4 Travel Tips

Four Steps for Amazing Vacation.

By Elizabeth Kilgore 10/20/2015 

Traveling is something that takes perpetration from booking tickets, finding places to stay/eat, knowing how much gas you will have to put in your car, or if you should rent one is all part of the magic of trip taking. No matter how much you plan things can still go wrong, that is why it is so important to take the right people on the trip with you. That's why travel tip number one is....

Take an amazing person with you.

Million Dollar Highway

When traveling it is so important to have someone to travel with. Not just for safety, but also for fun. I have done a lot of traveling alone, and with people, I wish I hadn't taken on a trip with me, and to be honest having the right person with you really makes for a good trip. Not just anyone will do, you have to have someone that loves to travel in the same fashion as you do. They have to be someone you can be stuck with in a car in the middle of the mountains or stuck in the middle of a river on a five-hour canoe trip that was only supposed to take an hour with no food and minimal water. Traveling through the best and worst circumstances should be fun even when things start to go bad.

Booking

The Cherry & The Spoon Minneapolis

A lot of people ask me questions about how to book cheaper and easier because they want to go on a trip without breaking the bank and without the stress of trying to make plans. Don't worry making travel plans does get easier. Splitting up the work can make things easier as well, don't try to do it all alone. Here is what we do when we travel. First, we think about where we want to go we take a lot of road trips so we Google map points A and point B first and then pick the middle places if needed, this way we get an idea of places we want to visit so we can book hotels. Expedia and Orbitz are the two we use the most they have the lowest priced fares so there isn't much need for us to book elsewhere and it is rare when we have to. Shirdhar (my travel partner in crime) normally books the hotels, airlines, and cars if needed because those things go together you can sometimes get really good deals from bundling and it is less stress for one person to do them all together. It really doesn't help keep stress away if you have to call someone many times in a day to see what, when, and where they booked. I have the task of finding places to go, things to do, and places to eat. I try to plan things that are close together because no one wants to hike a mountain for 3 hours and then have to drive 3 hours for a meal, so places to go, things to do, and food go together and should be handled by one person, else you may starve. Splitting up the work not only gets the trip off to a good relaxing start but it keeps you focus on the little details you might skip when worrying about too many details at once, details that could get you stuck on an endless road with no gas, or in a rental car that can't take you driving it anymore driving {yep hiccups do happen.}

Always always bring provisions

Himalayan Kitchen Durango Colorado

It doesn't matter how much you plan things, things can still go wrong so here is what we have learned that saves us a lot of stress. Bring a bag goodies, and fill that bag with water, napkins, tea biscuits/hard cookies {because they don't go bad}, coffee creamer {because powered is something that can make some people go a little crazy :)}, bread, apples or fruits that don't get all nasty when left sitting. Don't forget bags for trash. Things to collect along the way maps of the town you're in they are free at rest areas, and visitor centers {GPS likes to stop working when you need it the most.} Also, grab coffee straws, and cup lids because not all stops have them and coffee, tea, and hot chocolate are, well, HOT! and your lap will thank you not to spill those things on it. Other items to bring, Place drinking water in your trunk to fill your bag with when you run out,and a gas can if you are traveling a long road with no stops.

Your sanity.

Minneapolis Skyline

Honestly, its vacation you should be relaxing not rushing around and waking up earlier to the point of making yourself sick. If something you planned doesn't fit in your time frame do it later, make room some other time, or plan to come back. If your head hurts because you were up to late, or ate something bad rest a little longer or until you feel better. Oh and if your travel mate/mates wants to do something that you didn't plan to, you should change the plan so everyone can get to do something they think is fun, trust me wherever you are going you most likely won't be able to see everything in a few days and it won't fall off into the ocean unless it is in certain parts of California :), you can also plan a trip to go back again next year or in a few years, so play nice with you travel friends. Also sometimes you will plan to go somewhere and it won't be there anymore so don't stress the little things, just relax and remember trips are supposed to be fun.