Its 2019! Your new journey starts now. We may not know what this year holds for us, but one thing’s for sure…there is always adventure! It’s new year, new goals, and new destinations to explore. No matter where you are heading, don’t forget to plan for everything to achieve that stress-free and relaxing vacation. Here are some few tips on what to do and what to bring on your next adventure.
Pre-Travel Preparations:
Choose your destination.
Before everything else, pick your starting point. Remember that you don’t need to choose where everyone goes, you can always pick a place you’ve been longing to see. Also, choose a destination base on your budget for you to avoid overspending.
Research. Read. Take notes.
Before you embark on a journey, be sure that you have everything you needed to know about the place. Be well-informed of their transportation system, food choices, money-matters, common language/dialects, and familiarize at least few of their main streets. The internet is a vast library of information as long as you know where to look (beware of websites that provides wrong information). One tip I give you is to always screenshot city maps of where you plan to go since some places don’t have network connections. Take into consideration as well the season and weather condition on the time of your visit.
Pre-booking.
Once you’ve decided on your destination, pre-book everything; from your bus/plane tickets to your hotel/accommodation. Pre-booking saves you from the hassle of being a chance passenger and from going around the area to search for available accommodations which will take much of your time. It’s even cheaper when you book online for your accommodation; some hotels post
10%-20% discount for early bookings.
Itinerary.
Now that your travel date and time are settled; its time for you to prepare your itinerary to be able to manage your time and budget wisely. Consider everything from activities you wanted to engage, tourist spots to visit, to food and transportation expenses.
If you go in groups, you can split these expenses and lower your individual cost depending on the number of members. So, I highly suggest to join group tours or tag along your friends and travel buddies. But if in any case you are a solo traveler, you can always be a joiner in group tours and meet new faces.
Itemize in your itinerary the expenses for the following: tour guide (if any), entrance fees, environmental fees, food, transportation allowance, activity fees, and you can also add your budget for pasalubongs. You could be more detailed in your itinerary and include your estimated time spent on each activity; this depends on your preference.
What to bring:
Aside from bringing with you your clothes, there are few important things you must not forget to stash in your luggage. Some of the items I will mention below depends on the season/weather condition on the time of your visit.
- Cash – not all places accepts credit/debit cards as payments specially in remote areas.
- Valid ID/s – this is for identification purposes specially if you book your tickets and accommodation online.
- Passport/Visa/Tickets
- Cellular phone – with internet connection too. This is very helpful in contacting and emergency purposes.
- Power bank – this is life-saver; specially in places without electricity and charging stations.
- Hygiene Kit – this includes alcohol/hand sanitizer, wipes, toothbrush and toothpaste, deodorant, napkins/panty-liners, soap and shampoo.
- Emergency/Medicine Kit – your kit must consist of medicines for common colds, dizziness and allergies, vitamins, ointment for headache/migraine, band aids/bandage and betadine.
- Sunblock – to protect your skin from UV rays.
- Insect Repellant – to avoid insect bites that may cause health problems during your travel
- Dry bag – to keep your important belongings dry when travelling through waters
- Camera – to capture memorable places and people you met along the way
- Water bottle/snacks – to avoid repurchasing of bottled waters and to lessen the use of plastics.
- City map – to familiarize the streets around your area
- Pen and paper – or your travel journal; to take notes of the places you’ve been, people you meet, restaurants visited and other important information.
- Jacket – for colder nights and sweater-weather.
What to expect:
Behind every Instagram post is a thorough preparation of everything; from leaving your doorstep to coming back.
Some photos you see during your research might not be the same on what you see in person – reality vs. expectation. It might be better or worse; point is you have been to a place you’ve only heard about before.
Expect that not at all times, your travel goes as what you planned. Be prepare for back-up plans; in case you miss your flight or your host cancels your accommodation. In addition to this, your scheduled time of tour may not be followed as it is originally scheduled due to some circumstances (late tour members, long queues, and traffic jams) so always have a little snack in your bag for your hungry moments.
But, despite all this, I assure you that each travel is worth all the hassle. Through these circumstances, you will learn to adjust, you will realize the diversity of the people and their culture, and you will more understanding and nicer.
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I am looking forward to seeing your travel photos by sending or tagging me @abriolymar (Instagram). I hope I was able to provide you some bits of information for your first travel this 2019. Enjoy your journey because you are given another 365 new chances.
Ciao,
Marsy♥
Marsy Diaries 