For those of you who will travel in the summer or in the future, I leave you with my basic tips for traveling anywhere in the world.

As we rap up the semester and graduation comes near for some - like me - the thoughts of traveling to a distant place are always on my mind. It helps me navigate through my six business group papers and presentations. Thank you very much school of business, I’m 100 percent certain I do have the ability to work in groups NOW!

But getting back to traveling to far off, magical, wonderful places…for those of you who won’t be traveling this summer, I highly suggest going to the library and borrowing magazines or movies about traveling. They have some great travel series out, just ask your local librarians to see which travel series they carry.

For those of you who will travel in the summer or in the future, I leave you with my basic tips for traveling anywhere in the world…

Pack some heavy wool socks for the airplane. I have been on some planes where my feet were so cold I thought I was going to have 2 big blocks of ice clomping around for the next few days.

Don’t pack so much in your rucksack. PACK LIGHT!!! After all you’re going to be the one who has to carry it around on your back, in the hot sun, when it’s raining…I think you get my point.

Don’t forget your travel guide…I like Lonely Planet!

If you get a gut feeling that something is wrong (unless you’re paranoid all the time) then chances are it is.

It’s good to travel with a money belt. Now this might sound dorky, but when you have that big backpack on your back everyone around can tell that you’re a traveler. It’s good to have a money belt to put underneath your clothes. If your backpack gets stolen or lost, at least your money, credit cards and passport are safe in your money belt.

Speaking of passports, regardless of where you put your passport, it’s good to keep your passport in a little plastic Ziploc bag. This protects it from all forms of liquid. I have seen soaked and then dried out passports given to customs. Needless to say, custom officials are not happy with this.

Check local holiday dates. It’s important when traveling to different countries to check their national holidays. I have seen travelers who arrive on specific days and cannot exchange money, buy food or use public transportation. If you Google the country you want to visit and write the word holiday, you will get the information you need.

It’s also important to keep in mind that in many European countries, shops are not open on Sunday. This is also a good to know if you’re studying abroad. On special holidays, you might want to plan a trip to see different foreign countries in the area. Just make sure that they don’t have a holiday as well.

If you are traveling and don’t feel comfortable drinking the local water then buy bottled water. It is also important when traveling long distances on the train to have a big bottle of water. Like everywhere, the cost of food and drink on the train will be more expensive than if you bought it before hand.

If you plan to travel in Europe by train (and not buy cheap air flights) it’s cheaper to buy individual rail passes or tickets if you are only going to a few countries. The Eurail pass, while covering 18 countries, is very expensive and from my experience not worth it.

If you do plan on staying at a hotel (not a hostel) before paying for a room make sure that you inspect the room first. The saying “don’t judge a book buy its cover” it’s true. Often how the hotel looks on the outside does not always hold true for how the hotel looks on the inside.

Don’t forget to call home once in a while. While you’re off having your adventures, people at home want to make sure you’re ok. It is easy to pick up a cheap calling card at many newsstands. Before you buy the card, check at least two different card rates for your home country.

Try learning a few words of the local language. Three basic words you should know when traveling to a new country are hello, please and thank you. If the locals see that you’re trying, they might be more likely to help you with your journey. Sometimes, they might be willing to teach you more words, which often can lead to very funny situations! The more you know a language, the more you can learn about the locals.

You might want to consider some type of travel insurance. If you do have some sort of medical emergency or are just sick, this could come in handy. Check with your local insurance agent to see what kind of coverage you have, or what additional coverage you can purchase.

Last but not least when on your travels RELAX. Take it easy. If one thing does not work out, something else will. Don’t forget there are other planes, trains, buses, cities and people. A positive attitude will always bring you luck. Get out see the world. Have a great summer…and HAPPY TRAVELS!

> Comments