Everywhere you look these days there are loads of half assed articles written about travel tips, what to do and what not to do etc etc. These articles are generally written in 10 minutes by some hack ‘travel writer’ stuck behind a desk banging an article out for an angry editor.
Some of these tips are of course fine, but wouldn’t you want to know how the ‘experts’ are doing it? The people that have been travelling long term for years and live the tips, tricks and hacks day in day out rather than just once a year.
To get the low down and inside advice on this topic I reached out to some of the worlds most respected Travel Bloggers, Worldschoolers, ‘Edventurers', Digital Nomads, call them what you will, for their input.
They all have one thing in common, they have all been travelling for many years and offer bona fide, iron clad, proven, authoritative and expert advice from the front lines of extended travel and life on the road.
To give you some idea of the reach of these travel gurus I added up their combined Twitter followers and got to 1,028,650
Over 1 million followers!
The tips and quotes I received aren't exactly what you would expect, lots of answers go way deeper than the usual ‘Set up alerts on Skyscanner or ‘Use go compare’ to get the best rates blah blah blah rubbish.
I got some great response and all of them were only too happy to help, agreeing that it was a subject littered with wishy washy articles not getting the real and proven information out there.
Some of the quotes are heartwarming, others inspiring, profound, powerful and hopefully, for some, life changing.
In the post I have included the website and Twitter link to each awesome contributor.
Feel free to get in touch with any of these guys, they are super friendly and only too happy to help point you in the right direction!
I am ever grateful to each of the contributors for their time and insights to help me get this post together.
I stand on the shoulders of giants.
Enjoy the advice, thoughts and insights from the world's most travelled, but more importantly use it to your advantage, take action and get out there!
Enter, the experts....
My question to each of them was thus……
“What is the best travel advice that you could give to somebody planning a trip, that you actually use on your own travels?”
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@Nomadicmatt
“I would say don't stress. Book your flight, buy your gear, and worry about the details right before you leave.”
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Melvin Bocher from TravelDudes.
@Traveldudes
"Get lost! Be prepared for your trip, but as soon you are in the destination, forget your itinerary, stay spontaneous and change your plans on the go. That's when the best things happen."
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@Adventuoruskate
"Fly on Wednesdays or Saturdays. These tend to be the cheapest days of the week to fly! Fridays and Sundays tend to be the most expensive days. As always, check within a range to see what's the cheapest."
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@beyondcountries
www.beyondeverycountry.com
"Best advice is to focus on cost saving in all aspects. I cover this more in my upcoming book. Low cost airlines booking ahead of time. Follow the right accounts on Twitter."
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@JohnnyJet
"Be nice to everyone."
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@TravelWitBender
"Just book a ticket. When we first started looking to travel or even now when we are looking of where to go next research is always half hearted. When you book the ticket, there is no return and working to a deadline is always much more inspiring."
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@Brandags
"Follow your heart. In other words, go where you're excited about, and do what inspires you, whenever you feel the call. Don't do something just because it makes sense, seems efficient, or is cost-effective. The former leads to fulfilment even if things don't turn out the way you expect, and the latter leads to disappointment and regret even if they do."
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@WheresSharon
"Be prepared and organised when travelling but don't overthink it. There are always things that can go wrong but if you are well prepared, then this should limit any problems. Worrying excessively will just stop you from having the trip of your life."
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@Think Phuket
I follow my advice in getting away from the tourist spots. I believe in "real" experience and hitting the road less traveled.
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@MissTouristCom
"You know, they say 'Strangers are just friends you don’t know yet'.
Don’t be shy, just approach people first, use all the opportunities to meet the locals and you will be able to have the real experience of the country and hopefully understand the locals mentality a bit better! You want to see the differences, to discover the real local culture, isn't that why we travel?"
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@TradinTraveler
"Never let others opinion of a place decide ur travels. Always experience a place for urself & make ur own opinion."
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@JustaPack
"Don't over plan. Leave room for the unexpected."
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@wanderlustersUK
"Consider housesitting during your stay. Live rent free when you travel and immerse yourself in the local culture!"
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@DanteHarker
"Make sure you have enough ways to get access to money. Enough cards, and know what you'd do if you lost them all while away."
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@Globetroteacher
"When trying to book flights with my miles and points, I always search one-way at a time instead of round trip. Airline search engines don't always show everything that's available when searching round trips. Once I find and write down the flights I want, I call the airline to book. Be sure to tell them your itinerary wasn't bookable online to have phone reservation fees waived."
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@YTravelBlog
"I always suggest that people consider ways they can earn money and travel at the same time. This has been our strategy for 18 years and it's meant that our life has been one consistent travel journey. You don't have to save as much, you can travel longer, plus you have deeper and more enriching travel experiences."
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Amber and Eric Hoffman from With Husband in Tow
@HusbandinTow
"Don't over pack! Our bags keep getting smaller and lighter. Makes it so easy to travel on trains, load bags into taxis and lug up the stairs. I'm a firm believer!!"
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@Mappingmegan
"Never book an overnight bus. This is one of those "fantastic ideas at the time", however in reality it's a terrible, no good, very bad idea!! The theory is that you'll make it from one place to another while saving on a night's accommodation. However it's uncomfortable, you may think you're going to sleep but in all likelihood you're not, and barely getting any sleep, the first thing you do when arriving at your new accommodation is beg for an early check-in to get into the room! And your bright idea of making the most out of the next day is ruined with an afternoon nap which ends up wasting the day away. Take it from experience...the extra money it will cost for a flight is well worth the investment! "
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@Princey1976
"If you want to save thousands on your travel costs you should seriously look into home swapping. We have had great success through lovehomeswap.com and are happy to advise anybody interested in this way of travelling."
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This brings us new readership from people who are eager to learn more about the travel lifestyle, homeschooling and home swapping, hopefully this post adds some value to all of you who kindly follow our blog!
Have a great week.
The Prince family.