How To Be Prepared for a Long Trip
How to be Prepared for a Long Trip
The way you prepare for a long trip can be a little bit different than a week long vacation.
There are some different ways or things to pack if you’re headed on a trip that’s more than your average week long vacation.
So, here are my tips on how to be prepared for a long trip.
Good to Know First!
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Book your Tours
Don't miss out on that great experience because it's sold out! Book in advance and know you will have this experience!
eSim Card
Stay in contact, get directions, & check out the best local places with your phone minus the expensive international charges!
Rent your Car
Get your rental car booked in advance so you can adventure around your destination.
Luggage Storage
Arrived early or staying later? Store your luggage safely so that you can enjoy freely!
Book your hotel
Get the location, class & style of hotel that you want! Book in advance & have peace of mind!
Rent Bikes etc.
Rent your motorcycle, scooter, quads,& bicycles here in advance so you can travel freely!
Get a sim card for your phone
Avoid expensive phone bills on your phone.
Make sure you turn off your roaming, I have known people to have $700 dollar phone bills while travelling!
Consider using a free app with WiFi.
Another great option is an eSIM card.
If you have never heard of an eSim card, it’s like an app that you download and pick your plan, rather than a physical sim card.
You can avoid problems with not being able to call your contacts when you arrive.
I know some people use Whatsapp or other wifi messaging apps, but what if you don’t have wifi.
I have been in this situation a few times, when the power went out, the place that I visited doesn’t have wifi, or it’s really poor quality wifi. In these situations, you can’t use your phone.
If you get one of these eSim cards, you can get the esim care for exactly where you will be.
You can actually choose the country that you’re going to, or the region, meaning continent or overall area.
If you’re going on a world wide trip, good news! You can even get a global eSim card.
The way it works is by downloading the App for Airalo.
Once you have the app, you just pick your package and install & activate your eSim card.
I find it super easy to use and a life saver when it comes to communicating freely and saving money!
Book your hotels in advance
If you’re staying in hotels, maybe you’re travelling around different places, I highly recommend booking more than a month in advance. If you can book 2 months in advance is even better.
I have had spontaneous travel opportunities where all the best locations were sold out and the best deals too.
You either end up paying for a room that’s way more than what you need, or it’s not as nice as you want.
If you book in advance, you can usually avoid these issues. You can use this widget below to book your hotel.
The good news is, that this widget is in my side bar (the strip of text on the right) always, so anytime that you want to book a hotel room, I invite you to use the yellow search box on the side bar from booking.com.
I always use them to book my hotels because I find it is well trusted and has tons of reviews of hotels that help me decide which hotel to stay.
Another thing that I like about booking.com is that if you book through them, you can earn different levels, which can get you discounts on your next hotel booking.
The Seasonal Weather
Check the weather for when you will be there. Besides just checking the weather, check out which season it will be while you’re there. Find out what weather is usual at this time of year.
For example, is it hurricane season, or maybe that area is prone to earthquakes.
Is it rainy season, or it’s very windy there.
Once you learn all of this information, then you can pack so you are more prepared.
Perhaps you will pack a women’s raincoat, men’s rainjacket, hat or more pants and sweaters, depending upon what you learn about the weather.
Both of these rain jackets are lightweight for travel and come with a little pouch to put them. That can help them to compress more in your luggage.
All of these images and links are clickable if you want to get one or learn more about them.
Learn about the culture
Take some time to figure out some cultural norms before you go.
Is shaking hands customary, what type of clothing is usual.
Is it necessary to cover your head at times?
Are there any holidays while you will be there? Maybe there are some yearly festivals that will be happening while you’re there.
You might have a chance to see some wonderfully authentic events.
Learn a bit about some traditional dishes or foods, so you can understand the menus more.
Getting around
Whether you’re staying in 1 place, or travelling around different places, it’s advisable to learn how you can get places.
Are there city buses, subways, street cars, shuttles? Do they go where you want to go? How much are they? Can you pay with cash? Do you need a card loaded with money to use the public transportation system?
Are there buses, trains, shuttles, or flights that can take you on day trips or to your next destination?
Take a look at the layout of the area or areas that you will be frequenting.
When you look at the map are the roads set up in a grid with horizontal and vertical streets, or do the streets curve and intersect diagonally and in all directions.
I remember walking around New York years ago, my friend and I were walking around and exploring.
We were walking straight on the same street, so we thought, but there was a a slight curved fork in the road that wasn’t too noticeable, then we actually ended up on a different street completely.
Knowing the layout of the city or town can help prevent you from getting lost or disoriented.
If you do get lost, it can help you to find your way a lot easier as well.
Be safe
Packing a travel-sized first aid kit can be helpful in many ways.
Yes, in the obvious ways, like having a band-aid if you cut yourself can be helpful, but also in other ways.
You could use the safety pins as a make-shift button for your clothing if a button suddenly pops off.
There are gloves and anti-septic wipes if you come across anything not so great that you want to clean up or stay away from.
The scissors you could use to cut off the tags from your newly purchased clothing or gifts to bring back home.
You could also pack a whistle and a mini travel-sized flashlight.
Just make sure you have a fresh battery in it. This can be great if there’s any power outages, or no lights in a hallway or road at night.
Pack well
One of the things that I always pack on a long trip is a water bottle.
I especially like this type of travel water bottle because it folds up so small and compact. It’s ‘squishable’, and doesn’t take up too much space in your bag. This one actually comes in a bunch of different colours too!
Even more important, it’s not heavy, so it’s not taking up weight in your luggage or in your bag on your shoulder.
Besides a water bottle, I also like to make sure that I can carry everything that I could possibly need.
Because I know that I am going to find so many cool things and I will end up buying gifts and some things for myself or others, I always pack an extra compact travel bag.
What I like about this one is the great compact carrying pouch, it’s lightweight, and it’s waterproof too!
It even has one of those straps that allows fits over your carrying handle from your large luggage handle. It slides right over it, so you can sit this bag on top of your suitcase and it won’t fall off.
This bag comes in a few different colours too.
Be organized
There’s nothing worse than feeling ready to head out to explore and enjoy your day, but you can’t find your bathing suit or bag.
I use these packing cubes to keep my luggage organized.
It’s so easy to find my extra socks, sweater, or toiletries.
Another option, especially if you need to pack clothes for colder climates, that are usually more bulky, are these bags that suction all of the air out.
These bags that compress save space in your luggage, so that you can fit more.
They also can help organize things that you may only need in a colder destination.
For example, if you’re planning a winter getaway, you can pack your jacket or sweater in one of these bags and leave it at the bottom of your luggage until you’re ready to go home, then just pull it out of the compressed bag.
Laundry bag
I pack clothes that I can mix and match and different options, but I always plan to do laundry on long trips as well.
I usually pack a lightweight laundry bag that holds dirty laundry.
This way it’s easier to gather all your dirty laundry in 1 spot and keep it separate from the clean clothing.
It’s also convenient to walk with this bag to the laundromat to get your clothes cleaned.
Clothing
Pack lightweight clothing can help keep your luggage within the weight limits.
Also, packing clothing that can easily be mixed and matched together can reduce the amount of clothing that you need to pack.
Having a mix of easy outfits like 1 dress, shorts that can be mixed with a variety of shirts, cardigan that can go over different outfits etc.
Pants or skirts that can go with different tops, and vice versa.
Sarong
No matter where you’re going, always pack a sarong.
It comes in handy in so many ways!
I always pack a sarong and it has come in handy in so many different ways for me over the years!
You could use it as a blanket or for shade to share a few reasons.
If you’re interesting in other ways that a sarong can be used, check out 17 Ways to Use a Sarong while travelling
Learn some of the language
Isn’t it so much nicer when someone greets you, says please, thank you, excuse me, etc.
These are some words that I consider essential when I travel somewhere that I don’t speak the language.
I also try to learn a few other words that will help.
Here are a list of some words that I consider important to know:
hello
thank you
please
excuse me
washrooms
no thank you
how much
accept card? (debit or credit card)
help
check in
hotel
food
I don’t understand
Depending on where you’re going you may want to invest in a pocket-size travel phrase book.
It could help you with common phrases that you may need for that language.
Adapters
This, of course, will depend on where you’re travelling.
You may not need this at all.
Before you go somewhere check out the type of electrical plugs that they use, it is the same as you? If not, you will probably need an adapter for this.
There are universal travel adapters that can help you with charging and using your devices in other countries that have different types of plugs.
Like I said, sometimes, this is not needed at all, but it’s something to check. What kind of electrical plugs are in that country? Are they the same as your country?
Most important to you!
So have you been on any long trip? If so, where did you go?
Did you use any of these tips?
For you, which tips do you find the most useful for being prepared for a long trip?
Besides being a travel blogger, I am also a travel writer, Amazon author and an English teacher. Check out my services here!
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