Travel by Kris’s Best Travel Advice

1. Pack Your Patience

No matter how or where you are traveling to, trips are filled with things to test one’s patience! You will encounter lines getting through airport security, waiting to ride Space Mountain at Disney, or entering Yellowstone National Park during your road trip. Use these times to get to know your travel mates, play car games or meet new people! Also, things will go wrong on your trip. Flights will be delayed, tires will blow… you get the picture! Being a travel advisor – I can plan the best trip for my clients down to the smallest details… but sometimes things happen out of anyone’s control. This is where extra patience is required! 🙂 I truly believe most people you encounter during these situations are doing the best they can. Some of your best travel stories will come from when things didn’t go perfectly!

2. Be in the Moment

You will want to instagram that view, you feel the urge to share with your family/friends on Facebook, you need to send your friend a SnapChat! All these things are so tempting in this digital world. I urge you to try and be in the moments as much as possible during your travels! It’s a difficult balance between documenting your trip and not experiencing your entire vacation behind a lens. Believe me… I know the struggle! I want to inspire my clients to travel and also live in the moment! One great tip I read recently was to carry a camera that’s not on your phone (or put your phone on airplane mode), so you aren’t as tempted to be constantly posting and sharing.

3. Don’t Try to See and Do Everything

This is a tough one! You’re embarking on your dream trip to Europe and you want to visit Amsterdam, Paris, the Swiss Alps and Venice all in a week! I get it, maybe this is your first trip to Europe and you don’t want to miss a thing! But, take my advice – it may be exciting the first couple cities in a few days… then you’ll be exhausted and spending too much time packing/unpacking your bags. The destinations will become a blur. Have some built in free time so you can wander, engage with locals, and discover your own favorite places! I guarantee you will end up remembering more of the small moments from your travels! You get lost on a bus ride in Paris and the sweetest old lady points you in the right direction (ok, that’s my true story… but I’m sure you have your own of those!).

4. Be Open

I believe it’s the essence of why we travel… to experience the “new”! Be open to new interactions… smile – it really is the common language in every part of the world! Meeting people different from ourselves is one of the best parts of a trip… be it in another country or a different area of the States. I’ve learned from traveling that if you’re friendly, you’re most likely going to receive friendliness in return! Be open to trying new foods, learning others’ customs, and having new experiences.

5. Document Your Trip

It doesn’t have to be elaborate or in any set form… but jot down your stories and memories! Write on your map, napkin, ticket stub or in the notes on your phone. I love reading back about trips of mine from years past and the small details that I have forgotten! It’s fun to look back at the funny things my daughter has said on some of our trips (at about age 10…during a cruise port stop in Puerto Rico… on an incredibly hot and humid day… literally wiping sweat from her brow… she said “How does anyone survive in this climate?!).

Until the next adventure – bon voyage!

Kris

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Hi, I'm Kris de Vogel

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