How to be an expert traveler

Want to be an expert international traveler? Read on to see my tricks and tips. I’ve travelled to over 30 countries, mostly on the cheap, and you can too!

Flights

For deals, I keep my eyes on Scott’s cheap flights and Skiplagged. I also try to keep track of points on major airlines like United, which offer flights worldwide. Some credit cards offer great flight opportunities with points and this can save you a lot of money (I personally use Chase Sapphire which has an amazing booking portal for card users). You can set up flight alerts through Google Flights and use the price mapper to get a sense of the fluctuations to a certain location.

The problem/trick is that often good flight deals change rapidly and if you don’t act fast enough, it’ll be gone. So if you really are excited about an opportunity, it’s best not to wait! I once bought a ticket to London for $400 that the following day was $1200 – so act fast (within reason) but know that most major airlines have a 24 hour cancellation window (and as of May 2020, the cancellation window is often extended due to impact from the COVID-19 pandemic).

Planning – Where to begin?

Once you book a flight, you have to start your research! Some places have very obvious itineraries and others are so large that you have to be pickier on what regions or sites you want to focus on. I often start by searching the length of time and location to see what blogs pop up with proposed itineraries. Then, I look up the recommendations and see if they make sense to me or if there are other more specific sites I want to make sure to include.

Once you narrow down on your plan, consider buying a guidebook. Though the truth is, so much readily available information can be found on the internet. The only problem with that is keeping your notes organized! I like to set up google sheets to help organize my thoughts on a trip, and I usually seperate into the following columns: Date, Location, Accommodation, Transportation, Cost, Activities, Websites.

This helps with planning and keeping all the details organized so that when you actually leave for the trip, you don’t have to dig around in your email for everything.

Accommodations

I pretty exclusively book with AirBnB or a hotels/hostels on Booking.com. These have been the cheapest options for me that also offer the most flexibility and filtering for specific needs. If I see a good deal in the Chase points portal, sometimes I book there in order to stay somewhere fancier (usually something I think is worth splurging on the last few nights of a trip!).

Transportation

This really depends on where you are going. If it’s the kind of place you will need a car, make sure to reserve that far in advance. Most countries have manual cars as the standard, so if you only know how to drive an automatic you will have to reserve early and probably pay a bit more for that convenience.

In terms of public transportation, research airport shuttles/trains to the main cities, the main type of transportation in the city, and if taxis or Ubers/Lyfts will be readily available. Make sure you check to see if you need to book trains early in advance to get deals or reserve seats, or if you can buy same day.

Access to Maps

Check for offline maps availability. If the country is not available on Google Maps, you can try CityMaps2Go or Tantu Map for offline accessibility.

Wifi & Preparation Offline

Depending on where you go, you might be able to put in a local SIM card which will give you access to calling and some phone data. This can really come in handy when you are on the move. Other countries allow you to purchase pocket wifi devices. You can also pay for international calling through you phone carrier, but this is often more expensive. Do your homework before you go if you think you will need to get in touch with family or friends while away. I have found that in recent years, wifi is more and more readily available and free in coffee shops, airports, train stations, and restaurants, so you can sometimes pick up enough data at these points to get what you need done.

In the case that you won’t have unlimited access to the internet, it is best to save your documents, maps, and photos offline or in screenshots so you can access what you need anywhere, anytime.

Final steps

Every time I travel abroad I find myself scrambling to remember all the small details worth doing before I leave. So here is a collection of the must do’s to remember:

• Make sure your passport is up to date and you have all the visas and vaccinations required for wherever you are going.
• Sign up for international travel insurance, which can help cover delays, lost items, and emergency evacuation just in case you need it. I’ve been booking all my trips through worldnomads.com.
• Contact all your banks/credit/debit cards and let them know you will be traveling.
• Take photos of all important documents like passports and other identifiers in case you need to print them out or share them with an official in the country you are going to.
• Put your mail on hold, get a house sitter, etc.
• Take out some cash in your local currency for emergencies, and if you are traveling somewhere that finding cash might be a challenge on your first day, go to a currency exchange (often available in malls or you can order online) and take out some money in the foreign currency.
• Pack your emergency medical kit and make sure it is up to date! I always like to travel with medicine for stomach/food related pains, body ache/headache medicine, motion sickness medicine, and antibiotics as well as antibiotic and steroid creams and bandaids. I also usually pack herbal sleep aids with an eye mask, neck pillow, and ear plugs to sleep on planes, buses, or trains (or loud hotels!).
• Organize an itinerary and share it with at least one person who is not going on the trip. This is especially true if you will be in the wilderness or hiking so that you have at least one person on hand who can report you missing in case of emergency.
• Put your away message up on your email!
• Check in to your flights.
• Have an amazing time!