Traveling may seem as simple as buying a ticket and packing a suitcase, but experienced travelers know there are lots of little things that can make a trip a lot better or less expensive. A popular thread on Ask Reddit has people sharing their best travel tips that not enough people know.
From the simple to the practical, this is some of the best advice:
- “Try searching for flights in an air company’s original language. I once saved $700 booking tickets in Peru by using Spanish rather than English.”
- “Roll everything, fold nothing.”
- “If you're asking for an opinion, don't ask the opinion of someone who's being paid to provide it. Want to know where the best meal near your hotel is? The cleaner isn't getting a kickback from the nearest steakhouse, but the concierge probably is. Want to know the easiest way to get to the airport? The front desk clerk is going to tell you to hire the hotel preferred transfer, but the barman will probably tell you what train to catch for 1/20th of the price.”
- “Three things; 1.) bring an orange. If someone you are sitting next to smells bad you can open the orange up as a natural deodorizer. 2.) Bring a spare pair of socks and change socks after you are settled on your flight, train, etc. Put the sweaty socks away in a plastic bag. Dry socks after a long day of travel feel luxurious. 3.) Stupid and Cheerful. A cop stops you in a foreign country? Stupid and cheerful. Never be belligerent. Cheerful always works better than aggressive. And it transcends culture.”
- “For photo equipment or all kinds of expensive stuff: put some duct tape on it. If it looks broken, nobody wants to steal it.”
- “Have a (distinct) hat. Meeting up with strangers / couchsurfers / tour group? You're the person in the hat. When talking with officials, the act of taking off a hat shows obedience to authority and will make the interaction just that much smoother. When you're tucking in for the night, put keys, coins, that new bus pass, &c. in the (upside-down) hat so they don't get misplaced in a new place.”
- “Who you go with is way more important than where you go.”
- “Chill at the airport. We are trying to get somewhere. Keep moving in lines. Take your friggin earphones out for flight/gate announcements.”
- “Check out the Citymapper app if you're going to a new city/country. It was a godsend when I spent a week in Hamburg. Give it an address and it'll show you several ways to get to your destination, including mass transit (train, bus) and rental options (bikes, scooters) if possible. A unit conversion app can be nice to have too, potentially.”
- “When flights get canceled, don’t stand in line to talk to an agent. Call the airline.”
- “Nobody wakes up early. Like you can wake up before dawn and get fantastic golden hour pics when the city is empty then go back for breakfast and a nap before heading out for lunch.”
- “Go to any hardware store and pick up a 3 port, 6ft extension cord. They are usually like $5 and pretty light. This will turn 1 outlet into 3 and move it in a more convenient position. You can now charge all your devices.”
Source: Reddit
[Courtesy of Dr. Dave’s Ultimate Prep]
[Photo Credit: Getty Images]