Welcome back and happy Wednesday!
I thought we can take this time to go over some dos and don'ts for traveling in 2023. I have come up with this list through my own experiences, hearing about others experiences and of course good old research. I think sometimes as humans we get caught up in the patterns we created for ourselves and forget to look and reevaluate the way we do things. This can be done for any area of your life, but this week I decided to do it for travel. There's things I probably do that others would be like “what is going on here” and I know I see other people do things that I would like to try or just completely avoid. These lists are created to help fix what is not working and add in the things that actually will.
Let’s dive into the dos list for traveling in 2023
Add weekend trips to your normal monthly calendar
This one is probably my favorite idea for 2023. When I used to think about taking a trip or doing something I never really thought about doing something that is closer by for a shorter amount of time. This means instead of doing all long trips that last weeks at a time, add in some short weekend trips. Yes, you can take a plane if you want, but I do not see anything wrong with adding in a little road trip. These can be just as enjoyable and adventures as long trips. It can help you to feel like you are living your life all the time, not just a couple weeks a year. It is an easy way to add that enjoyment into your life without needing to take off work (at all or for long periods of time) or break the bank with expensive trips.
Stop waiting on others to do what you want
2023 is the year you take control of your happiness. There is no need to wait on other people to do the things you always wanted to do. This not only is true for trips, but for everything else in your life. The only person who will be with you forever is you, so let us make sure we make ourselves happy too. You are more than capable of going on a solo trip or solo date and I bet you will learn just how much better it is to do the things you want than to wait for them. I also want to point out that just because you do something solo does not mean you are alone. I met so many amazing people during my solo trips and dates that I look forward to it because of that.
Do what you want and be unique
What I mean by this is that you do not have to follow the latest travel trends to have a great experience. Do the exact things you want to do, even if it takes you out of your comfort zone. You will see exactly the things that make you happy and what doesn't, helping you to grow closer to yourself and to be authentic to who you are. This also goes for travel destinations too. Sometimes I feel like the trips I go on are completely different from the ones that the travel community are into now and that is totally okay. I have had nothing but fun on my trips and am happy I did what I wanted to do. No regrets lol.
Create a budget, but also be flexible
This is such an easy thing to do. I recently started doing this during my trips to help maximize my enjoyment and help me to go on more trips. If I do not set a limit for myself I can overspend, preventing me from being able to take another trip or not being able to enjoy the next trip from lack of funds. Come up with a number that you are willing to spend on things like Uber, food, drinks, entertainment, and shopping. I like to put them into my digital planner and write down everything I spend money on in those categories. Seeing how much I spent to help me keep track of what I am spending while away. If I see I am getting too close to my number, I know maybe I need to cut something out or make a change to keep my spending on track. This is also where you could be a little flexible and give yourself more funds if you know you really want to do this. This do not mean throw out your whole budget because you have no impulse control, but to be honest with yourself about what would truly make you happy,
Bring your water bottle
This is the easiest way to not only make sure I am staying hydrated, but also saving money. I can refill at any water station, carrying it with me all day. Water is seriously overpriced at any type of tourist location and during my trips if I did not have my own bottle, relying on the hotel or the attraction I am at for water would have cost me hundreds of dollars.
Planning trips early
This is one way to make sure you do not overpay for simple things like enter tickets or even airline tickets. If you wait until the last minute, due to simple supply and demand (some covid restrictions too) there might not be any availability for the things you are looking to do and I bet the flight will cost you more. I looked into the most optimal time to book your flight for travel and the best answer I found is from Google who just did a study on it. They say that “prices will be lowest three to six weeks before your trip, rising rapidly in the last three weeks before departure date”. That puts the optimal booking range from 21 days to about 45 days before travel. Still not an exact day, but it should help you to learn when to start booking.
These do’s are technically my rules for 2023 and I do tend to stick to them. I think they will give me the tools and tricks I need to have the best time during my trips and help me to make travel a regular part of my life.
This next section is on the don'ts for traveling in 2023. These are things I have been guilty of doing and bet you have done once or twice too. Let’s leave these in the past and simply remind yourselves we did not know better when we did them, so try not to be too hard on yourself.
Spending money at the airport
I honestly only ever do this when I forget my snacks and water bottle, which just meant I was not prepared for my trip. This saves me money and time since I do not have to waste time hunting for something edible or standing in line. You will always know you have something you like if you bring your own and you will not overpay for some simple chips. This also allows you to bring some healthy snacks since airports are not known for wide selections.
Staycations
This is something I will not be partaking in anymore. There are more than enough options for quick weekend trips that are close enough to be able do a quick trip. There are also so many options that you can find a place that falls into your budget. Even things you might think are expensive you probably can find a budget friendly option for doing it. There are so many people who have many travel hacks to make expensive things not so bad. No more excuses for not doing the things we want too anymore.
Overpacking
I always love to be prepared with anything I could possibly need, but sometimes the things I think I need are really not needed. Taking time to pack carefully and only taking needed items will help you to not have to pay for a checked bag. This saves you money since they cost around $30 and time at the airport by not having to wait for your luggage to come off the plane. I try to do my packing twice to give me time to remove items that might go into my bag. I do this by taking all the items I want to pack and leaving them in another room all together. I will come back to it in another day or two and then put those items into my bag, relooking at what I want to bring, taking out things I do not really need. This helps me to give a second thought about the things I am taking, really thinking about if I need them.
Spending money on things I do not really like
FOMO is a big reason I used to do things in the past. I wanted to do the trendy things and have all the stuff that everyone else had. Once I started traveling and seeing there is so much more to life than just stuff, I realized I can spend my money to do things that actually make me happy. I do not mind spending money on things that will make me truly happy, but I will no longer do things just because someone else is or because it is trendy. This will make sure I never look at something and go “I should never have bought that” and will look back on my time with only the best of memories.
Getting the perfect photo
When I started my travel content, I honestly would spend so much time trying to get a perfect photo. I was doing that way before just for the perfect Instagram picture my friends would like. This is crazy of me! I was wasting so much time on something that no one was probably going to see anyway (does not mean I will stop posting like I have millions of followers). Instead take a couple pictures and move on. Who cares if it is perfect, no one will notice it more than you. Enjoy your trip in the moment. Photos are great, but some are memories that you carry forever. I would rather have a perfect trip over the perfect photo.
Winging trips
Trips end up being 100xs better when some research goes into it. That does not mean you have to know what you are doing at every second of the day, but having a list of some activities you can do can help you to not feel so overwhelmed when away. This is especially good for solo travelers, this can help you to know you always have something you can do without having to try to figure it out in the moment. Taking some fear out of doing it solo. It also will help you to give an itinerary to a trusted person before being away, so they can help you to be safe when alone.
These dos and don'ts are going to be my holy grail for traveling this year. It will help me save time, stress and money by making sure my trips end up the way I imagined they always would be. This list is about being prepared, taking control of the things you want and being happy while doing it.
If you have any other travel dos or don'ts that you would add to this list, let me know in the forum. I came up with these through my own experiences and from hearing about yours. Everyone's experiences are a little different, so something that works for me might not be perfect for you. Hopefully you can add some of these onto your own lists to help make your travel experiences even better than they already are.
Have a safe and happy rest of your week! Thanks again for reading!
-G
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