Make sure to check out my recent blog on Bali and Goa. This is “Important things to do before your next trip – A Guide to Travelling better”
Over the last two years, I have been lucky enough to have relocate to different cities for work and it gave me a number of opportunities to travel and explore the new cities and states. This article talks about things I have learnt over the period and things I will remember to do before my next trip.
Leaving My Comfort – My First Relocation
During COVID-19, I worked most of the time remotely, as a technical writer – just as most of you guys. Later, I changed my company and was asked to relocate to Goa as it was nearest location for me. Goa was my first solo trip, prior to relocation and being Konkani helped me a lot. Over the period, I explored Goa, Best of North and South and then I relocated to Gurgaon, another company another city. Again, while in Gurgaon, I have been on trips and explored many destinations.
Except travelling within India, I recently made a trip to Bali for 8 days and had a great time with friends. Now, with all that I have learnt exploring the cities, I am writing this piece of advice to myself and others.
What I have here are not your top 25 tips to travel better, these are few tips I have learnt myself over the years travelling within India and just one international trip.
Flight Cost
I’ll begin with the most important one – How to get cheap flight tickets or Hacks to get your flight tickets at lowest?
There are many sites that aggregate and give you options to chose from. But my current favourite is Google Flights. It is simple and easy to use, has a list of features that works miracles, so start using it.
- Get onto Google flights in Incognito,
- Add in your destination
- Instead of a specific date – go for Flexible dates.
Google flights will now give you the date and fare details that are the lowest.
Next, what you can do is, create and track a tracker for the date you wish to travel. You will be notified of the price drop.
Credit Cards
Not Just One But As Many As You Need!
I am talking about debit and credit cards. Every card has it’s benefits and privileges. If you are someone who don’t use a credit card, Get One! It will help you a lot in the long run, and there are always offers available for you.
I have one for local spendings and purchases, one is for online spends and is LTF and I have recently got my Niyo Global Int’l Debit Card, specifically for Lounge Access and International use. Here’s my referral link for your Niyo Card, you will receive coins worth Rs. 250.
Travel Planning
Simply, have a list of things to do on a specific day or time, and then have a list of things you would do if you had extra time or your Plan A didn’t work. We always forget to consider buffer time during our visits or most of the time, our planning fails due to reality being different at the location.
Next time, have a list of multiple things to do or try, and when you’re on your destination, pick what seems suitable. There’s always something you can do on your trip .
And always have buffer day, where you can do things that you didn’t knew about before planning. Or if you are with group, plan your last day as solo, be open to try things alone.
Documentation
When travelling with friends, have a shared folder on Cloud, with all important documents uploaded and access provided.
Baggage
Usually happens the first time you book a dream trip, where you’re only focused on how amazing this is, where you are going and everything seems so awesome. And for first time flyers, packing light means nothing until they reach the airport and drop in their bag for check-in.
On my trip to Bali, I had almost neglected the fact that I can only carry 7kg of one handbag in cabin. I noticed the baggage allowed when packing and I was confused. When leaving for Bali, I was not only staying in Bali for a week but i was returning to Delhi and not going back to Pune, meaning I had to pack things to be taken to Delhi as well.
So, next time, make sure the check the baggage rules and fares. Sometimes, you might see the price different on multiple sites but what happens is that some third-party websites remove the baggage allowed and drop the prices. It may look tempting but you might end up paying extra for the missing baggage allowance.
Have a packing checklist – Personalised
This goes along with Baggage. When you are conscious of the limited kg you can carry, you have to start picking what’s important for you.
Finally, let me wrap this blog with things you can do ahead of your trip:
3 Months: Pick a destination, set a budget, book tickets, etc.
1 Month: Research Places to explore-eat-stay, create your itinerary, Get your IDP, Currency, etc.
1 Week: Download Google Maps Offline, Book your Airport to Hotel ride, Create your packing list, Make essential purchases for the trip, etc.
And with this, I hope you make the most of your next trip.
Happy Travelling! Happy Exploring!
