23 Travel Tips You Really Should Know (with photos)

check also: Most Popular Countries In The World To Visit 2015
check also: World's Most Fantastic Places To Travel (with images)
Travel Tip 1 - Soap Up
Instead of shower gel and soap, get a squeezy bottle of cheap generic face wash (e.g. a supermarket's own brand) and use it for all soapy stuff requirements. It'll save you weight and bulk.

Travel Tip 2 - Wee Prepared
Bring a small led torch, so you don't have risk injury /waking up everyone else in the dorm if you're caught short in the 'wee' hours.

Travel Tip 3 - Put the Camera Down
Some travellers are so desperate to get that "perfect shot" that they scramble for their camera as soon as a wonderful sight comes into view. They end up seeing such sights only through a lens. Resist the temptation to reach for your camera straight away. Take a moment to contemplate the beauty of, say, Angkor Wat with your own eyes first. You'll get a lot more out of it.

Travel Tip 4 - Opening Night Nerves
It's natural to be apprehensive about travelling, especially if you're going to be going solo. It can be quite an overwhelming experience to be miles away from home in a foreign land, jet lagged and on your own. So make it easy on yourself. Book your first night (or two)'s accommodation in advance, and consider treating yourself to something slightly more luxurious than what you will be staying in long-term. Use the luxury to refresh yourself and get back into a normal sleeping pattern.

Travel Tip 5 - A Jaw-Opening Experience
When planning your Round the World ticket itinerary, think beyond just flights. Some of the better (albeit more expensive) tickets allow you to travel "open jaw", which means landing in one hub, working your way overland and taking your next flight in another hub (e.g. Into Bangkok -> overland around South East Asia -> Out of Singapore). It can sometimes result in a cheaper ticket (if your ticket's cost is based on mileage) and adds a bit more variety to your trip.

Travel Tip 5 - Overlander
Although more expensive, overland travel can be a fabulous experience - you get to see far more of the countries you're traversing rather than flying over their beauty at 30,000 feet. Consider devoting a large section of your trip, if not all of it, to overland travel. Train is a good mode of transport. It's possible to travel from London to South East Asia purely by train - how about it?

Travel Tip 6 - Accessing Money
Increasingly travellers are using ATM cards as their method of accessing money on long trips. This especially makes sense if you're from the UK, as you can take advantage of the Nationwide FlexAccount, which doesn't charge you fees for using your ATM or credit card abroad. Travellers cheques still have a place, though, as a means of obtaining money where ATMs are thin on the ground - and especially as an emergency cash reserve if you lose your ATM card.

Travel Tip 7 - Take it Easy!
Many travellers' first impulse on a RTW is to squeeze every place they've ever wanted to go to into their 12 months. The result is an itinerary of rushing around the world between twenty countries and not actually spending any decent amount of time in any to appreciate them. Focus on the countries you really want to see and do them justice; leave the others out for another trip.

Travel Tip 8 - Locks on Bags
Small padlocks on every zip of your pack will deter the casual street pickpocket, if not the more determined thieves.

Travel Tip 9 - Love Thy Passport
Keep your passport on you at all times, ideally in a zipped security pouch around your waist (under your clothes), in a zipped pocket of your clothing, or in a padlocked daypack. Not only is it good sense to have your eye on it, it is also a legal requirement in some countries.

Travel Tip 10 - Divide (and Conquer Thieves)
Don't carry all your financial eggs in one basket. Keep your wallet/purse with your ATM card and money ideally in a zipped pocket on your person, or in a zipped, locked daypack. If you are bringing a credit card, keep it separate, such as in a zipped security pouch worn on your person. Keep an "emergency" stash of money (US dollars are probably the best choice) deep in your backpack rolled up in an old 35mm film canister. If you are travelling in a cash society or off the beaten track and need to draw out large sums of money, divide it up into stashes in a similar manner to spread the risk.

Travel Tip 11 - Take a Dummy With You
If like me you are paranoid/savvy because you've been mugged before, consider making up and carrying a "dummy wallet" filled with some money, an old credit card, and some old IDs to pad it out (e.g. an expired student ID, library card, etc). In the unlikely event of being mugged, you can hand it over without having to lose your real wallet...

Travel Tip 12 - Money Management
It's really not a good idea to owe money whilst travelling, but if you find yourself in that situation, make the most of credit cards with interest free balance transfers. When the interest free transfer period runs out simply swap to another card.
Also, get a debit card that doesn't charge you for taking money out abroad. If you're in the UK, the Nationwide FlexAccount is great for this. It will save you a packet on withdrawals.

Travel Tip 13 - Flexibility is the Key
Don't over-plan! While it is worthwhile to know where you want to go, spending too much time planning is a waste of time. Most travellers change their mind on the road and get advice from other travellers rather than their guide book. Stop planning and actually get out there!!

highway 1 travel tips gate 1 travel tips

Travel Tip 14 - Easy Access
Pack the items you are going to be using daily, e.g. your wash kit, in the top pocket of your backpack, along with any items that you might not necessarily use frequently but will need instant access to when the time comes - e.g. a torch. Being able to quickly lay your hands on a torch in a dark dorm room rather than having to rummage noisily through your pack for one will certainly be appreciated by your sleeping dorm mates!

Travel Tip 15 - Take the cube with you
Say goodbye to plastic bags! Consider getting a packing cube (or two) for your clothes. The Eagle Creek 2-Sided Packing Cube is ideal - use the mesh side to store clean clothes, and the waterproof side for your wet/dirty ones, keeping them well and truly separate.

Travel Tip 16 - Wash Your Hands With It
Consider bringing a small bottle of dry hand wash. Marvellous alcohol-based stuff, it enables you to clean your hands without requiring water - very handy for some of the more unpleasant toilet stops on your journey

23 travel tips for first time travellers

Travel Tip 17 - Travel-Size Me
Avoid bringing that Mega Jumbo Size bottle of shampoo or shower gel - go for the smallest you can get (there are often special 'travel sizes' available), and simply buy more frequently on the way round.

Travel Tip 18 - Packed Lunch
Plastic lunchboxes are handy, sturdy containers in which to store the smaller things in your backpack, such as electrical adapters, spare batteries and so on.

Travel Tip 19 - Ear Ear
If you are staying in dorms, earplugs are an essential item. Not only will they give you a better night's sleep, but they will also might help you avoid being arrested for assault when you batter the chap in the bunk below you senseless with your pillow for his four hour-long Nasal Symphony.

Travel Tip 20 - Candid About Cameras
Unless you are absolutely serious about photography, bring a cheap, small and simple digital camera that costs a maximum of £150 - the reason being, most backpacker policies only insure individual items up to this value. If you are to invest in anything, make it a reasonably-sized memory card.

5 critical travel tips for photographers

Travel Tip 21 - Treasure Your Photos: Backup, Backup, Backup
The worst thing about having your camera stolen is losing all those memories - so safeguard against it. At sensible intervals (say, once per country), get your photos burnt to CD - and here's the important thing - make two copies. Send one home by airmail, and get confirmation from someone at home that it has arrived safely. If it does, you can discard the second copy. If the CD doesn't reach home, get another copy taken of it and send it again, once again keeping your "insurance" copy safe until you've received word it has reached home safely. Don't solely rely on storing your photos in your possession.

Travel Tip 22 - Surface Mail is Your Friend
So you've spent two months in Thailand, and have a vast collection of Buddhas weighing down your pack to prove it? Instead of carting around your goods, send them home by Surface Mail - and anything else you don't need any more at the same time, e.g. your guidebook. It might take months to arrive, but it's far cheaper than Airmail for heavy packages.

travel tips for 7 year olds 7 travel photography tips

Travel Tip 23 - Early Morning Starts
So you're leaving your dorm at 4am to get your flight? Be really kind to your dorm mates: have everything ready the night before in order to minimise the noise - aka the "rustle factor" - in the morning. Bag packed. Wash kit, towel and clothes out ready. Thanks. You're a star.