Travel like a pro: How to plan your trip and what to do when you arrive
This is my last entry on my four-part series on traveling like a pro. I’ve already written advice on how to book cheap flights, how to pack your bags, and how to travel if you’re blind. Now here’s tips on how to make your arrival and trip go as smoothly as possible. It all starts way before you even pack your bags and leave for your destination.
Do your research.
Where are you going to stay? What are you going to do? All very important questions that contribute to the overall enjoyment of your vacation.Airbnb is a good option for often less expensive lodging, and you usually get a kitchen with fridge in case you want to cook your own meals and store your leftovers. It’s also interesting to get an idea of what local living arrangements look like. The downside to booking through airbnb is you won’t get housekeeping services (you’ll most likely need to take out your own trash at the end of your stay—it all depends on the owner’s instructions), and you’re pretty much left on your own to figure things out (I.e. No concierge). I’ve stayed in airbnbs in Austin, New York, San Francisco, L.A., London, Edinburgh, and Dublin. Some have been nicer than others, but I’ve generally had positive experiences with my airbnb stays.If you’re staying in a hotel, most check-in times begin at 4:00 PM, so if you get in to your destination much earlier, you might want to call ahead and let them know your estimated arrival time. This won’t guarantee you’ll have a room ready for you upon arrival, but at least the hotel will be aware, and your name will go on a queue for a room once you reach the hotel.As for what to do, it all depends on your cup o’ tea. For me, traveling is all about eating—it’s my version of “sightseeing” since I’d lost my vision. It’s a way for me to learn about a region and its culture. It’s about new experiences.As someone who loves to cook, I constantly get inspiration when trying new foods during my travels. I keep running Four Square lists of places to visit (these are not limited to eating establishments), and I also use Four Square to document where I’ve been that’s worth recommending to others. This is because, over the years, I’ve had many friends say to me, “I’m going to L.A./NYC/Tokyo/Taipei/Ho Chi Minh City; where should I eat?” I found myself typing up the same iterations of emails listing this restaurant and that bar, so I decided to streamline the process and just bookmark everything on Four Square categorizing them by city, and from now on when someone asks, “What should I do in Dublin?”, I just send them a link to my Dublin Four Square list.Here’s a link to all my Four Square lists for your own perusal. Remember, the lists include both places I’ve been to and liked AND places I’d like to visit the next time I’m there. If I’ve left a Four Square tip, that means I’ve been there. If I haven’t left a tip, well, visit at your own risk, and then let me know how it is.Other sites or apps I depend on for research are Yelp and TripAdvisor, though keep in mind these are aggregated ratings and often skewed in such a way with which you may disagree. I find they’re good litmus tests for when you need general opinions, but the best advice usually comes from friends with whom you have lifestyles, travel habits, and food preferences in common. And me, of course! I review a lot of the restaurants and bars I’ve been to right here on my blog.
Have your passport and travel documents in order.
Make sure your passport’s expiration date is at least six months out from your travel dates. Just because your passport expires next month doesn’t mean a country will consider it valid and let you through their border. It’ll be quite the disappointment when you’ve booked your flight, packed your luggage, and showed up at the airport only to be denied travel.Another important step is to take a photo or scanned image of your passport and store an electronic copy of it somewhere. That way, if you lose your passport, you still have a copy on your smart phone or email or the cloud to show the Embassy. Same goes for your visas, if any are required.Speaking of visas, find out if you need an entry visa where you’re going. Sometimes you can get a visa on arrival, but if you don’t like waiting in a possibly long queue upon landing, you can get your visa done at the country’s consulate in your city.You should also check the CDC for any vaccinations you may need.If you travel internationally often, you might consider applying for Global Entry. I have this, and it’s saved me much time otherwise standing in line at immigration when I return to the U.S. Global Entry lets you go through immigration via an electronic kiosk—scan your passport and fingerprints, take a photo, and you’re in. Global Entry costs $XXX for X years and requires an extensive background check and interview. The nice thing, though, is it will also often (but not guarantee) you TSA pre-check at participating airports—no taking off shoes and out laptops, and a sometimes (but not always) shorter security checkpoint line.
Figure out your main mode of ground transportation during your travel.
Will you be traveling by train, bus, taxicab, on foot, or Uber or Lyft? Uber is actually in many cities all over the world now, including Ho Chi Minh City. What I like about using Uber in a foreign country is the transaction is done entirely online via web app, so I don’t have to worry about communicating to the driver my desired drop-off address, nor do I have to count currency to pay for the ride. And if you’ve ever been to Vietnam, you know the tonal language is difficult to master, the addresses are nearly impossible to locate, and the dong is NOT easy to count—I mean, USD $1 is equal to VND $22000! Even my pops, who grew up in Vietnam and now lives there again, complains how hard it is to count the currency with all those zeroes.An app the hubs really likes is Citymapper, which maps out a city (duh) and lets you know how long different modes of transit will take. Taking a car? Thirty-five minutes. Train? Twenty-four minutes. On foot? Many hours. Catapult? One minute. (Seriously but not seriously, “catapult” is an option on City mapper.)I haven’t used Citymapper myself, so I don’t know if it’s accessible for the blind. If you are vision impaired and have checked it out, let me know.
Learn how to communicate a little bit.
Some useful phrases to know in the native language of the country you’re visiting are “please,” “yes,” “no,” “where is,” “toilet,” “thank you,” “hello,” and “goodbye.” It’s also good to know numbers, so you can say to the maitre’d “Two, please” or to a shopkeeper, “Six samurai swords, please.”And if you’re really lazy, these Iconspeak shirts for the world traveler (pictured above) are definitely for you. Just point to an icon on the shirt, and you’ll be ushered to the loo straight away.
Plan how you’re going to pay for everything.
Before you leave on your trip, put travel alerts on your bank and credit card(s). That way, when you have your first meal abroad, you’ll be able to pay for it either by successfully pulling cash from an ATM or use a credit card and not get denied. (This has happened to my friends and me before, so I advise you let your financial institutions know where you’re going so your cards don’t seize up due to security alerts.)Check the currency exchange rate to get an idea of your purchasing power, and do a little research ahead of time to see where will give you the best exchange rate with the least fees. Will it be the airport? Bank? Hotel at which you’re staying? Gold/jewelry stores? Sometimes, pulling cash from the ATM is your best bet, but be aware there could be foreign exchange fees in addition to banking fees from both your bank and the foreign bank.That about wraps up my travel advice. What are some handy tips you have for traveling?Happy travels, bon voyage!