End Game: 15 Travel Tips for a Great Adventure
The end game of your travel pitfalls has come! Hooray! Seven to fourteen days are too short to fail the trip of your dreams. Therefore, seat back and read on these 15 travel tips that will help you have that great adventure.
Great adventure travel tip 1: Plan your arrival
Investigate your destination airport, learn the routes from the airport to the center of the city, research the bus-stops and prices, and get to know everything that falls between your airport and the hotel or the place you’re going to stay at.
Remember: Getting to the destination airport is not your goal, but getting to the hotel or your staying location is. Therefore, make sure you have everything up and running way before you spend all of your money on a taxi.
Great adventure travel tip 2: Have some cash in local currency
In the world of credit cards it is a wise decision to have some cash with you in the local currency where you are traveling to. That money can be needed for bus, train, underground, water, or any other emergency when you will not have a chance to make a purchase with a credit card.
Great adventure travel tip 3: Learn a few vital phrases in that language
Lately I have been traveling to Italy where people talk very little English. That was a problem since I was traveling alone and I needed to get by somehow till I would unite with my Italian-speaking friend. The language itself does not have much similarities with my native language, therefore, I did some research and took a note of those in the memo of my smartphone.
Here are some of the phrases I learned:
Ciao! or Salve! — Hi! or Goodbye!
Buongiorno! — Good morning! or Good day!
Bonasera , Bonaserata — Good evening!
Bonanotte! — Good night
Grazie (mille) — Thank you (very much)
Prego — Please or You’re welcome!
Skuza — Excuse me
Dove …? — Where is …? (If you want to know where the underground is, you would say “Dove metro?” [Pardon me, if this is grammatically wrong, but this was a tip to find my way and everybody understood me])
Allora — So, then, well, indicating Hmm, Ugh, Gee. (This was just for fun though.)
Cinque -Five. Also look into other numbers from one to ten. This especially helps during cash transactions and shopping.
If you cannot remember these phrases, then write them down and keep those close to you. I use my phone memo as I mentioned before.
Great adventure travel tip 4: Plan your trip ahead
If you don’t do your trip homework before the departure day, that’s an end game. Way in advance, research the cities you want to visit in the country, learn what are the important sights that you have to see, read about the cultural specificities, as well as national cuisine.
All of these initial research will help you save time on non-vital visits and will provide a productive trip which will turn into a great adventure. Referring back to my trip to Italy, I toured to Verona for one day and number1 visit-places were the mini Coliseum and the statute of Juliette (and her balcony of course).
Great adventure travel tip 5: Have a like-minded person to travel with
The like-minded companion to travel with is as vital as a good playlist or a book when you are on the wheels. Why? Because if they do not have the same travel-mind as yours, you will get bored, stressed, and the journey will turn into a nightmare.
I was pretty lucky to choose my best friend to travel with. We both like walking a lot and walking fast, exploring architecture and culture, trying some new food and drinks, spending less money, and getting the most of our short journey.
Great adventure travel tip 6: Have someone to take nice pictures of you
Great pictures are the key part of your great adventure especially when you want to collect memories and revisit them later. Having someone to travel with who can take great pictures of you is a blessing.
However, if you don’t have someone like this, don’t get too hard on yourself. Adjust your camera on the view and position you want your picture to be taken, and ask someone passing by to take a pic of you. When you show them what you want, they tend to make better pictures.
Ask to take at least 5 shots and change your poses meanwhile. You will have good range to choose from in the end.
Great adventure travel tip 7: Capture the casual moments and never post them on social media
Some places, pieces of art, parts of an architecture or even your hotel room stick to your mind and you want to go back to them after your leave. Therefore, take random pictures of things, places or people that matter to you and would draw a smile on your face when you go back to them later.
Remember: Never post these pictures on social media because people won’t understand the depth of your emotions attached to them. That would do nothing less than distorting the value those pictures have for you.
Great adventure travel tip 8: Walk a lot, eat less
Of course, you should try the cuisine and all the gorgeous food that comes up to you when you travel. but remember, the more you walk, the more you will see, and the more you will explore. This is number 1 goal in your travel, isn’t it? No?! You wanted only some rest? Oh, come on. You should visit places, you will have rest on the weekend.
Great adventure travel tip 9: Wear comfortable shoes and multilayer clothes
Since we agreed that you’ll walk a lot, you’ll need a truly comfy pair of shoes. Make sure you have something fancy that gives you good look when taking pictures, but also make sure, that they’re super comfy.
Tip #2: wear layers. You never know what might come up — wind, sun, too much sun. The weather forecast doesn’t prepare us for the little shifts during the day. Jacket is a savior. Make sure you can fold it and put into your bag.
Great adventure travel tip 10: Take naps whenever possible but do not miss the view
Let’s say you have been walking for 20km-s yesterday and you’re going to do the same today and tomorrow. Your night sleep, which I bet can never be 7–8 hours while you’re on a trip, won’t be enough. Therefore, while you’re riding to your destination, try to take naps but make sure not to miss the view outside the window. What to do? Set your alarm clock to wake you up in15–20 minutes.
Great adventure travel tip 11: Buy souvenirs that matter to you — that depict the places you traveled to and liked the most
Some people tend to buy just souvenirs in order to put it on their fridge, and brag about they travel to this or that country. Don’t do it that simple! Don’t buy the city-center souvenirs, but buy the ones that you have visited and give you special memories about that particular monument or place in a city.
Great adventure travel tip 12: Try the local cuisine starting from food and ending with drinks
This one might sound cliche but it requires some initial research. Watch your health as well — be weary of any allergens or other dietary supplements that are not good for you.
Great adventure travel tip 13: Buy things that you really need and don’t have them back home
When I was younger, I used to buy stuff while traveling. The point was just getting something from abroad. It would suffice if that something was a bit fit. Shouldn’t have been perfect.
Now that I’m older, I know, you can buy even a few more things while you’re traveling, but make sure that’s something special and you don’t have it back home.
Great adventure travel tip 14: Be optimistic about any incidence that happens during the trip
Your trip can be full of ups and downs. The key is to see the half-filled cup full all the time. See a life-lesson or a happy moment in every incidence that happens to you.
This way of looking at things will help you decrease street and collect funny memories from your trip.
Great adventure travel tip 15: Don’t drink, be sober and enjoy every single moment of your trip
Alcohol makes you forget things while your goal during traveling is to remember every single moment. Also, alcohol makes you sick and causes headache.
Final verdict: sleep well, walk a lot, stay hydrated, and remain sober while traveling. Ow, and don’t forget your power bank.
