I ’ll never leave the country again without survey these tips , downloading these liberal apps , and saving alllll this money .
Hey! I’mSpencer, and I recently traveled throughout several places in England, both solo and in a group. It was a truly incredible yet daunting experience, and I learned a lot more about international travel, so I wanted to share some of my best (and unspoken) tips with you here. Hopefully this will be helpful for your own future adventures, so feel free to take what you want and leave the rest. Enjoy!
In total , I expend 10 days in London , Oxford , and Birmingham and I also took a Clarence Shepard Day Jr. trip to Bath . I analyze abroad in London over a decade ago and chat again last year , so this tripper give up me to focus a little less on touristed experiences and more on the must - eat , see , and do point that most visitor in all probability do n’t even call up about . Here are some things I learn along the elbow room , including some I wish I ’d known sooner .
1.For me, one of the most stressful parts about international travel is public transportation, so I always plug my destinations into sites likeTrainline,Rome2Rio, orCitymapperbecause they break everything down like I’m an idiot. Basically, they explain which public transit to take, where to transfer, how many stops to ride for, and so on. For example, I was meeting a group in Birmingham to start my trip, but there are no flights there, so after landing at Heathrow I had to take the tube and transfer and then take a proper train outside of London. These sites showed me all the ways to get to my destination, including which routes would be faster and cheaper. A true miracle.
These site are also useable as free apps that you could download onto your phone , and if you ’re someone like me who always needs things design forwards of prison term ( or who ’s always unquiet about potentially find lose ) then you ’ll obtain them to be a complete godsend .
Also , if you know you ’ll be traveling via caravan or any other public rapture where you ’ll need to purchase a fanny forrader of metre , verify you do it as shortly as possible . My train tickets would have cost $ 50 more if I ’d bribe them at the post the day off , rather than weeks in advance , so it definitely facilitate to plan thing out .
2.When booking international travel, you should always search for flights in the airline’s original language because they may be MUCH cheaper (like, if you’re booking through a Peruvian or Swedish airline, for example). The same goes for hotels too. I always change the language or country’s domain for wherever my destination is so I can compare prices to the US versions. Sometimes they’ll be cheaper and will have deals that are only available in those specific places, and other times I’ll find better results in English, so it’s always worth checking.
This tip is a little more tedious and call for some test and error , but it could potentially deliver you hundreds of dollars . Most sites let you change languages at the top of their webpage , but you may also attempt to manually change the land ’s domain page yourself ( for illustration , trivago.com would change to trivago.co.uk if you wanted to search specifically for hotels in the UK ) .
In the pic above , I booked indistinguishable fake flight of steps at the same exact metre via a Peruvian airway . I kept one incognito tabloid in English using USD , and I switch the country choice to Peru in the other tab . This finical engagement was over $ 50 chinchy in English , and in the past I ’ve meet it where it ’s more expensive in English , so it always pay to check .
3.One of my most frequently used apps while traveling abroad is acurrency converter calculator. It’s free and will probably save you so much money, especially if you’re someone who likes to travel on a budget. It lets you set two currencies: your regular one + the one of the country you’re traveling in (so for my trip I kept US dollars and added British pounds). All you have to do is type the price of whatever you want to purchase, and it’ll automatically convert that amount into your normal currency, using the exact conversion rate as of that very second. You can also use the app even if you don’t have Wi-Fi, so it’s especially helpful if you’re traveling while in airplane mode.
I ’ve tried a few other rebirth apps before , but I like this one because it also has a built - in calculator . That means it ’s especially helpful when traveling as a group because you may easily break down eating house banknote and figure out how much each person needs to pay or Venmo .
I also used this app when I chitchat Cadbury World in Birmingham . I bribe all the chocolate bars we do n’t get in the US so I coulddo a taste - run and rank them . I ended up receive over 20 different prevention , so I used this app while roaming the talent shop to ensure I did n’t go over budget in US one dollar bill . If you ’re someone who ’s always extra thoughtful about how much they spend while traveling ( or if you just hate doing math ) , then I extremely recommend it .
4.Similarly, if you’re like me and suck at both directions and foreign languages, two other must-have apps areGoogle MapsandGoogle Translate. Both work in airplane mode, and I can’t express how much of a lifesaver they are. For Google Maps, you can save pins of all the places you’re going to visit (I used it for hotels, museums, restaurants, etc.), and then the app will show you a bird’s-eye view of the city and which direction you need to travel in. For Google Translate, it’ll use your phone’s camera to automatically translate every word the lens sees, so it’s especially perfect for restaurant menus and signs.
I obviously did n’t call for to use Google Translate on my trip through England , but I did apply it nonstop on a trip to Paris over the summertime , and my jaw genuinely knock off at how straightaway and accurate the results were . I spent six months trying to learn French on Duolingo , but this translation app helped me so much more than I thought I ’d need it .
likewise , the Google Maps app prevented me from getting drop off every time I left my hotel . It also helped me receive a nearby park to run in while staying at The Randolph in Oxford , which made me feel like a local . Essentially , the app apply a satellite to pinpoint your exact location ( again , even if you ’re in aeroplane mode ! ) . I ’d just tot up in each new location forwards of time , and whenever I opened the app it ’d highlight where I was , where my destination was , and exactly which direction I need to walk in to get there . I ’m one of the most anxious mass I know , and this app entirely calmed my nerves while solo traveling , which I did n’t think would be possible .
5.If you know you’ll be spending multiple days in the same area, you should figure out the one thing you absolutely want to do and then do it as soon as possible. Some museums and shops are closed on random days or for holidays, and other tours or experiences can get canceled or postponed due to bad weather, so you don’t want to save the best for last on your trip because something could happen that’ll make you miss it entirely. This is especially true when traveling internationally because you never know how long it’ll take you to get back to that particular country or city (~if~ you even do!).
My friend and I ask a mean solar day trip to Bath , and I just know we would have been absolutely miserable if it was too cold or showery outside ( especially since we had a walking tour set up ) . Bad weather is enough to make anyone desire to scrub their original plan and replace them with something new , so if there ’s something you really have your eye on while afield you should always do it at once . fortuitously the weather condition was expert , and we walked around Bath until we discovered my now - favorite afternoon tea in England ( at The Roseate Villa ) . I ’ll be dreaming about their homemade scones for a longggg clip .
6.Similarly, I think the biggest mistake people make while traveling is spending time and money on what they think they’re ~supposed~ to do, rather than prioritizing the things they’re actually interested in. For example, a lot of tourists are convinced they need to see the Mona Lisa at the Louvre or ride the London Eye, but both are pretty stressful, expensive, and lackluster experiences. I personally care less about sightseeing or overpriced tours, and I’ll happily swap them for nice dinners and West End tickets. It may sound stupid, but recognizing that your vacation is YOUR vacation will save you soooo much time, money, and patience by the end of it.
Nora Ephron’sI Remember Nothinghas totally changed the way I travel . In her collection of essays , she talks about the thing she will ( and will not ) miss in life sentence , one of them being " dinners with Friend in cities where none of us live . " I always found this so poetical and sobering , peculiarly since she was secretly battling a rarefied form of leucaemia at the time and was chop-chop face up her own mortality . So , to abide by Nora and to lionize myself , I economize my money to fling on meals instead of overcrowded tourist sand trap that I ’d otherwise feel obligated to visit .
In fact , my favorite dark in London had nothing to do with previous monuments or sightseeing . Instead , my friends and I got dressed up and put suuuuper strong martinis at DUKES ( aka where Ian Fleming got the inspiration for James Bond ’s notable boozing order ) . We then walk down the street to 45 Jermyn St. for dinner , got even more potty , and shared a lot of plates . The lobster pasta was stark heaven , and I could n’t break off thinking about how golden I was to be sharing a great repast in a strange land with friends . Experiences like this will always be more memorable and worthful to me than see any famous painting or statue .
7.Flights are getting so packed nowadays, and overhead storage is never guaranteed – especially on international flights – so one of the gate agents at Heathrow gave me a tip that I will always, always, always use. She said that to avoid being asked to check your carry-on during a full flight, you can (politely!) tell the gate agent that you’re a nervous flyer and that you’d like to board early. Obviously only do this if you’re actually an anxious flyer, like me, but as long as you’re super nice and ask ahead of time they’ll almost always say yes and let you pre-board. This way you’ll be guaranteed overhead storage on the plane, and you won’t need to wait an hour (or more!) for your carry-on bag to appear at the gate.
airline business have unfortunately decided to cram as many buns as possible onto plane , which means they do n’t actually have enough overhead storage when flights are full . If you ’re not in an early embarkation geographical zone then you ’re pretty much screwed , and they ’ll often ask you to check your bag for free . Well , not anymore . I was able to pre - board all of my flight thanks to this tip from my new best-loved gate agent .
8.Also, keep in mind that you can always ask a gate agent for a free upgrade or seat change (which will save you from paying an extra, like, $150 during check-in). As long as you’re polite and smile and ask them how their day is going, the gate agent will be much more willing to accommodate you, pending availability. I’m not saying you’re guaranteed a switch to business class, but so far every time I’ve asked they’ve happily changed my seat to an exit or front row with muchhhh more legroom, all for the price of zero dollars. You can also do this if you want to switch from a middle seat to an aisle or window, but just make sure you do it before boarding the plane – only the gate agents can get you a new ticket, not the flight attendants.
Sometimes I consider the key to life is to just fiddle dumb ( which is n’t always a stretching for me ) . fundamentally , after sound out hi and asking the gate agent how their day is going , I always say some version of , " I do n’t know how this works , but I ’ve never flown in commercial enterprise class before , and I was just wondering if there ’s any possibility of a free acclivity . " I ’m not an extroverted soul and normally detest talking to strangers , but I ’ll do just about anything for the chance to sit in luxury or else of in the back of a crammed flight of steps .
The agents have always been more than happy to take the air me through everything and turn their screens around to show me the flight of stairs ’s seating map , and together we figure out the good seating options that are usable .
9.I’m definitely extra cautious while traveling, and Wi-Fi is never guaranteed while abroad, so I always save all my important documents (hotel bookings, flight info, museum tickets, and itineraries) as a PDF and airdrop it to my phone – this automatically uploads it to your “Books” app and will let you view everything in one place, even in airplane mode. No more fumbling through my recent folders for specific screenshots with confirmation numbers, and no more praying for free Wi-Fi and endlessly searching through my inbox for that one email I need.
The goal of a vacation is to relax , but I in person ca n’t do that until I actually arrive at my destination . So , aside from having the PDF with all my documents ( and printing out a strong-arm copy , just in case [ hey , maybe your headphone will die or get stolen or something ! You never know ! ) , I also email everything to myself in a exclusive thread . This manner I wo n’t have to look through my total inbox for 10 freestanding e-mail of random bookings that were made day , weeks , or even months ago .
10.I also use the Notes app to keep all of my dates, phone numbers, and addresses in order. This is especially helpful if you’re lost or in a country with a language barrier because you can simply point to the address of your destination in your Notes app, and then the driver or random pedestrian or whoever will know exactly what you need.
Nothing is bad than needing a specific spell of info ASAP but not being able-bodied to find it , so having a transcript of everything in your Notes or Books app is really next - level . Doing this has saved me from soooo many unnecessary headaches .
11.If you’re always on the lookout for cheap flights but don’t know where to start, just search the word “anywhere” on Google Flights, and keep the “flight dates” section blank. This will show you all the best prices for a bunch of random flights around the world in the near-distant future. Yes, you’re sort of at the mercy of the Google Flights Gods with which dates they spit out, but if you have flexibility in your schedule then it can be a great resource.
You can also zoom in on the map, which will give you sooooo many more flight options and prices for wherever you want to travel. Just make sure you always use an incognito tab when booking flights or hotels.
I think this is passing helpful for people who get it on they want to move around somewhere but do n’t inevitably have a destination in mind . I ’ve used this method acting for solo travel in the past , but I also think it ’s really helpful for both budget and group traveling . Like , maybe you have group of friends who all have different destinations in thinker – using this " anywhere " method lets you see the cheapest options and dates , and it ’ll help you design the best , most affordable trips possible .
12.And when it comes to booking those flights, you’ll probably want to do that on November 28th, which is known as “Travel Tuesday.” It’s basically Black Friday but for travel deals. Yes, you’ll obviously see huge sales on flights, but you’ll also see massive discounts on things like hotels and cruises too.
Hopperis a expectant app for discounted flights and hotel in cosmopolitan , but if you ’re ever booking a trip during the close of the year then I ’d dead wait until November 28th . Last class , this specific day see more flight deals than Thanksgiving , Black Friday , and Cyber Monday coalesce , so , like , you ’ll definitely find something .
13.But if you want cheaper hotels and can’t wait for Travel Tuesday, you should always book a stay through your go-to site’s app. Most offer massive in-app discounts for particular rooms and hotels, which could be the difference between hundreds of dollars in savings. For example, when I traveled to London and Paris last year, Hotels.com had an extra 20% off for my rooms while booking in their app, but those discounts weren’t available on their site.
A lot of these hotel and traveling companies tender membership discounts simply for creating a free account . Others even include referral rewards , so if your acquaintance or family member books a stay using your referral link then you ’ll both get extra discounts . Basically , there are a million way to pull through , so always look at all of your option !
14.If you’re overwhelmed and don’t know how to start planning activities for your trip then I’d definitely check out each country or city’s tourism site. For my trip throughout England,VisitBritain’s page broke everything down by destination and experience, and I found a lot of cool things to do, see, and eat that I never would have thought to check out in the first place. For example, I personally think the best way to experience a new city’s culture is through food, and this site told me that Birmingham was the culinary birthplace of balti, so I knew I had to visit one of their authentic restaurants. As a result, I had one of my favorite – and spiciest – meals in a longggg time.
I love locomote because it gives me the opportunity to try new cuisines and dish that I ’ve never even heard of before , and balti was definitely that new experience for me on this trip . Only , like , three authentic balti restaurants are depart in Birmingham ( my Quaker and I went to Shababs , and their " table naan " was , in fact , the size of our entire table ) , so I felt like I bewilder a taste of history .
If you do n’t know , balti is fundamentally a curry that ’s cooked in a top-notch thin , steel bowl ( aka a balti pipe bowl ) , and it ’s some of the most flavorful solid food you ’ll ever have . I ’m someone who prides myself in being able to do by a LOT of spice , and I was able to hold my own , but the restaurant piss each dish as risque as you want , so study this your word of advice . Again , tourism sites can be so helpful when planning a vacation , but I feel like they ’re often overlook , so do n’t count them out totally .
15.If you know you’re going to use public transportation in a big city then one of the most helpful things you can do ahead of time is download a hi-res photo of its subway system onto your phone. I also save the pic in its own photo album, and this way I can immediately access it without having to scour through all my “recent” pics. This has definitely prevented me from missing my stop or getting on a train that was going in the opposite direction. Having this map was also especially helpful when one of my trains in London kicked everyone off due to a technical issue, and I could easily pull it up to find an alternate route.
Smartphones are a lifeguard while overseas , but if you ’re like me and trip in aeroplane modality because you do n’t want to pay for an international plan or cast fees then you need to be cunning . Pre - saving a hello - rhenium pic of London ’s subway system to my speech sound made everything so commodious , and it kept me from give out the wrong agency so many clock time . I ’m the kind of traveller who desire to bang how many stops I have until I arrive at my destination , so being capable to confirm with my ready to hand single-valued function really calmed my nerves .
16.No matter how clean you think your shoes are, I promise that they’re dirty and muddy and gross, and you’ve probably stepped in someone’s dried-up puke or dog poop without even noticing. Because of this, I always travel with leftover grocery store bags so I can wrap my shoes in them before packing my suitcase. Everything is going to get crammed together in your carry-on, so this way your clothes will stay clean while traveling to your next destination.
Also , in terms of keep open space in your suitcase , you should never pack more than three couplet of place ( and that includes the one you ’re wearing ! ) . I stole thistipfrom Samantha Brown , who ’s host sooooo many shows on the Travel Channel for a reason . accord to her , when you ’re packing you should always set about with comfortableness first . This will assist you figure out whether or not you really demand your stylish - but - bulky shoes that , let ’s face it , you WANT to wear on vacation but never will .
Your first shoe should be designed for comfort because of how much walking you ’ll be doing , the second shoe is location - specific ( so , like , if it ’s croak to be snowing or raining a portion wherever you ’re going ) , and the third shoe should be a picayune gracious for evenings out . Flat shoes and sandal are always a fillip because they make for easy store and barely take up any room . Just remember that the goal is to be practical !
17.In fact, the more you travel, the less you’ll end up traveling with (hey, practice makes perfect!). But there are some things you should always pack no matter what. For me, I will never go on vacation without these three items: 1. an insulated water bottle, 2. a foldable umbrella that fits in my backpack, and 3. a lock. Everyone always underestimates how much walking they’ll actually do on vacation, so having one of those reusable water bottles that keeps water cold for hoursssss at a time is honestly a lifesaver. The same goes for traveling with a compact umbrella – it’s always better to be safe than sorry. And as for a lock, well, whether you’re staying at a hotel or need to lock up your bags at a hostel, you just never know when it may come in handy.
Insulated water bottles are obviously swell at continue cold liquids cold – I was so grateful I had one during my day trip to bathtub – but if you ’re someone who likes to savor their morning time coffee then I ’d extremely recommend filling one up before drop several hour at a museum or on a walk tour . This will keep it hot throughout your entire morning , instead of just the first 15 minutes .
As for the compact umbrella , I ’d advocate getting one that also has a vent flapping at the top ( mine was , like , $ 18 on Amazon and has lasted over a year already ) . That flap makes them way more malarkey - resistant and will help keep the umbrella from erupt or turn at bottom out .
18.If you need to withdraw money from an ATM, just remember that the further you are from an airport the better the exchange rate will be. There are some credit cards with zero international transaction fees now, but if you absolutely need to withdraw international currency then I’d do it near your hotel/hostel, rather than when you first land at the airport. Also, whether you’re using an ATM or just purchasing something with a credit card, you should always pay in the currency of the country you’re in. You’ll get a much better conversion rate this way, and those savings will definitely add up by the end of your trip.
Also , this may be obvious , but you should always let your credit entry card company be intimate when you ’ll be traveling abroad ( you may quick do this over the phone or by logging into their site online ) . I spent a week in Paris last year , and my identity card randomly stopped working at a eating place in quartier chinois . I thought it was flag as fraud , but for some reason it just did n’t work at ~that~ finicky eating place . They obviously would n’t accept American dollars as requital ( though you should always carry some with you , just in case ! ) , but luckily I brought a debit entry board and could withdraw money from a nearby ATM . fundamentally , always be prepare with a backup … and then have a backup for your musical accompaniment .
19.And finally, unless you’re physically moving to another city or traveling with kids, you should never fly with luggage that’s bigger than a carry-on. My personal rule is that if I can’t comfortably lift the full suitcase above my head (i.e. to put it in the overhead bin on a plane) then I still have some unpacking to do. Convenience is key, and getting to and from your destination will always be the hardest, most stressful part of any trip, so just remember that not every city is built for easy and accessible travel, and you should pack accordingly.
Do you really want to wheel a monolithic grip across the cobblestones of Rome while searching for your hotel ? What about lugging it up and down the step of a subway station in Paris or New York City ? I do n’t think so . Most outside flights allow you one bookbag + one carry - on before having to check a bag , so sticking to this personal point of accumulation may save you a lot of time , money , and headaches . I was especially thankful for my light packing material after landing from a redeye at Heathrow and then still possess several hour of travelling ahead of me . It also made move around home and unpack that much more commodious and easy . Your next ego will thank you for the little travelling bag and lighter packing , I promise .
I’ll never leave the country again without following these tips, downloading these free apps, and saving alllll this money.
