Travel always involves a certain amount of risk, and that's a big part of their charm. However, with some of the best tips to prepare for a trip, you could reduce the chance of an unforeseen accident during your trip.
Tips on how to prepare before the trip:
1. Plan for a scenario where everything goes wrong. There is no travel advice to prepare you for everything, and you will certainly have problems during your trip. Prepare for the case you fear. You will look more elegant while dealing with problems.
2. Learn the most practical words from the local language. Even clumsily uttered phrases such as "Hello", "Thank you", "How much does this cost?", "Excuse me" and "Please" in the language of the country you are visiting will delight people who hear them. It may even break things between you and the other person enough so that you get more than you expected.
3. Just in case, you can download a mobile translation application if you are planning a trip abroad. One of the best travel tips we can give you is to use the Google Translate camera. It allows you to capture text that the application recognizes and translates. This is especially useful for trips outside the EU, America, or Australia where Cyrillic or Latin are not used. The application is available for iOS and Android.
4. Download your offline navigation. This will allow you to navigate in the cities you visit without having to pay extremely high prices for mobile internet. Good options are maps.me, Google Offline Maps, and HERE WeGo.
This advice is less valid if you are visiting an EU country, where after June 15, 2017. there are no roaming charges for phone numbers registered in the Union and you can use the navigation built into your phone.
5. Learn as much as you can about the place you are traveling to. This will not only save you time while you are there but will also make your experience much more fulfilling.
But don't give up if you can't find your destination details. This may mean that you will be one of the first to visit it.
6. Before your trip, write down the most important information on paper, because the batteries of your phone and laptop may fall out and you do not know the address of your hotel. When you arrive, you will be able to reload your devices. We advise you to write down the phone numbers of all the acquaintances you have around. Even if you do not have your own phone, someone will be able to help you.
7. If you are traveling by car - make sure to check everything is in good working condition. The best thing to do that is in a professional garage but if you still decide to do it yourself we'll give you a short checklist which includes: starter battery, quality tires, emergency kit, timing belt, motor oil, and so on.
8. Contact your bank. It is good for the representatives of your bank to know that you will be outside the country. This way you would save yourself the stress of having your card blocked when you try to withdraw money from a distant destination. Your bank may read this as a suspicious activity. This is one of the most important travel recommendations we have received.
On this topic, if you have more than one debit or credit card, find out which one you can use with the lowest fees. This tip will allow you to travel significantly cheaper.
9. If you're not sure if you need anything, the answer is probably no. It is always useful to travel with as little luggage as possible when traveling to foreign countries. This is especially true for many countries outside the European Union.
Make a shortlist of everything you think is most necessary, then cut it in half so you can stay with the most important thing. Large luggage can cause a lot of trouble during your trip.
Despite what has been said so far, one of the best tips we have received is to pack more socks and towels than we expect. The comfort they offer can be incomparable.
10. Avoid packing at the last minute. Probably because we are used to them always being around us, it often happens that we forget the items we use most often: the phone charger, our personal documents, even the keys to the house. If you pack your luggage just before your trip, there is a serious chance that you will forget something you can't do without.
11. Plan for a more expensive stay than you hope. When you arrive at the new place, your curiosity will probably be in your wallet. If you do not prepare for higher expenses, you may find yourself in a difficult situation towards the end of your trip.
12. Buy a quality camera. With your camera, you would take pictures of some of your best memories. That is why it is important that the quality of the photos is good, and this can only guarantee you a quality DSLR or mirrorless camera. In case you decide to invest in such a purchase, you will need to take some time to make sure you understand how to use it in the best way.
13. With the years and improvements in the cameras of our phones, this advice would lose some of its relevance. But at the moment, quality mirrorless and DSLR cameras continue to take significantly better photos than mobile phones.
14. Scan your most important documents and password-protect them. In this way, you could have valuable copies even if you lose or have your documents stolen. A scanned duplicate of your passport, for example, will allow you to buy plane tickets, check into a hotel and, if necessary, even verify your identity with local embassy representatives.
15. Get used to the word "adventure", because if you do, it will change the way you look at the circumstances around you. This in turn will give you more opportunities.
16. Get ready for jet lag. This is one of the most valuable tips for long-distance travel. If you are flying to a distant destination, start adapting to the new time zone before your flight. In this way, the shock to your biological clock will be significantly reduced.
Read more about the different techniques to deal with jet lag.
17. Book your tickets early. This tip will allow you to travel significantly cheaper and have money left over for the experience when you arrive. Effective ways to sift through the cheapest tickets is through websites like Skyscanner and Momondo.
18. Buy tickets in advance for the most visited tourist destinations. If you've once been part of the huge queues for tickets to the Colosseum, the Sagrada Familia, the Eiffel Tower, or any other world-famous destination, you know that waiting can significantly hurt your mood the moment you face the landmark itself.
19. Use Airbnb. This will save you some costs (for example, you will be able to take advantage of the kitchen in your apartment and save by cooking yourself) and will allow you to immerse yourself more fully in the way of life there.
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