[trip style = any]
Recently, I've been traveling a lot on planes, trains and automobiles, partaking in a variety of different trip styles: glamping, urban, sightseeing, sun, beach, sailing, luxe and budget. On a recent trip to NYC, I couldn't sleep because I was severely jetlagged just having come home from Australia, so in a sudden moment of 4am inspiration, I started to compile the below list of simple, and {hopefully} helpful travel tips, applicable to any trip style.
10 Travel Tips For Any Trip Style 1/ Smartphone = Mirror If your hotel room has no full-length mirror, which is sadly more common than you'd think, check your outfit by taking a picture of yourself with your smarphone or digi cam. Edit your look based on the picture.
2/ Slip It Always bring washable slippers on vacation. They work well for hotels that don't provide them, as well as keep you cozy on the plane {never, never walk to the bathroom in sox or bare feet}. I usually bring old hotel slippers, which amazingly, wash really well.
3/ Wrap It For those of you who read Trip Styler regularly, you know my deep affinity for pashminas and oversized scarves for travel. Use this multi-purpose wonder as a scarf, plane blanket, beach towel or pool/beach cover-up. Recently, my pashmina also came in handy when I walked home from my Canada Line {Vancouver's airport to downtown train} station post-flight. I wore it like this to protect my head from the rain.
4/ Wipe it You never know when wipes will come in handy. Every time I travel, whether the trip style is adventure, urban or anything in between, there's always an opportunity to use wipes. They are great for cleaning sticky food from your hands, sanitizing anything or having an impromptu shower in the airport's bathroom.
5/ Back-Up Always travel with back-up of your travel itinerary and photocopy of essential travel documents. I use the Tripit app to compile my travel itinerary digitally, but having a physical back-up is great when your phone is about to die, etc...
6/ H20 Stay healthy on the road. For the duration of your entire trip, from lift-off to touch-down, keep drinking water to flush your system. As well, consider taking a daily emergen-c vitamin supplement pack {or like product} to make sure your immune system is in tip-top shape for your cross-border galavanting.
7/ When In Rome This is one of my favourite all-time sayings. It also acts as a call to action for travelers. When abroad, there is nothing sweeter than attempting to live like a local, diving head first into the culture. For example, in New York: walk everywhere, dress-up for dinner and try to find a roof-top terrace to enjoy a drink, or in Italy: eat dinner at 9pm and go for it with the pasta. You can always work off the pounds when you return.
8/ Blend Be yourself and stay true to a version of your style, but try to blend in, so you don't become a tourist target. This is a lot easier said than done, but when possible, not sticking out like a soar thumb will only help your case as a tourist. Practically speaking, I usually observe what people are wearing, and if I like it, buy one or two pieces of clothing as a blending technique and trip momento.
9/ Suggestion Dominos Start with people you trust when asking for travel suggestions in your destination. Once there, if there's a restaurant you like, ask the server or manager where they'd suggest, and so on. Wild card: for true local faves, ask cab drivers or hotel workers where they like to eat.
10/ Let's Get Physical Always get a local map in case there’s no wifi, or your phone dies. Fold it so you only need to look at a small portion every time you take it out. Though I'm a huge lover of all things digital and app-related, having a physical document as a back-up does provide that extra bit of insurance.