Travel is fun. Going to new places, meeting new people, making new friends and learning new traditions and customs. The pleasures of traveling can be enticing and abundant, providing an exciting change of pace during the holiday seasons. Going to new places can provide a quick and easy learning opportunity, and gaining experience into new cultures, peoples and places and food. Most especially food.
Many times the lack of information about available travel destinations and the costs associated makes many would-be travelers from taking the first step. The trouble of packing bags and organizing travel arrangements and destinations is also an additional deterrent. Failing at one or more of these important preparations may cause you to have a terrible holiday and a generally awful experience that will dissuade future traveling campaign.
Checkboxes
Gather as much information as you can about prospective travel destinations, and check up on travel regulations. A few calls can save you a lot of stress and heartaches. Determine items that may be prohibited and items that are not to avoid that embarrassing surprise at the airport.
Confirm that you have all necessary and important documentation such as passport, tickets, identification and such. I also advice making photocopies and storing in a safe place as insurance. Invest in a water-resistance pouch or bag pack to store documents if you are going over water or into wet climes.
Fit all your clothes and items into one bag to free up at least one of your hands. Trust me, you do not want to go traipsing around a new area looking for yet another bag while logging two others. Keeping your bag with a stranger is also a very huge leap of faith, and may lead to more inconvenience. Folding your clothes properly and fit them around other solid objects will allow you to carry more and optimize bag space.
Prefer clothes that are easy to wash and hide stains better. Especially on your first day, taking a bus or train would not be as dust free as you think or expect. Also, pick clothes that don’t wrinkle easily, this is most useful if you want to look presentable. For some reason, I suspect you do.
Put all valuables in a safe place. No need to increase the cost of travel by losing something expensive or even irreplaceable. Ensure your laptop is always on you. Packing it with your bags would expose it to damage from rough handling and such. Damaging your laptop would really put you in a bad mood.
Make sure to charge your phones and devices fully, you may not get an opportunity to do so before until you settle in or get to a hotel. Get an extra battery or even a portable power bank. Investing in adaptors will help you charge from different outlets like your car or on the airplane. Confirm that you have extra memory for your phone or video camera, so that you don’t lose an opportunity to capture a memorable moment or view.
Once you have checked all your boxes and confirmed your lists of preparations you can be sure to have maximum enjoyment throughout your adventure. Remember to memorize at least one or two phone numbers that you can reach from a phone booth or nice stranger’s phone in a pinch.
