Travel can be overwhelming. With me, the emotion starts even before I start the trip. Planning a trip is too exciting for me. I am sure many people go through the same excitement. But an excited heart tends to forget things. And trust me forgetting things is the biggest mistake you can make while travelling. I have made many travel mistakes in my life and learnt my lesson. Here are some travel tips for you so that you don’t make such silly travel mistakes and ruin your trip.

Travel Tips

These travel tips are from personal learning and it might help you in many ways. If you are a frequent traveller, you will be able to relate. Here we go!

Overpacking

Before you put that dress in your luggage, think! Will you be wearing that any day? Overpacking is the biggest travel mistake that you would want to make. Make a list of things that you need on the trip and pack the essentials accordingly. All the unnecessary items that you pack for a road trip or a cruise or even hiking will eventually be a burden for yourself. So think before you pack that shirt or dress!

Forgetting The Chargers

Okay, overpacking is still affordable, forgetting a charger can make you regret every decision in your life.

Or make you buy an overpriced charger at the airport which is not worth it. Do you remember charging your phone last night? There is a possibility that you can forget the charger in the charging port itself. Don’t let that happen. Keep in mind to take your charger or buy an extra one for travel purpose and keep it in your luggage beforehand.

Packing Wrong Shoes

Packing the wrong shoes can be HARMFUL! Yes, Harmful. You cannot wear heels for hiking and you can not wear sneakers for a cruise dinner party. There is a particular shoe destined to be worn for a particular event. Mixing up these shoes will not only look bad with your attire but also can give you blisters that can spoil your entire trip.

Forgetting Dust Bag For Shoes

Keeping your clean clothes with dirty shoes is not a good idea, even if you are coming back from the trip. You will regret it later. And while packing for the trip never ever keep your clean clothes with your dirty shoes, you might not get laundry service everywhere. Consider keeping a dustbag for shoes when you pack.

Putting Medicines In Checked baggage

If you have something in your packing list that you think you will be needing during the flight journey, never keep it in the checked baggage. Neither you should keep anything expensive in the checked bags. Your regret will be greater if for some reason you lose your bag.

Not Doing Proper Research While Planning: weather and Itinerary

You cannot leave your home until you do proper research about your destination. Research not only means your itinerary but also the weather conditions and the transport system. This will help you plan better and plan smarter.

Being Overambitious with the itinerary

You will not be able to visit every place. Plan your trip accordingly. Mark the places you want to visit and see how many places can you visit in a day. Also, keep in mind the number of days you have in hand to travel. If you don’t want to compromise the sightseeing, increase the number of days of your stay or else, skip the places that are not important to visit.

Not Keeping Photocopies Of Important Documents

Pickpocketing can be an issue when you are travelling. Make sure before you leave for your house, you make a copy of the important documents with you and keep it away from the originals. So if the originals are pickpocketed, you will have the photocopies.

Using Cell Phones Without Plan

Even before boarding the plane make sure you put your phone in aeroplane mode to avoid unwanted charges. If you are travelling abroad, be sure to get a roaming plan or research about where and what kind of local SIM card to buy. Your phone bill should not be a cause of worry or an issue while you travel.

Booking Connecting Flights with Short Durations

Give yourself time to settle down and then go for another flight. Short durations in your connecting flights can be exhausting for you. You obviously won’t be able to sleep in between the flights but at least keep some gap between landing and boarding another flight.

Keep delays and preponing of flights in mind and keep a considerable buffer before booking the flights. Another thing you can check is if you need to board another aircraft for your connection; in some cases, the same aircraft you are on will be the one that goes on the next leg as well, in which case you just have to sit tight and wait.

Relying completely on guide books

Guide books will definitely help but relying completely on them can take away the fun. Explore the city outside the famous sites. Create your own experiences and not just follow what others have done.

 Ignoring A Travel Insurance

If you are not aware of the term Travel Insurance, you should read about it and get one. It is useful in case of emergencies like accidents, trip cancellations, personal possessions etc. There is no harm in taking precautions. I really hope you have a safe journey, but being prepared for the worst is the first step towards safety.

Not Exchanging Currency In Advance

Exchange the amount you think is enough till you reach your destination. You will find ATMs or good-rate exchange kiosks where you go. Do not exchange money at the airport’s kiosks. Airport kiosks have horribly high fees.

Not Informing Credit Card Companies About Your Trip

You can have your credit/ debit cards cancelled because of the “unusual activity” happening on your card. Inform your banks in advance that you will be spending a good amount of money from your cards so that your activity is not considered unusual.

Avoiding Jackets With Zippers

When you are travelling, it is better to carry jackets with zippers. It secures your valuables in your pockets. Also, carry the cash that is necessary for the day. If there is an emergency you can always use your card. But it’s better to carry less cash and be safer. Keep your valuables in front zipper pockets. This is one of the travel tips that will be of lifelong help to you.

Eating Heavy on Long flights

It’s better to eat light on flights. When you are on a high altitude, the cabin pressure drops and the gas inside your stomach expands. If there is no space for the air to expand, it can cause a lot of pain because the gases eventually will disturb the nerves. I am sure you don’t want that. Eat light!

These were the travel mistakes that I have made and also the travel tips that can help you. I hope this is helpful to you. Let me know in the comments section if you have also faced any such issues while travelling.

Always remember you learn from your mistakes. Never stop travelling because you had a bad past experience. Travelling brings out the best in you.