Top 15 Travel Tips - Julie Measures

Top Travel Tips to get your ready for your next adventure!

1. Plan your outfits in advance. Get your itinerary out, check the average weather, and get started. Having your itinerary will eliminate a lot of “what-ifs.” You’ll realize you only have one free night to possibly go out dancing so you only need one potential club outfit, not five.

2. Unless you have a fancy evening planned, limit yourself to two pairs of shoes. The pair you wear on your feet while you travel and one other pair in your bag. You do not, I repeat, you DO NOT need more than two pairs of shoes, but you do need two. Switch shoes every day to give your feet a break.

3. Put everything in resealable bags. Yep. Everything. Put any liquids with questionable lids (push tops that may open, sprays that may leak) in their own individual bags, and then put all your liquids & creams in a larger bag that you can easily remove for security. Put this in the top of your suitcase/bag so you don’t have to unpack everything to get to it.

4. Sharing is caring. You don’t all need to pack your own toiletries. There’s no need for multiple tubes of toothpaste or bottles of shampoo. If you’re staying in the same hotel room, plan on sharing these items. Have the same phone? You can share the same charger, too.

5. Go minimal high-tech. Condense your technology and maximize its impact. All your entertainment can be on your smartphone: Kindle/Audible, movies, music, games.

6. Travel safe. By far my favorite item I had with me on my trip was my Pacsafe bag.

7. Order currency before your trip. When I submitted our travel plan to the bank so our credit cards would work overseas, I also found out our bank will order currency for you. I didn’t have to worry about finding somewhere to change currency when we arrived, instead, we walked out of the airport and were ready to go! If you can do this, I recommend it.

8. Learn enough of the language to be respectful. Before your trip, memorize a few key phrases in the native language of your destination country. Basics like “Hello,” “Goodbye,” “Thank you,” “Excuse me,” “Help,” “Do you speak English?” and “Where’s the bathroom?” Simply being able to greet a shopkeeper, thank them and bid them farewell in their native tongue will go a long way in your favor. For Morocco I brought French & Arabic pocket phrasebooks from Lonely Planet & I thought they were great. There are also many great (and free!) apps you can download.

9. Get a map. CityMaps2Go: This is not a free app, but it was completely worth the $4.99. You can download maps ahead of time & the app uses GPS not data to track you. We turned our data off when we left the US to make sure we didn’t incur any outrageous fees, and we got along great with these maps.

10. Stay charged. We charged our Dark Energy up before our trip & we didn’t need to charge it again, yet it kept our batteries charged through the whole trip. It’s great to stay unplugged and recharge your phone on the go.

11. Keep track of information. Itineraries, flight numbers, hotels, addresses, museum hours, tour times, train schedules, voucher numbers, emergency numbers, restaurant reservations, etc. Make a note on your phone, or get a small notebook and write or paste all your pertinent information there.

12. Stay healthy. Make yourself a DIY hotpot holder first aid kit. Everything I can imagine, I put in these little baggies, taking only enough for the duration of the trip, and keeping it all together in one place.

13. Stay hydrated while traveling. You should drink one glass of water (8oz) for each hour you are in flight. And don’t forget to stay hydrated on your layovers as well.

14. Eat local. One of our most important rules is to never eat somewhere you can eat at home. We take this very seriously and adhere to it no matter where we are traveling, in the states or abroad. You may very well find a new favorite dish to share with friends back home!