My version of Travel Hacks

Traveling fills our lives with adventure and those are the only days we remember from each passing year. Having traveled to various countries over the years, I realized that planning the travel is much more fun and exciting than the actual travel. I would like to share a few tricks which have always helped me travel within the country or abroad. A meticulously planned trip will always turn out to be flawless, without any hiccups and will shift your focus on enjoying your vacation rather than worrying about other arrangements.

Start with deciding the place, depending on the time of the year you are traveling. Try to avoid peak travel season of that place, any long weekends or national holidays, as tourist attractions would be overcrowded during these days. 

Be flexible with your vacation time and conclude after considering these factors - flights are always costlier towards the weekend, so I usually book my flights for Tuesday or Wednesday, which are typically the cheapest days to travel along with discounted hotels at destination. Another factor to consider is that- airline companies and travel agencies usually show higher prices for flights and hotels over the weekend, since the common public majorly do the reservations in their free time. Tuesday is the best day for bookings, as for most of the airlines, Tuesday morning the scheduled backend job runs to calculate the remaining seats in each flight and chances of getting the cheapest tickets are highest on that evening. So, book your flight on a Tuesday for a Tuesday is my mantra. Don’t upfront fix the number of vacation days and decide only after your research of that area, so you won’t miss out important places due to time scarcity.

Finalizing your itinerary before hotel reservations is extremely important. So you can select the hotels nearest to the places of attractions. Make your itinerary from the time you are reaching the airport and then proceed towards your hotel or the viewpoints, including the number of hours and distance needed to reach there. Make a precise plan and reasonable target for each day including day wise activity. For each activity you can calculate the starting and end time according to the distance and time you have to travel, or the time needed to explore that place. Include your meal hours and resting time in your plan. Check online for the places to visit, in and around the area and keep your google maps updated with those locations saved. I always download the offline google map for the entire area beforehand, as it helps me navigate even without network. Following this, you won’t miss out on the important landmarks.

Try to book your hotels with Breakfast and Dinner included in your package. It would save much time in the morning by just grabbing a quick bite and hitting the trail. And once you are back to the hotel in evening after a tiring excursion, you won’t have to look for a restaurant. If you are going to stay in a resort for a layback vacation in places like Goa, Bali, Cancun, Mauritius, etc., then all-inclusive packages are recommended. Those turn out to be cheaper than what you spend on food and other activities after reaching there. 

Take a good camera along. Check the policies of the country or region you are visiting, for photography restrictions and Drone usage. In few countries you may require permissions before travel, if your drone is heavier than 250 grams. In a few sensitive areas, they may ask for a license to use drones. If you are on a road trip, don’t miss any scenic view on the way, thinking you will get better scenery ahead. That never happens, few quick clicks do no harm.

Don’t follow the league to travel to the most common tourist destinations. Pick the places which are secluded and unexplored. That will give you lesser traffic on the road, and much more time to enjoy the destination. Like two years back, I travelled to the extreme north of Sikkim towards China Border in the month of December when temperature goes below zero. I stayed there in homestays as paying guests, which was a lifetime experience. As Sikkim is an organic state, they cooked all appetizing meals using all organic staples and homegrown vegetables. And because of government’s firm guidelines, I couldn’t find any plastics off the road or at any sites. I chose this trip over the suggested Ladakh trip by friends and travel agents, and I never regretted my decision. 

Start your day little earlier than others, it helps in keeping you ahead of traffic and in queues. For instance, when I visited Universal Studios and Disneyland in LA, I reached both places way ahead of time in morning. This gave me initial free hours for enjoying all the rides at least twice. Later in the day, there was one-two hours of queue for each ride. And if you are on road trips, hitting the road quiet early in the morning before the traffic starts, will give you plenty of peaceful time at the tourist attraction you are visiting rather than spending that time sitting in your car in the middle of traffic.

Here are a few more hacks which would help during your travel. Easier said than done but try to travel light. I usually take just two pairs of jeans for let's say 10 days trip, with lightest tops and t-shirts. I know it’s difficult to leave your matching accessories and footwears at home, but in travel each lb counts. If you are struggling with check-in baggage weight, then try to wear the heaviest clothes, jacket, shoes out of the lot. Check if the place you are visiting requires any permits and try to get those online beforehand wherever attainable. Carry a photocopy, scanned copy and original ID proof, passport size photos and softcopies of all the reservations. Check your airline policies before traveling, if you are pregnant and in your third trimester to avoid last minute troubles. If the destination is in a different time zone, work on the jetlag beforehand so you won’t feel dizzy or uneasy during your travel. Look for any local fests happening at the time of your travel and don’t miss out on those. Hope these tips will make your next travel much more pleasurable.