13 Travel Tips For First Time Travelers
The first trips you do in your life, are an AMAZING experience. That feeling of happiness, freedom, anxiety and even fear, you continue to feel it over the years, and are kept as beautiful memories and anecdotes for the rest of life.
Although those first adventures are probably the most special we have, they are also the most mistaken ones we end up doing. For that reason, today we bring you a list of 13 fundamental First Time Travelers Tips.
1. Choose a destination that is not too complicated
The world is full of impressive places that are worth visiting. However, some of these destinations may not be for inexperienced and first time travelers.
For example, a trip to the beach or some European capital is not the same as going to the Himalayas.
If you are making one of your first trips independently, it is advisable to choose an easy place to visit . That is, some destination that does not require much effort or planning.
2. Bring extra money
How much money do you have budgeted for the trip? After you have a figure more or less clear, increases the budget by 20% (minimum). Why? Easy, you’ll always spend more than expected .
You may have created an exact itinerary for the entire trip, have calculated every penny of what you are going to spend and be sure that your plan is not going to fail. Big mistake, because there will always be unforeseen expenses on trips.
Of course, unless you travel to the jungle or the South Pole, you are likely to end up spending on souvenirs, tours, food between meals, etc. That’s the reality. So it always takes ‘a little more’ than you had contemplated.
3. Avoid excessive baggage
This is one of the most common mistakes among travelers, even among those with more experience.
The time to pack is never easy. Imagine, you are storing everything inside your suitcase and suddenly you realize that you are missing something; This happens over and over as you pack until you realize that nothing fits any more.
That feeling of “I may need it” is one of the biggest causes of excess baggage. For that reason, when packing, leave at least ¼ of the empty bag . Do not worry, outside the basic documents and some medicines, nothing in your luggage is 100% indispensable .
It may interest you: Packing Tips: How To Pack The Right Way
4. Eye with your phone
In the world we live in today, connectivity has become fundamental. For this reason, a small mistake, such as not looking at the cost of data roaming abroad, can lead to stratospheric charges on the telephone bill.
What is the solution?
If your phone has a contract (rental plan), when traveling to another country, always have the phone in airplane mode . With this you will no longer consume data.
Another alternative if you need to be connected during the trip is to buy a sim card when you arrive in the country. By the way, keep in mind that in some cases the phones may not be compatible. Check the bands that your cell phone works before you buy the card.
Also most telephone companies offer data plans overseas. They are usually expensive, but you will get much cheaper than paying the extra roaming charges.
5. Read the experiences of other travelers
If you’re going to a place you’ve never been to, it’s worth reading blogs and travel reports from other travelers to get a more or less general idea of what you can expect.
In the article of “Booking a Trip: Should you Trust Online Customer Reviews?” (a must read for first time travelers), we mentioned that it is not always a good idea to have preconceived ideas of a destination in which you have never been, but in this case, you must be careful in order to read experiences from other travelers on internet.
6. Explore, explore and explore
The biggest difference between a tourist and a traveler Is that tourists rarely leave the prefabricated tours, while the traveler explores and asks the locals to discover the hidden gem of the place.
For example, it’s nice to take a picture of the Mona Lisa at the Louvre or walk the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but it’s much more interesting to get lost in the streets of Paris or go to one of the famous eccentric Californian parties.
When traveling, do not get caught up in the ordinary.
7. Forget expectations and enjoy
Another mistake that travelers habitually make is to create very high expectations about the trip.
No one puts in question that in the trip you will have a good time and you will learn a lot of things, but also you have to understand that not everything in this life is pink and the pictures so interesting that you saw in Instagram are only a very Superficial of what the trip actually represents.
8. Travel with a friend
Being a first time travelers and travel alone is an invaluable experience that will help you grow as a person, there is no doubt. However, it can be at the same time too challenging for beginner travelers, especially if you visit a destination culturally different from where you come from.
The ideal thing in your first trips is to do it with another person. It will help you a lot to overcome the feeling of loneliness, fear, shyness, etc. That you could have.
In the event that you do not get someone to accompany you, do not worry, wherever you go you will always find a person (it may be some other traveler or a local) that will support you in the event that you feel alone .
9. Take your time and do not speed up the trip
The thrill of knowing a new site can make us want to see everything in one trip. In addition to the short vacation time we usually have, we often end up touring dozens of places without even enjoying them.
In order to enjoy and live the complete experience of the place, try not to rush the trip. As a First Time Travelers you must take the time you think is right and travel slowly.
10. Scan your most important documents
No matter how careful you consider yourself, when traveling you should have a back up of your most important documents in the cloud.
Ideally, you should have scanned copies of your most important documents, such as your passport, visa, identity card, health insurance policy, credit card, etc. in your email or cloud service of your choice.
Likewise, these copies are given to a family member or trusted person for any emergency.
11. Do not be afraid
Fear even the most experienced travelers still feel it when they travel …
From external issues such as the insecurity and social instability of the place where you will go, to each person’s own situations such as shyness and loneliness, fear manifests itself in different ways, but in the end it can end up ruining you. The whole trip.
How to overcome it beign a first time travelers?
First of all, we must know how to differentiate between true fear and psychological fear. In short, real or real fear is a mechanism that distances you from an imminent danger that puts your life at risk. In the case of psychological fear , your life is not in danger but your mind behaves as if it really were.
Since you identified it:
A) If it is a real fear, follow your intuition and stay away.
B) If it is a psychological fear, face it .
In case you feel that fear does not let you continue, simply breathe and smile . This will lower your mental barriers a bit and help you to continue.
12. Forget expectations and enjoy
Another mistake that travelers habitually make is to create very high expectations about the trip.
No one puts in question that in the trip you will have a good time and you will learn a lot of things, but also you have to understand that not everything in this life is pink and the pictures so interesting that you saw in Instagram are only a very Superficial of what the trip actually represents .
There is a phrase widely used among travelers that says: let yourself be surprised . As a general rule, happiness is inversely proportional to the amount of expectations you have .
13. Being a First Time Travelers does not mean being an idiot
Being new to something does not necessarily mean that you do not have common sense, although there are some people who forget this …
Worst of all is that many of these problems could have been avoided with only a little good sense .
Likewise, you have to be prepared for the most obvious circumstances that can be traversed. For example, if you go on a ski trip, you should at least take health insurance. Or if you go to a place that does not stand out because of its ‘good security’, do not carry valuables.
Keep it in mind.
