My Top Ten Travel Tips!

Hey Guys …..Happy Friday,

I thought I would share with you my top ten travel tips after five years of travelling. These tips are ones I have discovered on the road, that have benefited me at some stage on a trip.

So if you are newbie who might be biting the bullet as a first time traveler or those of you wanting a trip to flow smoothly then follow my tips below…

Here we go-

1-Learn a few words of the local language

I will admit I haven’t always been very good at this considering I lived in Thailand for a year and have a vocab consisting of ten Thai words (hey I tried OK).

Ten words however is sometimes all you need to communicate with locals and immerse yourself in a local culture. People will appreciate you making the effort and attempting, rather than going round to people saying “do you speak English”.

At least out of decency learn how to say hello, bye and thank you in the language of the country you are going to. If you are interested in expanding past ten words, download Duolingo. Duolingo is a free online app where you can learn any language from the comfort of your phone or laptop. No excuses for not brushing up on those lingo skills now!

2-Write down the name and address of your accommodation

This is a really important tip to remember. You wouldn’t believe how many times I have left my accommodation, gone off wandering, only to realise I had no idea earthly how to get back to it.

This is especially difficult task to navigate in a non-English speaking country. So now I always take a hotel/hostel card, screenshot the address on my phone or write it in a notebook to take along with me. So if you find yourself lost you can approach someone and point to the address of where you need to go.

3-Pack lighter

It only took me 4 years of carrying 40kg around to come to terms with this one. Packing lighter and less wins all round.

If you only take carry on with you on short trips then you won’t have to pay any baggage fees. Plus you can exit quicker from the airport as you don’t have to wait round for any bags off the carousel.

Carrying 10kg on your back makes life a lot easier than being bent over with 40kg weighing you down.

4- Invest in a power bank

Power banks are life savers if you are stuck on a bus for eight hours or a long train journey. I honestly wonder how we ever coped travelling before without them?. There are lots of power banks on the market and some of them are really compact sized which is ideal for carrying in your bag.

5- Travel on Tuesdays or midweek

Booking flights to fly on Tuesdays (afternoon time) is typically cheaper than flying at weekends when everybody else is escaping then too.

6- Clear your cookies

If you have been searching for flights online, and are coming back to book them later remember to clear your cookies off your computer. Yes your browser history can often lead to higher flight prices upon your return to flights you have previously searched for.

7- Eat local food

Sometime I struggle with this one when I’m staring at a menu displayed in anther language, not sure what’s beef or chicken. It’s easy to fall off track and flip over to an international menu but I can assure you eating local food is much better

After all sampling the local cuisine is wonderful cultural experience and it’s usually always the cheaper option too. You are also supporting the local community and are eating food that is grown and sourced locally.

8- Contact your bank prior to travelling

Nobody wants to find themselves the other end of the world with a card refusing them money. I have seen this happen to my dad. He came on a trip to Thailand and informed his bank that he was going however he didn’t detail that he would be travelling from north to south so they temporarily blocked his card(thinking that potentially some else had got their hands on it). Don’t let this happen to you inform your bank of your every move while travelling.

9- Avail of the free booze on planes

I have said this to so many people and I can’t believe that more of you didn’t realise that booze on board certain long haul flights is free. Yes free booze.

I mean it’s got to be the best way to kill 8 hours in the air. Emirates and British Airways are two airlines that offer this wonderful service that you need to get on board with on your next flight.

10- Always ask for extra leg room seats

This has come in nicely for me a few times and if you don’t ask you don’t get. A few times iv managed to nab the leggy seats for arriving at the airport early and asking the lady on the check in desk. Usually they have no problem giving you the seats if someone hasn’t prebooked them online.

I hope you have found some of these tips helpful and that you can put them into action on your next trip.

Do you have any handy travel tips you think I should add?

Orla xxx