We make daily travel mistakes. Most of the time they make the experience even better, but sometimes it can be stressful as well. Like that time in Egypt where we almost missed our flight because we didn’t have enough cash to pay our taxi driver and couldn’t find an ATM.
We hope that you can avoid some mistakes by following these tips!
1. First Aid Kit
We take band-aids, medicines, bacterial cream, and other medical products for minor cuts and scratches. Accidents happen! Like that time Michael slide of a rock on the beach in Thailand.
2. Towel
You never know when you need it. You can use it for going to the beach, picnic, to dry yourself off. Some hostels don’t have towels. During our trip in Jordan we stayed in some hostels where they didn’t have towels.
3. Go to the supermarket
We love to go to the supermarket and learn a lot about what the locals eat. Going to the supermarket will save you a lot of money.
4. Avoid the crowds
Try to travel during the low season. Visit the tourist places as early as possible or go during lunchtime. The early morning is the best time to take pictures, the light is better and there will be fewer people in your pictures.
5. Don’t plan everything
Do a lot of research about the destination you are going to. We only book our flights and the first accommodation because we know there are places we want to stay longer and places we want to leave quickly.
6. Get vaccinated
The last thing you want is to get sick in a foreign country. Check which vaccinations are recommended at least 3 weeks before your departure.
7. Eat street food
The best way to discover the local eating culture is by trying street food. Don’t be scared! You will miss out on a lot of delicious food if you don’t get out of your comfort zone.
8. Take lots of pictures
Memories to look on back later. We like to make photobooks off all the destinations we have been to, and show them to family and friends.
9. Try to avoid taxi’s
Use public transportation instead or download the Uber app. If you take a taxi, ask for the price before getting in and ask them to put on their faire calculator.
10. Be open!
Get to know people on the road. Maybe you are making friends for life.
11. Don’t trust everyone
Some people have the wrong intentions. Don’t fall for scams like that time we did in Pnom Penh (Cambodia). A tuk-tuk driver told us that the Royal Palace was closed because the King was there. Which wasn’t true.
12. Local Sim Card
Buy a local sim card. This way you can look things up, make hotel reservations, use maps, and stay in touch with family and friends. Buy it in an official mobile shop if not you will pay a lot more than the official price.
13. Learn some basic phrases in the native language of your destination
Learning a few words like ‘hello’ and ‘thank you’ will make the interactions with the locals easier, they will appreciate it a lot.
14.Entertainment
Don’t forget to take a book, music, and other kinds of entertainment with you to survive long haul flights and long bus rides.
15. Make extra copies of your passport and other important documents
You never know when you might need to give some documentation and don’t want to give your originals. We gave a copy of our passport when we rented a bike in Thailand.
16. Change money
Don’t change money at the airport, they will charge a lot of fees. Change money in a local post office instead.
17. Do a cooking class
There is no better way to learn about local food and it’s a fun activity. You can try it again at home and impress your family and friends.
18. Travel insurance
Get yourself travel insurance, you never know what can happen! We had a bad experience in a hospital in Thailand. Omar was feeling sick so we visited the doctor. There he was charged 450 euros for a simple doctor visit. At that time we didn’t have travel insurance. This was another scam we fell for. Now we have travel insurance with World Nomads and highly recommend them.
19. Don’t lose your temper when things don’t go as planned
Things will go wrong even if you are prepared, at some point you are going to get lost, get scammed, miss your bus. Don’t let these bad experiences ruin the rest of your trip and try to make the best out of everything. One day those experiences will be a good story to tell family and friends.
20. Get out of your comfort zone
Eat a tarantula, zipline in the jungle. These things will make you look different in life.
We hope that these tips will help you during your travels! Let us know what you think of our tips in the comment section below.
Goeie tips
Life is beautiful.