Travel time means adventure time! Unfortunately, you do have to make room to be flexible because traveling is prone to pitfalls and is bound to be ruined if you are not flexible enough but, most especially, if you did not prepare well. For some people, traveling is a lifestyle while for most, traveling is rare. Know this: whether you’ve already gone to 50 countries around the world or if it is your first time to travel, the rules of traveling safely and on a budget stays the same.
How To Minimize The Hassle In Your Travel
Recognizing a handful of fail-safe strategies to keep your travel pleasurable as well as to keep you and your company out of harm’s way is essential. It’s just sad that not many travelers, even the more seasoned ones, are able to recognize that. Listed below are five handy-dandy kernels of wisdom that you can follow long before you take that hike or, that long flight:
Save your travel documents up in the Cloud
Out of all the travel tips that you will ever come across to, this one will probably have to be the most important and yet the frequently most forgotten must-do every time you travel. Make sure to keep a copy of your scanned passport, plane tickets, and accommodation reservations up there in the Cloud. Make sure that these documents are properly scanned and stored, and that your settings for this folder are not “public”. Backup everything in your travel agenda. Include other photo IDs in your travel folder. You will still get into a mess if you lose these documents but at least you will be able to establish your identity.
Be discreet about your personal details
Transact only with legitimate entities, whether direct providers or, third-party hotel booking platforms, make sure that you are dealing only with legit entities. One way to make sure that you are dealing only with legit providers is by dealing only with well-recognized airline companies, hotel chains and platforms like Airbnb. Another way is by making sure that you are sharing your bank details on an “https” page which indicates that it is secure and encrypted.
Ahh, this next pointer is something most people neglect: never post anything about your travel on social media before your scheduled flight out. To keep your home and the family you are leaving behind safe while you are gone, don’t tell the world when you’re leaving and when you’re back. If you do, it becomes an open invitation for burglars. Save your excitement to yourself for now and during your entire stay. Go back on social once you’re safely back home.
Keep a copy of the local map
No, you don’t have to be a typical old world tourist holding an oversized map of the city or country while walking up and down the streets. Simply make sure that you have an application on your phone or tablet that can show the local map like Google Maps. The first thing you should do even before your scheduled flight is to locate your hotel on the map and mark it. Then, do the same for the rest of your itinerary so you can have a better orientation of where you are at any time during your stay.
Prepare for emergencies
Whenever you travel, expect to have a wonderful blast but also, expect some mishaps. You should understand how to deal with an emergency while traveling. So, make sure to look up local emergency numbers, including those of your airline’s local office, airport, hotel or accommodation, cab service, local embassy, police, bank, and even your travel and medical insurance provider. If you are traveling with kids, it is best if you can keep your contact number or a copy of their IDs in their pockets and your local, as well as home address, is written on a piece of paper.
That said, you should pack a basic emergency kit with you. To know what other things to put inside, consider the activities that you are planning to do. Always have these, your phone, a bottle of water, a few munchies, your travel documents, and your maintenance meds within reach. This is going to be like your go-bag so it’s best to tuck it away inside a waterproof case. Use money belts, carry on luggage of good quality. Remember that when you’re traveling, you don’t know when disasters might strike. Make sure to find out about your phone provider’s roaming service or, how you can get a local number to save on phone bills but still be able to have a means of communicating.
Be polite to locals
Getting into trouble with locals is one of the worst things that you can ever do to spoil your travel plans. In fact, to make your travel pleasurable and even more worthwhile, it pays to strike up a casual conversation with locals. They know the best eats and the best places to visit. You will be surprised at how much willing they are to share their local insights. Just remember to keep conversations casual and refrain from sharing very personal details, and do keep your full travel itinerary for yourself.
Another way to show your courtesy is by respecting local laws and regulations by following these. If you are hiking, for example, the local government will often require registration. Don’t think for a second that you are too seasoned to ever need local assistance because you can get lost and you can get injured out there. It pays to have your name properly registered so that people can look for you in case you go missing for several days.
Travel!
Traveling inexpensively is a choice that you can make, such as by electing to travel to destinations where the best deals are already up for grabs. Traveling safely, however, may not always be a choice and yet, by preparing for the unexpected, you may be able to avert security threats and minimize danger.
