International Travel Tips

Before we take our first international trip, we hear a lot of the same advice: pack light; budget well; beware of pickpockets and thieves; have fun. This is all great advice, and you should listen to it. Yet I find that the more I travel the more little things I learn and re-learn (and I’ve been to over 30 countries!). Some of these items seem pretty basic, but it’s easy to forget basic things when you’re suddenly in a new country, culture and don’t understand the language.

In no particular order, here is a list of Shana’s Top Tips for Traveling:

1. Smile.

When you don’t know the language (or even if you know a little), a smile will get you very far. Even if you can’t exactly communicate with hand gestures what you’re looking for, smiling will increase your odds the person will continue to try and help you, or that they will find someone else who can. 

2. Gesturing.

What do you do when you’re in Budapest and you’ve caught a cold and you need a packet of facial tissue? For me, I walked into a drug store, mimed blowing my nose, and the clerk pointed me exactly to where the facial tissue was located. Problem solved in 30 seconds. I’ve received semi-complicated walking directions, just based on gestures (and I was able to follow them and find my destination). 

3. Get off the beaten track.

For me, the best way to learn about a city is to start walking, without a particular destination. When you do this, you are apt to find more of the ‘local’ hangouts, local shops, residential neighborhoods and parks – most, or all, of which may not be listed in your guidebook. Walking through a city gives a greater sense of how the city is, instead of just ticking off landmarks and Must See attractions from a list. Even if you don’t have much time in a city, take at least a couple hours to walk around somewhere that is not the major hub of tourists. For example, if you’re in Paris, walking from the Eiffel Tower to the Arc de Triomphe doesn’t take very long and will take you through some nice residential neighborhoods.