11 Travel Hacks That Will Make You A Smart Traveller
Who doesn’t like to enjoy, relax, and go for a holiday? In today’s world, it has become a necessity than a luxury to take a break from hectic work life and travel.
With abundant of options available to travel either domestic or international, provided by various operators, it has become easy and affordable to go to the places. Every travel teaches you something new, unique and creates memories for a lifetime.
Below is the compilation of small but important travel hacks, which if taken care of can make your trip a pleasant one, a trip to cherish, a trip to boast.
Research Well
Now here, research is required at different stages.
Where do you want to go?
Searching a place based on your liking or mood as to where exactly do you want to go – a beach or a hill or a jungle…etc. Nowadays there are a plethora of options available to choose from. Also, what do you want to do there, like what is your purpose of travel - Do you only want to relax or you want adventure sports/activity or you would like a mix of both? Searching a right place as per your mood would not only help you to plan further but you would be eagerly looking forward to it. Else it would be just any other holiday for you.
What all things you want to do?
Upon deciding the place, the next important thing to research is what all you want to do, what all things are there to see and explore. Generally, we travel once to an exotic location, at a max twice, so it shouldn’t happen that we later regret missing on a certain thing and say ”hame to pata hi nahi tha”. The easiest and the best way to do so is by checking multiple itineraries provided by different tour operators on their websites. This will also help you negotiate a lot of things – like pricing of the package, hotels, flights etc. You will also understand the trade-off for low price packages.
Plan your trip in advance
A lot of people may contradict and say that they like to travel spontaneously and that there is no excitement if you know everything in advance. But if you plan your stay, flights, places you want to see, etc. it not only smoothens your travel but also helps in saving a lot of money, energy and time. You don’t have to worry about any W’s - Where will I stay? What do I do today? Where will I get food? etc.
Example – If you are a vegetarian and you travel to a country like Japan – not knowing where you will get vegetarian food would be a mess. You will waste a lot of time & energy in searching for restaurants which otherwise would have been a cakewalk if you would have at least known the area.
Chose comfort over fashion
Always carry comfortable clothes/shoes/accessory. Wrong attire will spoil your mood and the entire day while dressing comfortably will help you to enjoy your travel. Example – Choosing to wear heels over shoes where there are long steep walks will only give you discomfort and it may stop you from visiting that place entirely. Or if you are going in the snow and you do not have good warm jackets, good shoes, thick socks, gloves, caps etc. it would definitely keep you indoors and will stop you from enjoying the activities, weather outdoors.
Travel Light
It means to keep all the necessary things first. Do not overload your bags with everything. Example – There is no need to carry all the creams, shampoos, soaps, conditioners…etc. Nowadays every hotel provides toiletries and bath towel including 3-star hotels. You can surely manage for few days by not using the brand you usually do. This will help in filling the space with other important things and reducing excess baggage.
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Plan what will you wear each day
This small thing will make a huge difference. It will save a lot of time in terms of deciding and getting confused on what to wear. Your focus would be on what the day brings instead of thinking what to wear. Also, it will help you to plan the above point of 'travel light' in a better way.
Reaching Early
Reach the destination 5-10 mins prior to the given time. This will help you to settle and get familiar with the place. It also will help to avoid last minute rushes/tension/stress. Example – If you are travelling with a group and need to reach a pickup location, it is always better to reach early, so that you have some buffer time in hand.
Digital copy of important documents
Always have a digital copy of your itinerary, hotel vouchers, flight tickets, passports, Id cards, visa (if going outside the country) in your mail, for any case of loss/delay of your possession or theft.
Carrying a packet of snacks in a handbag
This trick is a saviour if travelling with kids. Also, my personal experience - keep a variety of munchies sweet, spicy, salty etc… This will help in dealing with the complaints of eating the same food again.
Carry a first aid box
This one is really important. You should always carry a box of basic medicines for cough, cold, fever, stomach upset/pain, bandage..etc. This magic box will be a great help for unforeseen medical emergencies.
Always carry a converter/travel adapter
By carrying this, you do not have to worry about charging your phone, camera, laptop, or any gadget if the battery is drained out. Every hotel may not have converters or extra adapters for use.
Offline Google Translator
This comes very handy if you are travelling to a place where they speak a language which you can’t read or understand. It also helps in translating anything into your preferred language for you to understand easily. Example – If travelling in Japan or China, everything is written in their local language on the products, food courts, bill boards, signboards and it becomes difficult to understand and buying a product or to roam around. This offline app is very useful in translating as to what is written on the product by translating it into English or preferred language.
Hope the travel hacks mentioned above will help you in planning your next trip smoothly.
Happy Travel😊