Traveling is one of life’s great pleasures. It’s a portal to mind-bending experiences and total adventure while experiencing new places and meeting new people. And in the 21st century, traveling the world has never been easier. Everything can be booked online, the internet is available almost anywhere and English seems to be the language of the world. But… despite all these things, there are common mistakes that novice travelers make while planning their travel adventures around the world. Here are five of the most common travel mistakes made by most novice travelers and how you can avoid making these mistakes yourself the next time adventure calls your name.
1. Being too inflexible with dates
Choosing dates and then refusing to budge is a guaranteed way to overpay for flights and accommodation, sticking to set dates and time gives your little leeway when making plans to travel certain areas of the world. As most tourist destinations have peak and low seasons not allowing tour self a few days of arrival and departure options gives you little to work with when saving some money as this could be the difference between your expenses be more or less within such a tight schedule.
Same for everything else, from hotels to transport, to food. Flights tend to be the cheapest mid-week so fly on Tuesday or Wednesday if possible. Avoid peak times of the year such as Christmas unless you want to pay an arm and a leg for your flights. It makes a lot of sense to travel earlier or later. Take the money you would spend on expensive flights and spend it while traveling, at a nice hotel, or having a few great meals or exciting experiences.
2. Over-packing
This is a common mistake. I’ve met people who seem to feel they need their entire wardrobe with them while traveling along with every little knick-knack and the small unnecessary items they are used to having with them everywhere they go back home. This is not the case. You don’t need 10 pairs of pants, 5 pairs of socks, or 20 t-shirts while traveling for any given amount of time. Get yourself two pairs of Exofficio underwear. Pack two shirts, two pairs of shorts and a few other small things and that’s all you will need. Most tourist destinations will have laundry service for much cheaper than what you are used to paying in the west, so take full advantage and save yourself the trouble, and the work from hauling around your entire collection of clothes from back home.
If you’re coming to the tropics (ie. the Philippines), don’t worry about bringing pants because it’s practically always hot and humid here which is perfect for shorts all year round. And… as crazy as it sounds… you don’t need to bring your own bottled water. If possible, aim to bring a small backpack. It’s easier than you think when packing light as this will also be a lot easier to haul around with you on the various modes of transportation you will most likely be using while hopping around the seven thousand islands here in the Philippines.
It might help to know that you can get everything here in Puerto Galera, or in most other places around the world. It’s amazing how you can land in a foreign country and within 10 minutes, you can find a supermarket with everything you need. Shaving cream, toothpaste, food, clothes, deodorant – you name it. If in doubt, leave it at home and chances are you will find what you are looking for here for a whole lot less.
3. Showing off
This goes without saying, especially if you are traveling to a poor country. If you were born in a Western country like the U.S., Canada, the U.K., or Australia, then you are automatically wealthier than most people in the world. With this in mind, don’t flash your wealth around when traveling to poor countries. For one, you make yourself a target to thieves and where your cellphone or perhaps expensive jewelry will be worth what the locals make in a year, it’s all too tempting for someone to try and rob you of the opportunity you present to them by showing this out in the open. Two, it’s a douche-y thing to do. Keep your jewelry and electronics hidden and out of reach to avoid any chance of this happening to you on your holiday vacation.
4. Trying to do too much
This depends on preference. Do you want a relaxing holiday? Or would you prefer an exciting (and possibly stressful) holiday? Trying to do too much while on vacation is a fast track to stressing out and missing the relaxation that you’re probably looking for. When traveling to a foreign country, don’t feel like you have to do everything. Do something, and enjoy it, but there is no need to see and do everything in a given area… Doing too much can also cause you to miss your flights or spend the whole day in transit while not getting the full experience you were looking to enjoy while attempting the given activity at hand. A good rule is one main thing each day. One tour. One activity (scuba diving?). One trip.
5. Worrying too much about safety
Now… first, a word of caution: before you travel, do your due diligence and research the area you are traveling to before making any solid plans to visit that particular location. Don’t travel somewhere without finding out if it’s dangerous as this can severely ruin your experience if you arrive somewhere having already paid for a hotel and flight only to find out it is in the worse part of the country.
For example, now isn’t the best time to travel to the Middle East or a poor African country like Sudan. Leave those places for some other time. But aside from a few extreme examples, most of the world is safe. So safe, in fact, that it’s probably safer than where you live right now. I’ve lived in Puerto Galera, a small town in the Philippines for 12 months now. The entire time I’ve been here, I have never felt threatened or uncomfortable. Staying out late on the weekends in a Western city is a recipe for trouble, but here, in the third world, it’s not a problem.
So stop worrying about safety and enjoy the holiday. Keep your wits about you, but remember that the vast majority of the world is safe. Avoid these 5 common travel mistakes to have a fantastic holiday. If you would like more information on preparing the perfect holiday vacation in a tropical paradise or would like to know more about staying with us at the best resorts in Puerto Galera; contact us today or come say hello at any one of our BADLADZ Adventure Resorts and we would be more than happy to help you plan an amazing holiday in a tropical paradise.
Cheers,
Sean
