My Top Ten Travel Tips

 

I've been asked many times for travel tips. I have been a little hesitant to share my “expertise” because I feel like any expertise I may have relative to travel is in group travel. I can tell you how to handle things if you should find yourself with four buses full of people at the bottom of Sundance canyon, their dinner at the top, and a blocked road in between. I can teach you how to arrange for a private tour of the Vatican or a cast meet for a Broadway show. (Hint, money helps)

As far as personal travel goes, I don’t know that I’m any more talented than any other traveler. But I realized that all of those years of doing group travel did in fact teach me a lot about travel. Here are some of the things that have really helped me over the years: 

1. Everyone has their own why of how and when they travel, or even IF they travel. It’s very personal. Some of us are willing to wing it; others would like to have everything completely planned and secure. But I would encourage you to step out of your comfort zone just a bit. Travel, especially international travel, can be very intimidating. For example, this year I'm going on a short solo jaunt in Italy. This is intimidating to me, but I want to do it because I’ve realized that I want to travel more than I have people available and able to go with me. I’ve transited by myself before when traveling to support events - in fact, usually did fly by myself. But there was always a company or a group of people waiting for me on the other end. This I have learned: you can handle anything that comes up. AND that my most memorable moments have come from misadventures, the unexpected and the unplanned. Have faith that you can handle whatever comes your way. It is not possible to have ALL the answers and information about your destination. You prepare beforehand as well as you can, and then you deal with whatever else fate throws your way.
2. If traveling across many timezones, adjust yourself to the local schedule as soon as possible. For example, when traveling to Europe, this means you need to keep yourself up until a reasonable bedtime, no matter how tired you are. Do NOT give in to the temptation of having a nap on the day of arrival. It will make it harder for you to adjust. Also, as much as you can, STOP even thinking about what time it is back home. Unless you need to call someone, it doesn’t matter what time it is there and continuing to think about it will contribute to your feeling of jet lag.
3. Take only a carry-on and personal item - don’t check luggage. In addition to taking longer, checked baggage can be damaged, misdirected or lost. More and more, it also costs a lot. And honestly, you just really don’t need all that stuff. If you really truly need it, you can buy it at the destination.
4. Bring copies of your passport, and also email one to yourself. Remember most countries require that you have at least six months left on your passport, and you need to factor in a couple of months of processing time to renew it if needed.
5. Have a basic understanding of the currency conversion rate. Always have a small amount of the local currency for mom and pop shops, but no need to go overboard. Don’t use the conversion kiosks - just use an ATM. If you use a credit card (hopefully one that doesn't charge foreign transaction fees), always ask that they charge you in the local currency - your bank or card converstion rate will almost always be better. Make sure your bank and card providers know you’re going (although I’ve traveled so much, I never bother anymore)
6. You really only need to learn just the basics of the language, unless you’re a language genius. Learn hello, good-bye, thank you, where is? English speakers abound everywhere, and you’d be surprised at how well you can communicate without a common language. Just don’t expect people to know English - express your gratitude when they do. And they’re very pleased when at least some small attempt is made in their language.
7. If you want to go to an extremely popular site, see if you can get reservations and/or front of the line tickets. Sometimes it’s necessary to get tickets much earlier than you would think, and almost impossible to get onsite. I loved Neuschwanstein Castle, but we didn’t get to go inside. Although we started looking into it a couple of months before our trip, the online reservations were all gone. And onsite meant waiting in line for 3-4 hours. Machu Picchu limits the number of visitors every day, so if you don’t reserve it, you might not get in at all.
8. As soon as you arrive, either write down the address if staying at an AirBnB, or take a hotel business card - in case you get lost. This actually did happen to me in Paris, in the middle of the night. It turned out okay, but was a bit hairy.
9. Apply for TSA Pre-Check and/or Global Entry. It will significantly improve your travel experience.
10. Last, but far from least: be as open-minded as you can possibly be when visiting other cultures. You know, the old saying, if you want things like they are in the US, then you should just stay in the US. We are the visitors, and we should not only be interested in their culture, we should more importantly respect it. We are guests in their house. You are missing out on most of the experience if you don’t embrace and respect the culture. To me, that’s the whole point of traveling.