Your colleague or friend just came from their jaunt abroad, and they can not stop boasting? Well, we all have been there. If you feel you are missing out on travels because you have never traveled before, are just a beginner or perhaps haven’t won enough to travel from your fav Las Vegas casino online yet. Then your worries end here. We will give you 13 travel tips for beginners to gain the necessary knowledge and confidence to travel.
Don’t worry; nobody is a born-savvy traveler. Everyone learns through their on-road experience. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t traveled your whole life. With the help of our tips, you will be fully prepared to take your first on-road experience.
Clothing Matters
You don’t necessarily need up-to-date fashion exactly, but we highly recommend following some basic rules for clothing. Try not to wear stuff that makes you look like a tourist. Trust me; you don’t want to look like a tourist, there are many reasons.
If you look like a tourist just by how you dress, you will be prone to the local scam artists and robbery. Any store would try to take advantage of you as you wouldn’t know the pricing of local products.
First of all, do not use a fanny pack. Not only does it looks weird, but it also marks you as a tourist. Fanny packs/bum bags are easy to rob too.
Avoid the white sneaker, baseball jacket, and baseball cap if you are from North America. It is ok to love those styles, but as a tourist, you should be avoiding these stereotypical fashions as much as possible.
Also getting good quality clothes, especially if you are hiking or walking a lot is a must. Something like Vessi‘s waterproof walking shoes or nice backpacks etc.
Don’t Forget The Towel
Always pack a towel when you travel. The towel is the key to being an optimal traveler, and it kind of falls under common sense. Hotels usually offer their towel, but you never know when you will need a towel. Maybe at the beach, caught up on sudden rain, on a picnic, or just to dry off after a shower from a local bath.
We are not saying you must have a big towel, though you may carry a big towel, nothing wrong with that. We recommend a small travel-friendly towel that is easy to carry. Remember, you need to pack the most necessary things while not over-packing.
Small Back Pack/Suitcase
It is no big-brainer that you should travel with lightweight. It means a backpack or suitcase that will be light after packing all your necessary things. We recommend a small backpack, something around 30-40 liters, which will force you to pack light.
We, humans, tend to fill up gaps. So if you use a big size backpack and try to pack light. After packing, you will see a lot of empty space, and unknowingly you will take more stuff because you got “space.” Even experienced travelers sometimes make this mistake. That is why it is recommended to use a small backpack or suitcase and force yourself to get only a few things and most important things.
Pack Light
The packing light goes hand in hand with the previous point small backpack. On your travel, you will be the one carrying your backpack. So do yourself a favor and take half the clothes you think you will need. It is ok to wear the same dress for more than a day or two on travel.
Write down the essentials you need. This way, you won’t forget anything. Now cut down the list in half; what I mean is take only half the stuff you wrote down. Since you will use a small backpack, you won’t have free space to carry much stuff anyways.
Extra Socks
Less clothing and more socks, that’s how you should be packing. Socks usually get lost in the laundry process, torn apart. If your travel includes hiking, then extra pair of socks becomes essential. You may wear the same clothing for more than a day but wearing fresh pair of socks is refreshing and important. It keeps your food fresh and your feet healthy.
Extra Bank Card
Disaster doesn’t come with a warning. And travel is the worst time to face any disaster. Even if you stay cautious, you might somehow lose your card or many, and there is always a chance of getting robbed.
Trust me when I say this, you don’t want to be stuck in a new place without any cash. Imagine you are in an unknown place, surrounded by unknown people, and you don’t have any cash or debit-credit card, yikes!
I remember once I was traveling with a friend, and my card was duplicated somehow. So the bank put a freeze on it and I didn’t have any cash. For the entire trip, I had to borrow money from my friend.
Keep More Then Budget
Even experienced travelers sometimes fell short on their pre-calculated budget. The reason is, it doesn’t matter how perfectly you calculate every penny, by the end of your travel you will see it costs more than you estimated. It could be a short journey of a few days or a long one of a few months. The duration of the trip is not important; exceeding budget problems can occur on any course of the journey. That is why we suggest you keep a bit more money than your budget so that you don’t fall short.
You have to consider many things such as if any items get lost or stolen, you have to buy new ones. You might need to mail some things back home. Or you might stumble upon a lavishing tour that you want to take, but your budget says otherwise.
Sometimes places cost more to stay and eat. You might find loads of souvenirs that are not much expensive. As a result, you buy too many, and it becomes costly. Things like these happen in travel. Don’t get stressed by them; expect the unexpected, and you will do just fine.
Travel Alone At least Once In Life
Yes, traveling with a friend or group of friends is more convenient, and it is safer in the basic sense. But true essence, flavor, and thrill of travel lie within traveling alone.
Traveling alone can help you grow as a person and make you independent. To share from my own experience, traveling alone taught me how to stay alert and defend myself. I acquired the skill to read situations and people faster than before. I learned how to handle myself in unfamiliar circumstances and how to deal with various types of people. Not to mention the sheer freedom I had to do whatever I wanted and have no friends or family to judge me.
Of course, you will feel a bit uncomfortable the first time but trust me; you will get the hang of it soon. My advice would be at least to travel once in your life. It will be a thrilling experience in your life. You learn by facing difficulties and coming out of your comfort zone. You will end up surprising yourself by learning more about yourself.
Use A Map
Don’t be shy and use a map when you need to. You won’t look stupid. It only makes sense that a guy who is new to a place is using a map to figure his way out. Looking like a tourist is ok; it is not a crime. It is better to look like a tourist rather than getting lost and ending up in a non-friendly neighborhood. Also, don’t hesitate to ask for directions. I always carry a map; it keeps me on the right track and saves time.
Do Your Research
When you decide to travel to a place, you first need to do online research. Read a few blogs, browse forums, search on youtube about that specific place and gather a lot of information. After doing so you will feel much more confident, and you will know how to visit that place, where to stay-eat, and what to see.
But don’t overdo it. You can get a rough idea of a place, but there is a high chance it will not be 100% accurate. Reality is often different.
So your plans and expectations should be flexible. You should be able to change your plans and schedule after you arrive at the destination if needed. There can never be a good enough preparation to match an unknown reality. So keep your expectation to a minimum.
Meet the locals
Alright, this might be a bit difficult for introverted people who don’t like to talk much. But you can gather essential information by talking with the locals, which you won’t find on the internet.
It doesn’t matter if you stay in a lavish hotel or a cheap hostel. You can always be friendly and try to meet people around you. Meeting the locals is highly recommended if you plan to spend more than a month on the trip. Get off the usual path and visit the non-touristy places for a change.
You might face a language barrier, but overcoming that barrier can enrich you with vital knowledge of the place you visit.
Explore The Unusual
Once you are done with research and pretty sure the place is safe, feel free to get lost on purpose. Getting lost or getting off the beaten path can show you so many hidden gems that you don’t find in tourist spots. Seeing different places and wandering in a strange path you don’t know. The thrill you will feel is out of the world.
Alternative Forms Of Travel
Using alternative forms of travel can be an excellent tip for beginners. We have buses, planes, trains, boats, and so many more ways to travel and go to places in this era. So if traveling by air is a problem for you, you will find plenty of other ways. And choose a form of travel of traveling which suits your need. A slow boat can sometimes save you a lot of money.
Once you reach your destination, don’t hesitate to explore the locals’ usual transportation. It can be by rickshaw, horse, bicycle or by foot. A different or new form of travel system can dramatically enhance the fun and change how you see things. A bike or hike journey will make you more humble and help to get close to nature. And you know it’s better for the environment too.
Conclusion
There you go, top 13 travel tips for beginners! After reading so much, don’t get tense. Stay relaxed and calm; you will do just fine. Traveling is not that big of a deal when you know all these real-life tested tips to help you along. In the end, it all comes down to enjoying the unseen, unknown, and newness which you get from traveling. So what are you waiting for? Get your pack’s, plans and go out there and live it up!
