Travel. The word that fills every student with hope, wanderlust and a longing for the end of term. As an international student who is currently living in her 3rd country, I have been lucky enough to do quite a bit of travel and do not intend to stop anytime soon! In fact, the prospect of travel is the only thing getting me through my impending dissertation. On my travels, I have picked up a few tips that I have found very useful that I use every time I set off on an adventure. These are my top 5 pieces of advice for first-time travellers, or those planning a trip!
Guard your passport with your life.
This is a pretty simply but important one. When you travel, you will of course be equipped with the essentials like your passport, phone, ID, money etc. These things are called essential for a reason so HOLD ON TO THEM. I find that it is best to keep them on me at all times, so invest in a small bag that you can sling across your body (not a backpack that people can open from behind) and keep the necessities in there. It is always better to be safe than sorry and keeping these things with you means you can always have your eye, and hands, on them.
Have a plan, but be ready to be flexible
I am a serial planner, I love nothing more than sitting down with all my coloured pens and a fresh page in a notebook and mapping out my week. Now this is actually quite handy when it comes to travel because I can rest assured that, if I make a good plan and do some research, I can get the most out of my trip! I find looking up the best restaurants in the area, the price and wait-times for tourist attractions and digging for any hidden gems off the beaten track the most practical and useful bits of information to be armed with when I arrive. In saying that, I always leave some wiggle room and never plan down to the hour or anything crazy! I think that once you get to your destination you are bound to get caught up in the beauty of the place and stumble across some pretty amazing stuff. So whilst having a few boxes to tick, I always like to be flexible and really EXPERIENCE the place I am in. Treat your plan like a mini bucket-list rather than a schedule, you are on holiday after all!
Pack light… this is ALWAYS the best way to travel.
Also, never underestimate the power of a packing list (did I already mention I love planning?)! What I like to do is figure out how long I will be away for, what the climate is like, what kind of activities I will be doing and if I think I will need anything fancy to wear. This information will determine what clothes you bring and how many items you’ll need. In my experience, less is more and I learnt the hard way that lugging a heavy suitcase around is NOT worth an extra outfit or the entirety of my bathroom cabinet. The best thing about having a list is that not only does it help you pack ONLY the bare necessities, but it also helps you check that you come back with everything you brought, plus a few souvenirs of course!
Take photos
So you’re all packed (lightly of course) and ready to go and make memories, but you’re going to need some way of documenting them and creating the most jealously-inducing Instagram feed! I think photos make great souvenirs and I love nothing more than flicking through my travel photos on those particularly grey months in Durham. For most of us, long gone are the days of a separate digital camera as smartphones allow for great, more portable photo-taking. But, make sure you actually have room on your phone to store all your amazing snaps! I find that deleting the apps I don’t need and backing up the photos I already have on there before clearing some space to be the best option. If you do it before you go, it means you can take photos as and when you need, rather than constantly being reminded of your non-existent storage space and being denied perfect pictures!
Have an open mind and live in the moment
As much as we can all appreciate an amazing holiday Facebook album or that one shot capturing sun-kissed skin and windswept holiday hair, make sure your main focus is the moment and not the memento. Photos are great for showing family and friends, but wasting hours on the beach trying to find the right angle (and really irritating your travel buddies) is not how one should spend their travel time. Make sure you have an open mind when you’re travelling and see and experience things that you may never get another chance to. Don’t do things just for the ‘gram’. Instead, focus on all the unique and amazing things that travel can show you.
So there are my 5 tips for first time travellers or people already gearing up for a summer of globe-trotting. Stay safe and have an absolutely amazing time! Make the most of every second.