If you could give one travel tip to a friend, what would it be? We’ve surveyed some well-travelled experts to get their hints on getting the most out of your trip. Got a tip you want to add? Leave a comment below!
Anthony – The Travel Tart
“Only use your guidebook for general advice. I find the best travel experiences happen when I start wandering around a place with no plans, and I stumble upon areas I would have never thought of visiting. Just make sure you have a map or a phone with a GPS so you can find your way back!” [/author_info] [/author]
Peter Daams – Travellerspoint
“When visiting a new city, skip the taxis and public transport and walk as much as you can. Just walk everywhere you possibly can. Even if it takes you an hour or two to get where you would otherwise be in 20 minutes – you see so many things you wouldn’t if you took the transport options.”
Alice Nash – Virgin Australia Travel
“Pack a double-headed power adapter. Eliminate lost hours waiting for your phone and camera to recharge, by charging multiple items at the same time.”
Michael Jones – Holiday Point
“If you are going on a road trip, I highly recommend websites like roadtrippers.com to discover a wide range of amazing sites and attractions that might be along to your route. Not only can you find place and things you never knew existed, you can create route maps and itineraries for the most efficient route.
When looking to book accommodation, I highly recommend using the website hotelscombined.com to find and compare the prices of hotels across the different booking websites. You’ll be surprised that there is actually different prices listed for the exact same room.
After you have found the cheapest 2-3 websites, check out coupon code websites like retailmenot.com and see if any of the websites have any current promotional codes or sales. You should be able to save even more.”
Rick – Travel Like a Local
“Arrange some drinks with locals using websites like couchsurfing, or social network before travelling. Pick 1-2 people per session so it’s easier to get more in touch with the local life, get suggestions and top tips.”
Michael Milne – Changes in Longitude
“Libraries are a wonderful resource on the road. They provide comfortable air-conditioned space with free WiFi, and unlike the local coffee shop you don’t need to buy anything to use it. The used book racks are a great source of $1 books too.”
Dave Gregory – Cheapflights.com.au
“When you travel, roll up your socks and underwear and stuff them into your shoes. It will save you a lot of space in your suitcase. Also, rolling your clothes instead of folding them will save space and stop them getting creased.
If you’re visiting a foreign city, make sure you have a paper copy of a map too. Modern smartphones are great but they aren’t known for their great battery life so you will want to save it for things which are more important.”
Alice – Nomad Sage
“Whenever you take a plane, bus or ship, your costs grow significantly. If you really want to save, then perceive your travel not as a vacation, but as a lifestyle. Do not try to see everything at once, and instead explore a country and a city as close as possible. It will save you money and extend the perception of the world!”
Brad Aldcroft – Redspot Car Hire Australia
“Book your rental car far in advance. Don’t wait till the last minute or try and collect a hire car on the day of pickup without a reservation. The closer you get to your pickup date, the higher the price will be for each car type due to the high utilisation of the fleet. Booking far in advanced while availability is limitless, especially around peak holiday periods will guarantee you the lowest price for your trip saving you money.”
Mitzi – Mitzi learns to
“Bit of a ‘responsible’ one, but make sure you let people know your rough travel itinerary. You never know what could happen, or how that information could help you if something happens.”
Angela Boateng
“Always keep a scanned copy of your passport in your email. That way if you do lose your passport, you have a copy just an internet cafe away.”
David – Excelsior Hotel
“If you are flying into Los Angeles get the first flight in the morning, drop your bags off at your hotel and go out exploring. This is the best way to avoid jetlag and then at the end of your day when you are really struggling to stay awake head back to your hotel and crash. You will wake up early the next morning feeling refreshed and ready to enjoy your holiday!
When trying to travel light consider taking a retractable USB cable for your phone as a charger as you will find it easy to find places to charge it. This tip also works when travelling overseas as you don’t need a travel adapter, and you easily find USB ports in airplanes, buses, TVs, hotel rooms and most computers.”
Nemek – Car Hire Search
“Scan important travel documents like your passport, driver’s license, airline information and other booking details and store them on a secure, cloud-based site like Dropbox or Google Drive. If you lose your documents, you’ll have some backup. Don’t want to memorize another password? Scan the documents and email them to yourself instead.
Going on a long flight? Set the time on your watch to the destination time and try sleeping and eating according to that time if you can.”
Dan Treasure – DanTreasure.com
“If all accommodation is booked out when looking online, give the hotel/motel/hostel a call direct to enquire – most, if not all, do not advertise all their available accommodation online (in some countries by law) to allow for walk-ins.”
Sonia Cuff – Off the Cuff
“On a flight, hold your plastic butter container over your hot drink to soften the butter before opening it. Then you won’t need a chisel to spread it.“
Kate Toon – Kate Toon Copywriter
“Take baby wipes wherever you go. They’re great for cleaning hands before eating, wiping down dirty loos, cooling you down on hot days and even wrapping up food scraps!”
John Romaine – Bring the Donuts
Buy food once you’ve checked in and passed through the gates. This will prevent getting hungry on long flights. Always grab two bottles of water. Slip into something comfortable for long flights. Avoid tight jeans and belts etc (tracksuit pants are great) Slip off the shoes. Get a seat to the rear near the aisle (beats having to climb over people that are asleep) Put a second pair of clothing in your carry on bag incase your luggage gets lost in transit.”
Alistair Lattimore – Convergent Media
“If you park your car at the airport when flying – always, always write the parking area on the back of your parking ticket. That way, when you return and you’re tired from a busy schedule, long or delayed flight – you’ll know exactly where you parked your car and avoid the frustration at the end of your trip when all you want to do is get home, see your family and relax.”
Luke Chapman – Top 100 Experiences
“If you’re travelling with another person, pack half your belongings in each other’s bags. That way, if one of the bags doesn’t turn up at your destination at least you still have a fresh pair of undies!
When travelling in the outback, be sure you have all the necessary safety equipment. Plenty of fresh water, food and warm clothing are essential if you have a breakdown in the middle of nowhere. Fuel stops can be few and far between, so think about taking a jerry can with additional fuel with you. Even if you have half a tank of fuel when you come across a petrol station, it’s probably worth filling up as it may be the only one for several hundred kilometres!”
Natalie Pole – The Cake Tree
“Check the weather and climate before you go. The best advice is to pack layers, that way you can add or remove them depending on what you’re doing throughout the day.”