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50 Years of Travel Tips

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Re: 50 Years of Travel Tips

#71

Post by kingkongjaffa »

rawgabbit wrote: post #60
ghaff wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find TripIt pretty indispensable even if I'd love to give "notes" to the designers Maybe Expedia too though I often make the final reservation directly One of the OSM mapping apps. I use MapOut TripAdvisor and Yelp are "OK." Often better than nothing. Various carrier or hotel chain-related apps depending on your preferences

On a related note in Europe I tend to use their taxi apps instead of Uber. In Paris I used the G7 app because official taxis could use the HOV lane while Uber cannot. In Italy, I use the Freenow app as I found their taxis very affordable.

Yeah Freenow/Uber/Lyft tend to vary in popularity and availability across Europe and even US states. ( I feel like I took Ubers in Chicago and Lyfts in Boston )

Usually just looking at that taxi area in arrivals at the airport you can figure out which app is the one most supported.

Re: 50 Years of Travel Tips

#72

Post by 1970-01-01 »

The entire 50 years is showing here. Seems like some of these tips are good, and some are awful because they're outdated. Don't crash random weddings if you're not able to pay your way out of trouble. Sketchy plans do result in kidnappings. Truly professional tour guides are wonderful assets that will 10X both your trip and your knowledge in any city.

Re: 50 Years of Travel Tips

#73

Post by ghaff »

Retric wrote: post #66
ghaff wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a ton of medical and medical-adjacent stuff (both prescription and not) that isn't going to be easy to come up with in a typical village or small town. Good to have some basic things you can use to rig a backpack strap or hole repair. There are fairly essential clothing items you may not easily replace on foot in small towns; it's raining hard and you left your rain jacket at home. Sure. If you have wheels, i…

I’ve gone decades without using a raincoat. If you’re going someplace cold you’ll want warm clothing and if it’s sunny then sunblock is a big deal, but in general you don’t need much stuff on a trip.

My guess is you're not hiking for 10 miles in possibly chilly rain in England or wherever. (Or needing a shell because of wind.) An umbrella doesn't really work and you're probably not wanting to just walk all day drenched. In a city, yes, umbrellas are often a reasonable alternative.

Re: 50 Years of Travel Tips

#74

Post by cldellow »

ngneer wrote: post #56
padiyar83 wrote: post #49

"People in other places are not saints. You might get cheated, swindled, or taken advantage of. Paradoxically, the best way to avoid that is to give strangers your trust and treat them well. Being good to them brings out their good. If you are on your best behavior, they will be on their best behavior. And vice versa. To stay safe, smile. Be humble and minimize your ego. I don’t know why that works everywhere in the…

I have a feeling that male and female travel experiences may differ in this regard. "To stay safe, smile." seems pretty naive to me. Clearly, the author is male. I would proffer "always have an exit", "do not walk into something you cannot walk out of" and "do not stray too far from the crowd".

Yeah, the author seems to be writing for a white male audience in some regards.

My wife and I host bicycle tourers when they pass through our town. One was Thomas Meixner, an East German who started travelling the world on bike when the wall fell. He's visited something like 120 countries and biked 250,000 km.

My wife asked him if he thought a solo woman could do what he did in the places he did it. He tactfully changed the subject.

Re: 50 Years of Travel Tips

#75

Post by deadbabe »

I noticed their list of travel accomplishments doesn’t seem to include things like “been robbed at gunpoint in South America”, “had passports seized in Southeast Asia”, or “sexually assaulted in an Eastern European hostel”. All of which I’ve experienced.

Travel, while fun, can also be very dangerous, especially the further you get from being a wealthy straight white male. Be careful and try to avoid thinking you’re a main character for whom nothing can go wrong.

Re: 50 Years of Travel Tips

#76

Post by 01HNNWZ0MV43FF »

sneak wrote: post #67
susam wrote: post #18

One travel technique that has worked very well for me takes place the day before my trip: using a pre-travel prep-and-packing checklist. I created this checklist about 15 years ago and still refine it occasionally. This list has three sections: A) Preparation tasks: Like printing essential travel documents, saving a backup to my mobile phone, buying foreign currency, activating data roaming, etc. B) Packing list: Min…

Don't buy foreign currency. Take it out of the ATM in the country, and spend it before you leave. Leave the currency in the place it belongs.

Why?

Re: 50 Years of Travel Tips

#77

Post by KineticLensman »

susam wrote: post #18

One travel technique that has worked very well for me takes place the day before my trip: using a pre-travel prep-and-packing checklist. I created this checklist about 15 years ago and still refine it occasionally. This list has three sections: A) Preparation tasks: Like printing essential travel documents, saving a backup to my mobile phone, buying foreign currency, activating data roaming, etc. B) Packing list: Min…

Agree. I have everything on it after one memorable trip where I forgot to pack any socks.

The pre-trip to-do list is also really useful - e.g. all the things that need charging before I go.

My list has subsections for specialised trips such as camping, wildlife experiences etc. On one camping trip I inventoried everything that came out of my car when I got back. This spotted a couple of things that I probably wouldn't have remembered for the next trip. Over the years I created a box full of tent-things that I can just lift into the car when I load up.

Re: 50 Years of Travel Tips

#78

Post by KineticLensman »

seer wrote: post #23
susam wrote: post #18

One travel technique that has worked very well for me takes place the day before my trip: using a pre-travel prep-and-packing checklist. I created this checklist about 15 years ago and still refine it occasionally. This list has three sections: A) Preparation tasks: Like printing essential travel documents, saving a backup to my mobile phone, buying foreign currency, activating data roaming, etc. B) Packing list: Min…

The one thing you _need_ to pack, apart from visa docs required for travel, is a credit/debit card. Anything you’ve missed can be purchased on location. Traveling to rural Vietnam looked daunting and dangerous for people from the EU, but once there me and the friend realized all the worrying and excessive preparation was for naught. We still forgot some things, an hour or two spent at the local shops and the problem…

> Anything you’ve missed can be purchased on location.

Good luck buying a head torch when you find yourself arriving at a deserted campsite in the middle of nowhere just as it is getting dark.

Or your prescription meds in a country where things aren't available over the counter.

Re: 50 Years of Travel Tips

#79

Post by ghaff »

01HNNWZ0MV43FF wrote: post #76
sneak wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't buy foreign currency. Take it out of the ATM in the country, and spend it before you leave. Leave the currency in the place it belongs.

Why?

ATMs probably tend to be a better deal but for $100-200 amounts probably doesn't matter much. Whether you spend your leftovers at the airport depends on if you're reasonably certain you'll be back. I keep pounds and Euros but I have way too much of other currencies which between COVID and employment changes, I'll probably never use.

Re: 50 Years of Travel Tips

#80

Post by j7ake »

With over 50 years of travel, the author still does not recognize the unique privilege he is in, and how inappropriate his tips are for most of the population.
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