People Are Sharing 30 Little-Known Yet Genuinely Useful Travel Tips
Try traveling, they said, it will be fun, they said. Except when you get ripped off in a tourist trap disguised as a local restaurant, or when you realize your hotel doesn’t accept your credit card, or when you board the wrong train and end up in the bad part of the city, or when you get tricked into thinking you made a generous donation for a good cause except it was not a cause at all.
You see, things like that happen all the time when you travel. But the more experience you have, the more places you have been to, the more likely you are to actually enjoy your time and not worry about all that can go wrong.
So this online thread is a great place to start. “What is your best travel tip that most people don’t know?” someone asked on Ask Reddit and we wrapped up the most useful and interesting pieces of advice below. From rolling everything up to fit into your luggage to asking the right people for opinions when abroad, to canceling reservations to get your money back, this is some solid know-how you are likely to be using on your next trip.
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.
Like the best city for this is Rome. No one is around and you can get wide shots that would never happen during the day and the lighting is better.
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. A border guard says your papers aren’t in order? Stupid and cheerful. The airline says you are too late to board? Stupid and cheerful. Cheerful always works better than aggressive. And it transcends culture. I knew an elderly couple who literally drove across the whole of Africa and “stupid and cheerful” was their advice. It’s far harder to punish someone if they simply claim ignorance and are smiling.
I don’t travel much but I book travel for a living.
If your plans change and you need to cancel your hotel reservation against the hotel’s cancellation policy, don’t call and cancel. I’ve tried to barter with hotels many times, but truthfully unless you have a good relationship with the hotel, they have no reason to refund you.
Instead, call the hotel and move your reservation to next week. Even if it is against the cancellation policy, most hotels will allow you to alter a reservation without issue. Then (usually a few hour later to guarantee you talk to a different hotel rep) call and cancel your “new” reservation.
I’m sure I’m preaching to the choir here, but whenever I travel i go to the subreddit for the city I’m traveling to and search for a “best food in the city” thread. Never let me down before. I’ve found some amazing hidden gems that way
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, putting keys, coins, that new bus pass, &c. in the (upside-down) hat so they don’t get misplaced in a new place.
* Similarly, the (upside-down) hat can be used to store pocket junk before you go through an x-ray checkpoint.
* Does all the normal hat things. (Keep warm / cool, less sun, covers eyes, &c.)
* A hat soaked in water can feel amazing on a hot day.
* You can tuck a handkerchief (or even a napkin) up into a hat to give your neck and ears cover from the sun.
* A rolled travel towel (don’t panic and […]) can be folded into a hat to make an impromptu pillow.
* A hat on a chair or similar can help hold a spot when customs (or languages) are unfamiliar.
Finally, this is not a *travel* tip, but post-travel: if you buy a hat for a trip and limit souvenirs to pins & patches, you have created a little display that’s a bit more interesting than “here are photos on my phone”.
Take a plastic bag with you. Put dirty clothes in it, it keeps clean and dirty separated throughout your stay, plus when you get home it’s easier to take all the clothes in the bag and put them in the washing machine.
The best room in a cheaper hotel is often better than a standard room in a more expensive hotel. When looking for luxury on a budget, don’t…
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