Travel Tips

* this information was compiled in part from my personal experiences, but now without help and advice from my many friends and family, travelled or not.  I would not have survived this trip without the knowledge shared by others and answers to my many late-night texts and questions.  Thank you to all who gave me recommendations of places to go, things to do, and who supported me during my journey.

 1. Check for visa entry requirements into whatever country you decide to go to, regardless of if you think you know the requirements or not.  There is nothing worse than purchasing a flight and being denied a boarding pass because you cannot get into the country.

2. If you’re staying long, buy a Lonely Planet guide for the country/region.  Most Lonely Planet guides can be purchased on Amazon or at a bookstore and you will be glad you got it.  Lonely Planet will give you details about best ways getting to and from airports, how to exchange money, where to go for local foods, when to visit museums or historical sites to avoid crowd.

3. Take some time for relaxing or exploring during long trips. While the first 3 months of my travel were littered with work and volunteering, I always made sure to give myself a few days to a week of time off to explore the country I was in.

4. Buy and utilize a local transit card in cities. In addition, big places with large, organized bus or train transit systems may be utilized by Citymapper, a free map on the iTunes or Android store that directs you step by step on the best way from your current location to your desired destination. This app has saved me countless dollars getting around Europe and taught me to get comfortable with regional transit around the globe.

5. When going to underdeveloped countries, it’s always nice to have a Life Straw, also available for purchase on Amazon.  Use them when drinking water from the tap or unknown water sources to ward off water-borne illnesses.

6. XE currency, an app for helping convert currencies offline which is very convenient when shopping and traveling to multiple different countries

7. There are a few ways of getting phone and internet service abroad:

• Purchasing a SIM card with preloaded amounts of data. I would recommend buying these abroad at a cell phone or tech kiosk to ensure they work in the country you are staying.
• T-Mobile service abroad has been great for me.  Upon crossing the border into another country, I receive a T-Mobile text message stating  “Welcome to _______! Your T-Mobile plan gives you unlimited data at up to 2G speeds and texts at no extra cost!  Calls at 25 cents/min.”
• For those who travel often (or unexpectedly) T-Mobile may be a good idea for you to ensure that you will be able to communicate and have access to internet abroad.  You can visit this link to learn about their international plans and find out whether your
• desired country is covered under T-Mobile’s worldwide service.
• Many developed countries will have easily accessible and free WiFi in airports and places like coffee shops or hotels.  When reserving AirBNB’s, it would be to your benefit to have WiFi to avoid wasting your own data.

8. Definitely invest in an RFID protected passport holder or credit card holder.  Always inform your credit card companies and banks ahead of time where and when you will be traveling abroad so that the banks can anticipate the charges.