Travel tips
Decided to gather some tips on travel here, partly for my own sake, but also because I’m sending a young relative on a trip and was hoping this could help them out.
Disclaimer; some of this might be obvious, some might seem strange, some might be false or not applicable in certain regions, the author takes no responsibility for how these tips are perceived or used.
Smartphone
An essential tool for safe travel these days is a working smartphone with internet access. If you can’t find a SIM card then find a café and plan your trip there before moving on.
Try to at least figure out how to get internet on your phone before you leave the airport you arrived at. And then of course disable roaming and data until you actually need it.
SIM card
If you’re lucky these are sold right at the border, or the airport. Otherwise do a google search for “where can I get a SIM card in the USA” for example.
Some providers have special tourist deals with unlimited data for 14 days. Obviously don’t get locked into a longer contract, but focus on having enough data to navigate around. It shouldn’t cost more than 40 euros.
City travel
Maps
Again, if you can’t ensure internet access you should attempt to download maps for offline use. I’m not sure if this can be done in Google Maps, but I can recommend the OpenStreetMap Android application OsmAnd.
Planning
Measure twice and cut once. A relaxed couple of hours at a café, or McDonalds, can be spent using their WiFi to plan your next steps. Same goes for any longer journey by bus or train.
Taxi scammers
This isn’t only applicable to Taxis but make sure to always call a cab company to book a ride, or go to the official bus ticket office, the official train ticket office.
Avoid sellers that seem too convenient, for example if they’re waiting right outside the exit to the train station, or the airport. Most countries have a dedicated area for taxis, most airports have a city bus stop or a regular shuttle service.
All it takes is a simple google like “taxi company bucharest”.
In general the legitimate companies won’t be in your face, the scammers will be eager to get your business because they want to scam you before you find the legitimate alternative.
Taxi pricing
This one is a nightmare for people with social anxiety but if you want to avoid being ripped off you should always talk to the taxi driver about the price. When you say where you’re going the driver should be able to give you a rough estimate of the cost.
In some countries it is even preferable to get a fixed rate, but this is slowly being phased out in favor of the meter. And of course this has lead to some Taxis installing false meters.
Don’t be ashamed of looking carefully around the taxi before you close the door and get ready to leave. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, you’re a customer to them and at the end of the day they need your business.
As someone with social anxiety who slowly matured and learned how to communicate with strangers, there is no way to quickly get good at this. You’ll just have to practice, practice, and practice.
Bus stops
Did you know that you can click on most bus stops in Google maps and see arrival times and routes? It doesn’t work everywhere but try it first before you get a taxi.
Bus and train apps
Most countries in Europe have their own apps for public transport. Again use Google to figure out which app to use, make sure it’s an official app recommended by their tourism board, and install it.
ATMs
Prefer ATMs attached to banks, for example a bank’s location might have a couple of ATMs right outside. Avoid free standing ATMs installed by companies that are not established banks. These are most often used for scams, and are often poorly supervised.
Flights
Flight aggregators
My general rule for any type of travel aggregator, even the ones for trains and busses, is that they’re good for getting a quick overview of what is available. But when it comes time to actually book the ticket I prefer going straight to the Airline website. Partly because then you can deal with them directly without a business in the middle, and you don’t save much by going through an aggregating service, in fact often you pay more.
It takes more time, it requires more tabs open in your browser, more focus, but it pays off if something unforeseen were to happen. Because you can contact the Airline directly instead of a gobetween.
Register accounts if you travel the same region often
Register an account on certain Airline websites if you might use them regularly, and also consider getting a credit card with bonus points for those airlines.
Finding an Airline
A tip for figuring out which Airlines you can use is go to the Airport website, most airports have a website with arrivals and departures showing the airlines and schedules.
Accommodation
Big cities are expensive
You can save a lot of money by staying outside of big popular cities, and commuting to them for day trips instead.
For example, 35 minutes by train out of Rome is Orte where you can get an entire house for cheaper than a hotel in Rome.
Wanna see Venice? Stay in Padova instead, it’s the first train stop 20 minutes outside of Venice.
It’s often cheaper to stay near the Airport of a major city and commute from there.
Here the tip of clicking on bus stops or train stations in Google Maps again becomes useful. Click on the central station of Rome and you’ll see different train routes going out of the city, find a place along those routes that is cheaper.
Compare multiple apps
I use both Booking.com and AirBnB apps, and compare the prices and locations.
Always look up the area on Google Maps to get an idea of your surroundings, commuting options, grocery stores, restaurants, night life.