Travel Tips For People Who Suck At Travelling

Your guide to your best vacation ever, even if your organizational skills are less than stellar

First things first- my credentials (though there really should be air quotes around credentials...)

I am not good at travelling, BUT, I am able to trick my Facebook friends, Instagram followers, and recent acquaintances into thinking I'm some worldly, organized, well-connected person way cooler than I really am. How? Because of a lot of trial and error. So, enjoy these personally tried-and-tested tips from a Certified Person Who Sucks at Travelling.

Oh the places you'll go.... once you decide to where to go, of course

Endless Blue

Taking precious time off work or school to travel? Spending precious money from already-depleted savings? Well, better make sure your resources are well spent, then! My tips for deciding a destination (if you don't already have the dream one in mind) are to consider the season (cherry blossom season in Japan is to die for, so maybe that Australian vacay can wait), consider your budget (are flights to England already stretching your budget? Cause if so you're not going to be happy about the prices once you're there... On that same note, prepare to ball out in Thailand because cost of living is extremely cheap), and consider yourself (sure, Yellow Mountains in China are beautiful, but if you hate hiking and don't care for nature maybe Shanghai or Seoul would be better).

Travel buddies... like roommates you somehow spend even more time with

Who you're going with is also super important! Do you want to see all the sights but your friend just wants to be drunk all day off of foreign alcohol? Do you just want to have a nice, chill, laid back vacation but your friend has every minute planned from a breakfast on the go at 6:30am? Do you want to experience the culture and soak in the new city but your friend needs their Starbucks every morning and refuses to eat anything that's not a nugget made of chicken? Just *liking* a person doesn't necessarily make them a good travel buddy. While vacations are great and fun, they can also be extremely stressful, since everyone wants to have the best vacation and tensions may be high if you're on a budget (this is especially applicable to students).

Time to start planning what to do

Catt Kim / Via It's mine

I guess before this I should say: I recommend planning your vacation. If you're a free-spirited, go-with-the-flow type maybe you want to have a random vacation planned on the spot, buuut if you're more Type A definitely go in with at least a rough itinerary so you're not sitting around in your Airbnb all week complaining about wanting to go out but not knowing what to actually do.

First and foremost, if you know anyone who's already been there, ASK THEM. Advice is so much easier to understand and filter through when you know and trust the person and can ask personalized questions.

If you don't have a local tour guide, check out online sites. Read reviews, consider the time it will take to get between places, and keep things organized in a shared Google doc or notepad you know you won't lose. Vlogs are also a super great way to get personalized recs- usually they're a lot more relatable than just reading online sites, and you can actually see what's going on.

If you're not the type for hour-by-hour completely planned out itineraries, just make a rough outline of things you want to do/try/go/eat. Ie: make a note of the specialties in the place you're going that you really want to eat, that way when you're wandering around the downtown area and start feeling hungry you can go someplace on your list instead of a random restaurant you see first.

And, once again, know yourself. Maybe the top rated activity on the travel sites is too expensive and doesn't even look fun- do NOT try to convince yourself that you need to do it. This is your trip, not @TravelGetawayInspo (disclaimer: this is a made up person)'s trip.

Cabs, bikes, and subways, oh my

Transportation is a huge issue! Make sure you know how you're going to get from the airport to where you're staying, if cabs or Ubers are a better option where you're going, and how to pay for public transportation. Sometimes transportation can be overlooked since you're so used to it at home, but it's an extremely important part of going somewhere new.

Be prepared to live without data

Nokia / Via hobi.com

If you're going to an international destination you may not have all the capabilities of your phone that you normally do. Basically, make sure you have screenshots of important addresses or information in case the web page won't load when you're out and about, and have a way to communicate with your friends if you ever get separated. Pro tip: T-mobile's global data is great, and if you have no data, prepare to rely on public WiFi.

Know where you're going

This one seems obvious, but sometimes there are tricky little details of various places. Ie: make sure you have your own tissues and hand sanitzer for the bathrooms in China, and be prepared to cover up (even in the dead of summer) if you're going to a church or mosque.

Another important cultural difference! Tipping!! Don't get ripped off by giving unnecessary tips, but on the flip side don't perpetuate tourist stereotypes by being cheap and skimping when you shouldn't.

Be prepared for things to change

When planning your itinerary, make sure to leave some room for leeway. Maybe the cab you were planning to take was too expensive, so now you have to subway to that next place, or perhaps something you assumed would only take an hour is actually a three hour pre-planned event. It's hard to know exactly how a trip is going to go, so just make sure you do what you've been wanting to do forever or have been really looking forward to so you don't regret how you spent your time on vacation, and come to terms with the fact that you might not be able to do everything else.

Don't get jaded by Instagram posts or rave reviews

Muradosmann / Via boredpanda.com

Everyone wants to pretend their life is better than it is. How many times have you been sooooosososo jealous of a person's life based on their Snapchat stories, then actually gone out with them and been confused when you see epic stories the next day after a very mediocre experience? Yeah, that shit happens. Don't let someone else's professional Instagram or crazy story dictate how you feel about your own vacation. If you didn't like something everyone else seemed to love, that's fine! If your pictures didn't turn out as nice as you hoped- who cares? You actually lived those pictures, and trust me, that's definitely better.

KNOW YOURSELF

I know I've mentioned this multiple times throughout, but it's actually important enough to deserve it's own blurb. All of this advice? Might mean nothing to you. Honestly. It might not! And not because it's bad advice, mind you, but because it might not necessarily be applicable for you.For instance, I think staying in hostels to meet other travelers and get advice is fun, but if you hate talking to new people and know you need high quality and high class- go for the hotel! Your friend might rather be comfortable and suggest against bringing x pair of shoes or y skirt, but if you value pretty pictures and a nice aesthetic over your personal comfort, make an informed decision. Maybe you hear a lot of bad things about tour groups, but it's only because your friend likes adventuring on their own, if you want to do the tour group, definitely do it! It's your vacation, your money, your time, it should be your experience, too.