Travel Hacks & Tips

[:en]My favorite travel hacks & tips[:]

  • 5 Different Types of Travel - What Kind Of Travel Is Right For You?

    5 Different Types of Travel – What Kind Of Travel Is Right For You?

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    There are few things in the world more wonderful than getting to travel but one thing that a lot of people don’t seem to realise is just how personal travelling can actually be. Sure, it’s something that almost all of us enjoy doing and get a lot out of but the kind of travelling that you do is going to be very different based on a whole number of different factors. Everything from the kind of person you are to how much time you have to travel to the people in your life are going to influence what kind of trip is right for you. Of course, it’s not always easy to know exactly what kind of travel is right for you since most of us don’t have the chance to sample every variety and figure out what suits us best. However, there are always ways to figure out what your preferred travelling style really is. With that in mind, here are some of the most popular forms of travel to help you figure out which one is right for you.

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  • Practical Survival Skills We Could All Learn

    Practical Survival Skills We Could All Learn

    When we think of someone who enjoys ‘survival weekends’ or spends time outside as much as possible, we think of a gruff guy with a beard and a flannel shirt. But why? Everyone has a right to survival, and so survival skills are democratically available to all. Sure, someone may be physiologically stronger than you, but that in no way determines how well you can use and apply survival skills in the best setting. In fact, learning a few of these skills can help you feel a little more confident in yourself, and can provide a wonderful couple of wildlife weekends with your friends.

    This can not only help you take on lengthier hikes or feel more comfortable traveling across the world, but practical skills like this can be useful in ways you may not expect. Getting started can be the first hurdle. You may need a few simple yet elegant tools, such as Scrimshaw knives to pocket, a survival kit in your vehicle and some good, comfortable clothing. With that in mind, you may find power learning the following techniques: (more…)

  • Why Moving Abroad With Your Family Could Be For You

    Why Moving Abroad With Your Family Could Be For You

    Moving abroad with your family can be a big challenge, but it could also be the best decision you ever make. Millions of families have done it, many have moved to another country and have loved it so much they had made it their permanent home, or others have gone for an experience, and when they have done that, they had some fun and perhaps saved some money, they have gone home. You could be considering a move for work purposes or just seeking a new adventure for your family, but either way when moving with a family then finances will likely be top of the list of considerations, followed by finding schools and childcare services and healthcare facilities, so it’s important to do your homework and get the right place for you. 
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    Reducing Risks On An Adventure Vacation

    Booking an adventure vacation is such an exciting time, as there’s no doubt that thoughts of fun and excitement will be whizzing through your mind. Visiting a faraway extreme destination can be an amazing experience and a great opportunity for you to make new memories, however there are also many risks and dangers that you must consider in order to stay safe and healthy throughout your trip. Failing to consider your security when embarking upon any expedition will leave you open to harm that might otherwise have been avoided, and this could really put a dampener on your holiday. So, if you’ve got a big adventure coming up and you’d like to know more about how you can reduce the risks and have the best time possible, then read on for some of the best tips and tricks that you can utilize today!

    Eating Sensibly 

    One of the most important things you must pay attention to whilst in any exotic location is the food that you eat. Each culture has different hygiene standards, and this means that diseases and illnesses spread easily, often with painful side effects. Though street vendors may make a show to draw you in and entice you with delicious smells, it’s likely that they do not have access to a hand washing materials and have very low cleanliness levels overall. Always be smart and assess the situation before you purchase any food, looking for things such as cleaning stations and proper food preparation areas that look sanitary and organised. Learning a small amount of the language regarding meals and food items will be of great benefit, as often menus will have no english (or pictures) and you might find yourself ordering something that you didn’t quite expect. Staying hydrated in any hotter locations is essential, but make sure that you are accessing bottled water and never drinking from fountains or natural sources, no matter how fresh they appear to be. 

    Assess Your Surroundings

    You mustn’t let your guard down at any point during your adventure vacation, and make sensible assessments of your surroundings and each situation that you find yourself in. Even the most idyllic and picturesque of places can be full of pickpockets or other criminals, so make sure that you always have your bag sealed shut and close to your person, whilst regularly looking around you for people that may cause a problem. It’s not difficult to keep your wits about you, but it really pays off. You don’t want to be caught up in an uncomfortable situation, but if you are then its important that you have access to medical care should you need it. Having insurance for your adventure vacation is so vital, as this will cover the costs of the services that you use. Don’t be afraid to pursue legal action if you fall victim to a crime during your trip, as you can find a law firm that is more than ready to provide you with the information and support you need to seek proper justice. 

    Dress For The Environment

    In order to stay comfortable throughout your adventure vacation, you must make an effort to dress for the environment which you are in. This means that whenever you decide to go out on uneven ground, you put on a pair of walking boots to protect your ankles and gain more grip. Or if you’re headed out on a particularly sunny day, make an effort to wear light coloured, loose fitting clothing to stay cool, and a sunhat and glasses to stop those harmful UV rays from reaching your most delicate areas. If you’re in an area that has a strong religious or cultural background, do some research to make sure that there are no requirements (such as head scarves) so that you do not upset or offend any locals or stand out from the crowd like a sore thumb. 

    Reducing risks during an adventure vacation may seem a little tricky, but with these handy hacks you can make sure that you are as safe as possible throughout the duration of your trip. Always be mindful whenever you purchase food, as you do not want to catch a tummy bug or any other illness due to unhygienic preparation. Assess your surroundings and do not let your guard down, remembering not to be too trusting with people you have recently met. Dress for the environment by packing walking shoes for any hikes, and light cool clothing to avoid overheating, and try not to pack any junk as this will do nothing more than add weight to your case.

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  • The Essential Guide To Staying Safe While Traveling

    The Essential Guide To Staying Safe While Traveling

    If you have decided to embark on your next solo travel adventure, the chances are that you are feeling those pangs of panic set in. You may have traveled before and you might have enjoyed immersing yourself in new cultures, trying new cuisine and marveling at new vistas, but staying safe has always been a concern of yours. While you can be as vigilant as possible, it can be hard to stay one hundred percent safe at all times.

    Being safe means protecting your money, keeping your gadgetry away from prying hands and ensuring that your personal safety is not compromised. Having a wanderlust itch that needs scratching may mean that you hot foot it to destinations that are not renowned for the safety of travelers. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t go, but it does mean that you need to be more conscious of your own security. Read on to discover how you can stay safe while traveling.

    Get The Lingo

    If you are heading to a country that doesn’t have English as an official language, it’s important that you learn some of the languages before you set foot on a plane. Having the basic greetings under your belt alongside some phrases that you might need in an emergency situation could help you feel more confident about communicating with locals overseas. Learning the language of a country that you are traveling to also helps locals to warm to you more. They will see that you have made the effort to immerse yourself on a more meaningful level rather than simply shouting at them in English. Be a responsible traveler and learn how to ask for a doctor or for help. Hopefully, you won’t ever need to use it, but it’s great to know.

    Excursions

    There are plenty of destinations that are ready for tourists. Countries like China, for example, have wonders of the world that people from all over the globe flock to. This means that, while there are plenty of exceptional official tours to the Great Wall of China available from Beijing, there will also be plenty of scam artists advertising poorly designed tours. This could mean that you end up on a substandard coach tour. The vehicles used are substandard and you may even find yourself with a dodgy driver resulting in an accident. This may mean that you need to utilize your insurance and seek the services of bus accident attorneys. If you are going for an organized tour, check out any company that you are looking to do business online and pay a little extra for a tour with a great reputation.

    You could always opt for a self-planned excursion. While there won’t be safety in numbers with an official guide, you can still navigate your way safely across a foreign land. Stick to official transport and never get into an unregistered taxi. Keep your wits about you, have your smartphone charged up, and you should stay safe.

    Keep Your Kit With You

    While you may have a hostel room with a lockable safe, many people still prefer to keep their personal belongings with them at all times. This is a sound strategy. Make use of discrete money belts that you can keep hidden under your clothes. You can keep your passport, documentation and cash in there.

    When you come to pack for your trip overseas, stick to a front-loading backpack rather than a hard backed wheelie suitcase. These aren’t practical and you will need to put them into the hold of any flight. This can increase the chances of your luggage getting lost, and it wastes time when you land at your destination. Keeping your belongings with you at all times, using appropriate locks and keeping your gadgetry to hand should help you to stay safe.

    Only Go For Official Cash Withdrawals

    Forget about going down unofficial routes to withdraw cash. While you might get a better exchange rate, you also run the risk of your card being cloned or skimmed meaning that your personal and confidential details and financial information could end up in the hands of fraudsters. You don’t want your trip to be ruined because all of a sudden you find that your account has been wiped out.

    Stay In A Group At Night

    If you are part of an organized tour, or even if you are a solo traveler staying in hostels, try and stay close with a group when out at night. Even the safest tourist destinations can take on a different vibe when night falls. If you head to a nightclub, keep an eye on your drink, don’t get too tipsy and be responsible. Yes, you can have a good time, but you need to stay in control. Don’t head home alone and always stick with somebody else so you are never alone in a strange place. Keep your drinks to bottles and never leave it unattended for your own personal safety.

    Don’t Be A Hero

    While you like to think of yourself as a kind-hearted and caring individual, if you see something untoward going on, don’t be like a bull in a china shop and rush into a dangerous situation. Call law enforcement and go and get help. You don’t have to try and play the hero in an effort to halt a bad situation. And if you find yourself on the receiving end of a dangerous encounter, do what the perpetrator asks. If they want your camera, give it to them. You are better being alive and without some photos rather than not here at all. If you find yourself in real danger, forget screaming. Shout ‘Fire!’ It always gets people’s attention.

    Traveling alone needn’t be scary. It should be one of the most life-affirming experiences you ever get the chance to undertake. Plan your next trip to scratch that wanderlust itch and enjoy hot-footing it across the world. Follow this guide and make sure that you stay safe on your next travel adventure.

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  • The Ultimate Guide To Planning A Trip Of A Lifetime

    The Ultimate Guide To Planning A Trip Of A Lifetime

    It doesn’t matter whether you are eighteen and fresh out of school ready to take a gap year or whether you are in your mid thirties, bored in your job and looking for a new adventure, it is never the wrong time to consider a trip of a lifetime. Travelling is one of life’s most enriching experiences. To be able to immerse yourself in a new culture, meet new people and see new vistas is incredible. We are fortunate to even be able to consider travelling to distant shores to see the world.

    Planning a trip of a lifetime can seem like an arduous and complex task. And it is. However, if you are organised, determined and keen to explore the planet, you can prepare for your travels and have a more enjoyable and meaningful trip whilst you are overseas. Wanderlust is a fantastic feeling; you just need to make sure you have the capability to act upon it. (more…)

  • The simple guide to wise & safe city travel

    The simple guide to wise & safe city travel

    Traveling around a city can be a fun, leisurely experience, a hurried commute, or a stressful navigation. There are many methods to traveling in a city, and many options available to you. Public transport abounds, as does the use of sidewalks, bike lanes, and roads. However, we all learn very quickly that the population density found in cities can sometimes be difficult to cope with. Travelling could become something that would otherwise be a pleasant time of transit at a time you need to exercise your full powers of concentration to get through.

    On top of that, caring for your safety first is one of the wisest considerations to think. Sometimes getting to your destination a little later to ensure this can be more than worth the effort. Even the most experienced and street-wise person can learn a thing or two from brushing up on their safety habits when traveling in a populated area. For the traveler entering new cities and learning new environments, safety tips are absolutely essential.

    To learn and know these, bloat will give the opposite intended effect. Practical city dwelling tips must be fast, easy to remember and possible to apply without much practical thought. For that reason we have compiled a small guide to wise and safe city travel, and it is as follows: (more…)

  • Early retirement, is it possible before 40? With a mini retirement it is!

    Early retirement, is it possible before 40? With a mini retirement it is!

    The idea of a “mini-retirement” was first made popular by Tim Ferriss’ in his New York Times bestselling book; the 4 Hour Work Week.  This book, despite its title, doesn’t encourage people to just work four hours a week.  It’s all about changing their paradigm from one of being a wage slave where more is better, to focus on how to propagate “quality of life” in the sense of having both the time and money to be “free”.

    Make sure you read my Beginner’s Guide To F.I.R.E (Financial Independent Retire Early)

    One of the core concepts, suggests people should take a mini-retirement at regular intervals throughout their career and explore the world in their twenties, thirties and forties rather than use up the best years of their life working for someone else, feeling exhausted the whole time, barely able to squeeze much juice out of life!

    Once upon a time, the vast majority of people subscribed to something known as the 40×40 Plan, which referred to the fact people would get an education then work for forty hours a week for forty years of their life then retire on 40% of their salary.

    It was at this point that people would finally begin to travel and explore the world and squeeze the most out of life, but think about that for a second.  At sixty fives years old people have very different levels of health, fitness, and vitality than they did in their twenties – thus people aren’t always able to pursue the activities on their bucket list if they wait until retirement.

    There’s also the sobering realization that not everyone makes it to retirement.  What if you spend your whole life working, thinking that tomorrow will be better, only for tomorrow to be taken from you prematurely.

    Today, many people are looking for ways to squeeze the most out of their lives, particularly with regard to travel, as young as possible, and one of the best ways to do this is to take regular mini-retirements.

    The emphasis today appears to have shifted from amassing great wealth to creating a “freedom lifestyle”.  

    In today’s flourishing digital economy the opportunity to work remotely, from anywhere in the world, providing you have a laptop and a decent internet connection is in abundance.  For many people, “living the dream” no longer features a corner office, fancy title, and fast car parked in their garage – it’s more akin to jetting off to an exotic location and working from their laptop on a beach whilst drinking from a fresh coconut.

    The idea of mini-retirements was first introduced by Tim Ferriss in his New York Times bestselling book, but since then the concept has peaked the interest of bloggers, freelancers and digital nomads alike.  This article digs deeper into the idea of mini-retirements and looks at some of the destination choices you might want to consider.

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