Time-To-Explore Travel Hacks

Time-To-Explore Travel Hacks

1. Guidebooks are probably the last thing I turn to when I’m someplace new, and that’s exactly why — I’m someplace new.Guidebooks will only present you with tourist traps, and while I would 100% recommend exploring both The Louvre and The Eiffel Tower while you’re in Paris for your first time, you don’t need these guidebooks to tell you to go do that. Being someplace new, I can promise you every corner you pass and every street you walk through will keep your attention.

2. Journals or even little sketch pads can be a super useful item to keep with you when you’re in a foreign country, especially if you don’t have access to WiFi or data while you’re out roaming the streets. I like to keep a small notebook on me at all times which I write directions inside of places I want to visit on my trip, however I don’t make that my go-to itinerary. Stopping in the random store you walk by with the really nice leather jacket, grabbing a specialty drink from a random cafe you pass along the way, and turning that random corner with the amazing architecture and brightly colored houses that you didn’t previously plan to do are all things that you should do in new places. Don’t let a guidebook tell you how to live your vacation. For any guidance, I highly recommend asking the locals where to go if you haven’t done any previous research.

3. Every city you can think of has a website or blog set up with free things to do while you’re there. Use these sites to your advantage! You may come across museums which are free on Wednesday’s, or markets which will have fresh fruits and art open to the public on the weekends — there will definitely be something that will catch your interest. If you’re staying at a hostel, I can guarantee you the person working the front desk has a printout of everything free and discounted going on in town over the next few days.

4. When you’re hungry and are searching for someplace to eat, don’t choose someplace familiar or the fast food! Choose the local restaurants — these are going to be the best meals of your trip. They may introduce completely new flavors to you, or may even just be a meal you’ve had before cooked with different ingredients you’ve never even heard of. Regardless, they won’t let you down.

5. It’s pretty safe to say one thing you don’t want to do when travelling is stand out completely. Be yourself, but ‘when in Rome’… you know? If it’s a cultural norm for women to dress modestly, don’t enter the country in short shorts or a mini dress. Do some research so you’re prepared. You want to do everything in your power not to offend the people who live there. Nobody likes those annoying tourists.