5 Important Tips for Travelers at Any Stage

Have you dreamed of traveling the world, but were too intimidated or afraid to take the first step? Are you a beginner traveler that’s overwhelmed by the logistics involved in planning a trip? Here are 5 important tips for travelers whether you’re a beginner or a more seasoned wanderer.

I recently returned from a once-in-a-lifetime 2-week trip to France and Germany! I had the privilege of seeing two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and the historical battlefields and beaches of the Allied invasion on D-Day. We also saw many other iconic sites in Paris France. In Germany, we visited Neuschwanstein Castle, Dachau Concentration Camp. We traveled by foot, rail, subway, bus, car, Uber, and plane and planned it all ourselves.

You might think I come from a long line of world travelers, but I can tell you, I never would have dreamed that I’d be on a trip like this when I was young. I’ve now been traveling for more than 4 decades and thought I’d share a few tips for travelers that I’ve learned along the way.

Where I Come From

I grew up in a very small town in Ohio. The 5^th of 6 kids in a blue-collar family. We didn’t travel. Didn’t camp. We didn’t even go on many day trips. To be honest, I never thought I’d leave that little town. In all my years growing up, we only went on ONE vacation and it was to visit relatives.

Now, I understand that in the 60’s and 70’s traveling with a family of 8 was not an easy task, but I knew other middle-class families that traveled, so it wasn’t unheard of. At the time, it wasn’t on my wish list or even in the scope of something I considered doing.

“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.”

Oliver Wendell Holmes

My First Vacation

I remember the experience of our only family vacation – a long drive with all eight of us crammed into a little station wagon, headed from Ohio to Arizona over Christmas break to visit my aunt and uncle. It was new terrain, every shade of tan in the desert, much different than the greens and blues of Ohio. Christmas day temperatures were warm enough for shorts, instead of the bundled-up holiday gear that we needed at home. There was the sprawling city of Phoenix, with a grid of streets that spread as far as the eye could see, not the rolling countryside and farmland of northern Ohio. Not exactly paradise to me, but definitely eye-opening in the fact that it was so different from what I had seen my entire life so far. This wasn’t my “ah-hah” moment though. The flame of adventure was just a spark.

I had a new group of friends that were a couple of years older than me when I was in high school. One of them had his driver’s license and a cute little red Volkswagen Bug convertible. He was the only driver in our little group who had a car and he generously shared it with us. It was with this life-changing group of friends that I learned the art of adventure.

This Midwestern meat and potatoes girl experienced authentic Chinese food with chopsticks and all, at a restaurant in Cleveland (40 miles away). We visited Amish Country in southern Ohio, even farther away. We had the excitement of finding out about an event in a nearby town and could choose if we wanted to go. To top it off, two of these dear friends drove me all the way from Ohio to Arizona in that cute little bug. This time to visit my mom and two siblings who had moved there. What an adventure for a 15-year-old girl!

“We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.”

A Change of Perspective

This brought amazing new freedom for me and the spark became a flame and then a bonfire. The anticipation of visiting new places was like click-clicking up the tallest of roller coaster peaks, just waiting to get over the top – and the rush of that same coaster ride came with the excitement of the journey – exhilarating, stimulating, liberating, and enlightening all at once…then when it was over, the yearning to get right back on and do it again.

Now, as you can imagine, as a 15-year-old, I was still limited in travel opportunities, but I began to dream and realize that Simon Raven was right. “Life is short and the world is wide, the sooner you start exploring it, the better.” From then on, I knew that if I could scrape together the funds, there was nothing to stop me from realizing my travel dreams. More than four decades later, I’m still excited about the thrill of traveling.

Maybe you’re somewhere along this journey and looking for tips for travelers that will help you fan the flame of adventure. If so, hopefully, one of these lessons will help you take the next step.

5 Important Tips for Travelers:

1 – Travel Doesn’t Have to be Expensive

Don’t let finances keep you at home. There are always ways to cut costs, by sharing expenses with friends, staying with relatives, looking for bargains. Be creative. You’d be surprised what you can do with just a little.

2 – There Are Many Ways to Make and Save Money for Travel

Think you can’t afford a trip with your current income? Consider ways to make extra money that can be socked away. Most importantly though, that money should go in a separate account, so it doesn’t get used for other boring things. If travel is a priority, keep the money separate and untouchable until you’re ready to go. Take a part-time or gig job or clip coupons and use the savings for your travel account. Sell clothes or items around the house that are in good shape, but not used anymore. Here are another 32 Ways to Make Money at Home.

3 – Start Out With Baby Steps

Start your travel adventures with smaller trips, closer to home. You can even start with an afternoon visiting sites around town. This gives you the feel of being in new surroundings. If you haven’t traveled much, plan a day trip. Then a few months later, go overnight on a weekend, later organize a 3 or 4-day outing.

Each time you’ll be practicing to get more experience organizing all the details, like driving routes, accommodations, activities, food, etc. Starting out with shorter trips will help you gain confidence and wisdom for the longer ones. You can also consider asking a more experienced traveler to help you. They can share their tips for travelers and wisdom about things to avoid.

4 – Never Stop Learning

One of the most important tips for travelers is to keep on learning. Don’t have a friend that can help you plan? These days there’s really no excuse for not learning everything you can about travel planning and your areas of interest. Just like reading this post, you can learn literally anything you want to know through reading, listening to podcasts, watching videos or even asking questions on forums.

Your public library can be a great source of free books and information, but the easiest way to get answers is the internet, of course. Do you have a question about travel planning? Do you want to know more about a destination? Need packing tips? Just ask.

Chances are you’re not the first person to ask that question and more likely, someone else has already answered it. All you need to do is type your question into the search bar of your favorite search engine and a wealth of information is at your fingertips.

5 – Don’t Be Intimidated by Venues That Seem to be “Out of Your League”

This may sound strange, but when I was younger, I thought I wasn’t allowed to go to upscale establishments. Like there was some secret membership list that I wasn’t on. If I tried to walk in the door, would they say, “I’m sorry miss, but you can’t come in here.”? It wasn’t until I worked at a 5-star luxury resort, that I realized that my money spends just the same as everyone else. If I can afford it and can show up in presentable attire, there’s no reason I can’t go anywhere I want.

I had my first experience with this when I was just out of high school. There was a restaurant called the “Golden Eagle” on the 37th floor of a high rise in Phoenix Arizona. I dreamed of dining there at sunset. It sounded so romantic to be enjoying a meal, high in the sky, with the sun setting slowly over the city.

Be Brave

I was too intimidated to make any plans for months. Then after talking it through with a few friends, I made a reservation for four. Guess what? They let us in! Before long I was seated at a table with my name printed on the matchbook cover beside each seat. As I sat down the Maître D oh so carefully placed a crisp white linen napkin on my lap. My friends and I enjoyed a truly magical meal, as the setting sun cast a golden glow on our smiling faces.

Are you afraid to step into your next adventure? I hope this has given you a bit of confidence that you can do anything. Are there questions I can answer? What’s your greatest fear? Let me know how I can help you fulfill that dream of traveling. What other tips for travelers can you share with the rest of us?

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