safety, Kitestring, Smart24x7, and many more. These apps have features like monitoring 24 hours a day, seven days a week, emergency alerts, location-based services, and the ability to send texts right away or later. A lot of these apps could also be used when the phone screen was hidden and there was no internet connection.
16. Keep Your Phone Charged
It’s important to keep our phones charged these days because we use them for a lot of different things. You might want to buy a compact charger power bank. You can put these in your pocket or bag because they are so small. A lot of power can be stored in them, making them useful for times when you’re wandering and can’t charge your phone normally.
17. Use Google Translate
If you put the Google Translate app on your phone, you can talk to people there and read signs and restaurants.
18. Carry Small Change
If you don’t have the right change for things like public transit, you might have to pay more. Always keep your small change separate in your bags.
19. Download Offline Maps
You can’t always be sure that wifi will work. This is important for all kinds of travel, but it’s especially helpful for road trips.
20. Take Free Walking Tours
Walking tours are a good way to get to know a place and learn about its history. You can look for choices for the place you’re going on Google or in Facebook groups.
