Travel Tip #1
Check out Free Walking Tours in major cities. Local tour guides will walk you through the neighborhoods and major attractions. This is one of my favorite ways to spend my first day in a city to get a good orientation and to get insight into things to do and restaurants to check out from a local. Make sure you bring cash tips for your guide!
Travel Tip #2
Standing in a long line to enter a popular tourist attraction? Check out their website and see if you can purchase tickets online to skip the line or buy scheduled timed entry tickets for later in the day.
Travel Tip #3
Check out Reddit and Google Maps reviews for local restaurant recommendations. Make a list of the top 5 restaurants near your hotel so you aren’t stuck in the “where should we go for dinner” rut after a long day of sightseeing. This is a great way to avoid the overpriced and bland tourist traps!
Travel Tip #4
Immerse yourself in culture and book a class! Most cities will offer classes in culinary, dancing, surfing, art, etc. My husband and I always sign-up for at least one cooking class. Food is our love language, and we love to revisit the recipes so we can "travel" when we go back home.
We LOVED our chocolate making class at the Choco Museo in Lima, Peru! We did the Bean to Bar class that walked us through the entire process of making our very own chocolate bars. The instructor was incredibly kind and engaging, explaining the grinding process as we ground our beans by hand and then "blessed" the chocolate with a traditional Peruvian song before we began designing our own bars of chocolate. You could pick out your chocolate bar molds and add-ins. I made a spicy chocolate bar with some chili pepper and salt and a chocolate coconut bar. You can even choose if you want to make milk or dark chocolate.
Travel Tip #5
Sticking to a tight budget? Use a budget spreadsheet that tracks your spending on rooms, travel, activities, food, and other purchases. Download the sheet to your phone so you can add to it while offline. This is a great way to track your daily spending immediately after a purchase and to see if you have room to splurge on a last minute addition to your itinerary or on a pricey souvenir.
Bonus tip: Join the Bon Voyage Book Box Waitlist on our website and have a FREE trip budget planning spreadsheet delivered to your inbox!
Travel Tip #6
Look up the top 10 must-try foods and save them in an app on your phone. After a long day of sightseeing, it’s handy to refer to the list to make sure you taste the culture.
This was a delicious bowl of cuttlefish and squid ink pasta, a local delicacy in Croatia. The squid ink offers a rich, umami flavor profile. I found dried squid ink pasta at my local world market and I was able to recreate this dish at home with shrimp instead of cuttlefish. Be sure to rinse your mouth out with water afterwards to avoid a blackened smile!
Travel Tip #7
Planning a trip to Europe? Check out the Rick Steves App. He has an audio guide for most European countries. Download these episodes in advance to have something to listen to during long plane, train, and bus rides.
Travel Tip #8
Need a quick way to smooth out a wrinkled outfit and don’t have an iron? Put on your wrinkled clothes, sprinkle water on the wrinkled parts so that the material is damp, and then use a blow dryer to dry out the wrinkles. Never worry about a wrinkled dress again!
I wore this gorgeous blue dress to the Garnier Opera House in Paris to attend a ballet. It's made of a crepe material that crinkles just looking at it. I was staying in a hostel, so I had no access to an ironing board or steamer. I also didn't have a hair dryer with me, so I asked another girl in the dorm if I could borrow hers, and it took me just 8 minutes to remove all of the wrinkles! I use the same trick on every vacation, and I even resorted to using it at work when I spilled coffee on a white blouse. A quick rinse in the sink and then a five minute blow dry with the hand dryer took care of it!
Travel Tip #9
Don’t forget to check out local festivals and markets! Some of my favorite travel memories were wandering the stalls of the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul and attending a South Korean Water Festival.
Travel Tip #10
Want to grab the best souvenir? Head to a local bookstore and check out the English/foreign novels section. Select a new release or a favorite classic to take home. Every time you see it on your bookshelf you will be reminded of your trip!
Travel Tip #11
Pack a reusable shopping bag inside your day bag/purse. When you’re out sightseeing you never know when you might come across a souvenir or a snack and need a bag to carry it in. Many countries also require you to pay for grocery bags, so this is a great way to save some money and to avoid waste.
Travel Tip #12
Plan a rest stop/break in the middle of your day’s itinerary. Your feet will thank you! I love to PACK my itinerary with little down time (you're only in this country for a limited time, so why waste a moment?) However, if you don't give yourself time to rest, you will get burned out and won't appreciate your time as much later on. You body needs to refuel! Take a 30 minute break after several hours on the go; this could be at a small coffee shop near a museum or grab some ice cream and head to a local park to sit and people-watch for 30 minutes.
Travel Tip #13
Did you know that every country has different shows available to stream on popular streaming service apps? Once you arrive, open up your favorite streaming service app and see what is trending in that country. Download a few new shows and movies to watch on the plane or in the evenings. You can always turn on CC (closed captioning) in English!
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