Travel advice can be so painfully predictable. It’s always “bring a charger,” “pack layers,” “wear comfortable shoes,” like anybody needed a whole article to tell them not to board a flight barefoot and confused. Fine, sure, some of that’s useful. You should ideally travel smartly too, but the problem is, there’s just a lot of generic advice out there. Most people know its better to book online for travel than the old-fashioned way. Well, that and influencers are trying to sell things to you left and right, so they can earn a commission from it all.
But for the most part here, the stuff that actually makes a trip feel easier usually has nothing to do with folding outfits into neat little rectangles or buying one more pouch for cables. Usually, what makes travel annoying isn’t one huge catastrophe. Well, thankfully, that’s not really the case here. Instead, it’s the petty little things. It’s getting to the hotel and realizing the area’s not quite what it looked like online (and that’s far more common than you’d expect).
It’s trying to work out public transit while tired, hungry, and already carrying too much. Basically, you do need to plan your trip a little more smartly, and for the most part, here, it just starts with doing some things in advance.
Look at the Street Before You Ever Get There
Well, if you can, because depending on where you’re going, you might not be able to (especially if this is a small town or rural area). So, if you’re staying in a hotel, Airbnb, well, wherever, you’re going to want to know what it looks like from the outside, because there might not always be clear signs. And maybe pictures on the listing make it look gorgeous, maybe it says it’s a central location, and even the pin on the website makes it look like it’s in a central location. But then it’s tucked in some alleyway with no signs. That can happen; that’s not too uncommon here either.
That’s why Street View is so useful. While sure, not everywhere is on Google Street View, a lot of places here. So you just might be able to find what you’re looking for in advance, so immediately, when you’re physically there, you hopefully won’t be struggling to find your accommodation. Well, finding anything really.
Besides, keep in mind here that a pin on a map isn’t the whole story. Well, that and “Close to transit” can mean pleasantly close, or it can mean technically within walking distance if someone’s in a very forgiving mood and not carrying a bag that’s trying to dislocate a shoulder. Those aren’t the same thing.
Learn How the City/Country Wants to be Paid Prior to Landing
While sure, at the airport, sometimes even at your bank, you can exchange your money for banknotes of the country you’ll be going to. Which sounds smart, but at the same time, that can be fairly outdated, too. Specifically, there are some countries that are going cashless. For example, for about five to six years now, Sweden has been pushing to become a cashless society. In the Netherlands, a lot of businesses don’t accept credit cards, don’t accept debit cards (an American debit card is considered a credit card there), and they’ll only accept their debit card.
Sometimes, not even cash, and a Portuguese debit card isn’t the same as a Dutch one, so each country has its own type of debit card. So, as you can see for yourself here, that instantly makes it challenging. Thankfully, most businesses will have stickers that say “Pin Only” or “Cash Only”, but you won’t know or expect any of this until you’re physically there. So, no matter where you are, never make an assumption about how to pay. Because nowadays, cash isn’t king.
Plan for the Weird in-Betweens
Travel days are full of awkward little gaps that somehow get ignored every single time. The flight lands too early for check-in. But then check out hours before the train. There’s a half-day hanging there with nowhere to properly settle and nowhere to comfortably put your stuff. Sure, most hotels hold onto luggage, but if you’re going to be on the other side of the city, then it’s fairly useless.
So, depending on where you are at least, like if you’re in Hamburg, for example, and plan to take a train later that day to Berlin, then it might be a smart idea to look into where to store luggage in Hamburg before your upcoming train or flight that you’ll be taking. Plus, most museums, restaurants, and cafes won’t allow luggage, and people walking around you might get aggressive too, which obviously you don’t want to deal with (super stressful situation).
You Can Travel Off-Season (But there’s Trade-Offs)
Off-season travel can be such a good move. It’s pretty smart too, like there are the lower prices, fewer people, less standing around in a line wondering why every beautiful place has turned into a sweaty little bottleneck, all of that is very real. A city can feel nicer when it’s not packed. A seaside town can feel calmer when half the world isn’t trying to squeeze into it at the same time. That part’s great. Now, that sounds super perfect and all, but there’s trade offs, like, a lot.
For your average person, at least, they hear “off-season” and focus on the savings, then act shocked when the weather isn’t beach-perfect, the water’s cold, or a few places are closed (and in touristy places, most businesses are closed except the grocery store and cafe for the locals). Well, yes. That’s the trade-off. That’s the deal. But lower prices and lighter crowds usually come with a slightly less picture-perfect version of the place that would be there in the summer.
For example, if you’ve always wanted to see Positano, then you can still see it in the winter, but don’t expect to eat lemons, ride yachts, and go swimming. Instead, the trade off is hotels being half off, it’s a little cold, and there’s less crows.
