Travel Planing Tips

• Make a personal schedule

My number one travel planing tip for you would be to know, ahead of time, the precise location of the airport, bus/train stations, your accommodation and key places you’d like to visit. Save a screenshot and map out your daily routes. Make notes of any key names of locations or timings of buses/trains you’ll have to catch. Save these edited screenshots to your Favourites and refer back to them at any time during your trip for quick and easy access to the research you’ve done.

Think of all the time this pre-planning will save you! All to make sure you enjoy every moment you have to spend in the new city you’re exploring. Sounds better than being on your phone searching for directions, right? Have your head up from a screen instead and enjoy your surroundings. Listen to the sound of that church bell and smell the coffee brewing in the nearby café! Watch that poodle dog trot by you. Don’t miss a single thing that could be a clue to the personality of the place you’re discovering.

• Or, just ask a local

If you’re one who likes spontaneity though, the next time you happen to decide going out-and-about the city for the day and have no clue where you’re going exactly, how about sparking a friendly conversation with a local and asking for some advice (you might get some interesting insider tips that Google won’t have)—and you’ve made yourself a new friend!

Travel Budgeting Tips

• Get an estimate from people who have traveled to your desired city before

Before setting a budget for your trip, I recommend asking people that have been to the place you’re going to. This will be pretty useful so that you can predict how much you’ll spend. An important thing to remember though is that not everyone is the same type of traveler, so when gathering information from your sources, make sure to ask specific questions about the type of accommodation and transportation they used, as well as the specific type of activities you have in mind.

• Get an estimate from Google

Also, looking for the average wage at the destination and comparing it to that of your hometown can help in analyzing and comparing the differences. In the end, I always define an expense goal for myself per day. 

• Eat economically

Since I don’t usually travel with a lot of money, I don’t always eat out (unless there’s a special, traditional must-have meal unique to the place I’m visiting that I have to try), and I certainly don’t eat out 3 times a day. I make sure to buy some basic groceries from the supermarket, such as eggs or tuna cans and beans (which are highly proteinic and easy to mix with anything) to cook back at the hostel.

Travel Packing Tips

I always roll my clothes before packing them up. For a long trip, I usually pack:

• 2 pairs of shoes (in case one gets wet)

• 2 pairs of practical trousers

• 5 t-shirts

• some underwear

• a good, reliable jacket

Some important things I recommend you should bring along on any solo trip to save money, and avoid having to buy later, are:

• padlock

• flip-flops

• towel

• a tupperware box (to use for the chance when you have some leftovers from a meal)