Traveling to a new country can be both an exciting, and frightening adventure. However, you can rid yourself of the scary parts just as long as you make yourself properly prepared beforehand. There are many different activities you can do to ensure that you have the best trip possible.
To avoid being the victim of a pickpocket, keep your hand on your belongings. Nearly every large tourist destination has its share of less savory residents, who seek to take advantage of unwary travelers. Prime targets are crowded areas, where people may be bumping into one another and therefore, may not feel the pickpocket. To prevent this, if you are heading into a crowded situation, keep one of your hands on your belongings at all times. This makes it impossible for someone to steal without your notice.
Are you traveling to a country that requires vaccinations? This comes into play whenever you are attempting to enter or leave a country, and can even be a problem when traveling between cities in the same country. Without the certificate, authorities have no way of knowing that you’ve had the vaccination and may have to detain you for quarantine.
When traveling to poorer or less-developed areas, avoid touching any of the local animals. This obviously includes farm animals, but also covers stray cats and dogs as well as draft or pack animals. You never know what diseases these animals could be carrying, and chances are you don’t have the same immunities as the locals.
When traveling in another country, be sure to clean your hands and under your fingernails often. Try not to touch your face, especially your eyes and mouth ,to prevent any bacteria or germs from getting in. This is especially important if you’re visiting a less developed country to avoid getting sick.
When traveling in foreign countries, beware of police officers who ask for your ID. Make sure you ask them for their ID to prove they’re actually a cop. Instead of showing them your real passport, show them a photocopy instead. You don’t want to risk a thief running off with your passport.
Be flexible. If your travel dates can be tweaked by a day or two, try using the “flexible dates” feature of most online travel search engines. This allows you to search departure and return dates within a given range. By just changing your dates by a day or two, you may be able to score huge savings on airfare.
If you need to find a travel destination, you should watch some documentaries about foreign countries and perhaps look at some travel guides. This should give you a better idea of what kind of landscapes and monuments you can see in different parts of the world. Choose what interests you the most.
If you have young children and are planning to fly, you should remember that they will need something to help “pop” their ears when the plane is taking off and landing. You can bring gum, or if you child swallows gum, tootsie rolls are the perfect alternative, as they can be chewed just long enough to help.
There are lots and lots of cruise lines offering fine travel packages in the Caribbean. Some are more memorable than others, though: Consider a barefoot windjammer cruise as an exciting alternative to a more modern, conventional cruise ship. Visiting the islands of the Caribbean powered along by wind and the tides is more romantic than steaming around them on a massive cruise liner.
If you are traveling in a car, take the time to go slightly out of your way and visit small town bars and restaurants. You will meet some interesting people and have the chance to sample some of the local fare. Residents of these towns will instantly recognize unfamiliar faces and often go out of their way to talk to you.
If you enjoy backpacking on your travels, there are a few packing tips that can make your adventures much easier. Try packing lighter items towards the bottom of the bag so that it feel lighter as it rests on your back. It is also smart to pack commonly used items at the top of the bag so they can be easily reached. To lighten the load make sure you only pack the essentials you will need for the duration of the trip. And be sure to have a properly fitted backpack to prevent strain or injury.
Make plans to participate in a scavenger hunt if you are traveling on a cruise ship. When going on vacation with a large group of family or friends, take the time to divide everyone up into teams and challenge them to find items or information. Not only will you have a good time, but everyone will learn a lot about the ship.
Always carry a small bag in your bags. Either a collapsible duffel or backpack that can be easily stored gives you the option of returning with items such as gifts, souvenirs or even duty free items. While it may be one more bag to check, you can avoid potentially higher weight charges from stuffing these items into your regular luggage.
Try to be flexible about your travel dates. If you can search for a day before and a day after a particular date, you will likely see that prices can vary. You may save some money by flying out a day earlier or later. These savings could easily add up to well over, a hundred dollars.
Remember your medications. This is something that can be easily overlooked. It can be difficult to get your medication shipped to your destination.
If your flight is long and includes a meal, then be sure to ask for a kosher meal, because you will most likely be served first. Although you might get glances from your neighbors, you won’t have to wait for the entire plane to be served to start enjoying your food.
All of these things are great in preparing yourself to go traveling to that exciting new country that you’ve always wanted to visit. Making sure you are prepared can take out all of the uncertainty that might make you nervous about being in a whole new place so you can simply enjoy your trip to the fullest.
