Combined, the below ten people have probably circumnavigated the globe a few times over. We share their top travel tips.
Dana Brown | Personal Travel Manager
My top tip for travellers is to engage a professional for a seamless travel experience in 2023. To have that personal high level support when things don’t go to plan makes all the difference.
My top tip for travel advisors is to really put yourself out there in video content on social media this year. You’ll be blown away at the opportunities that come your way when you consistently show up and stay front of mind.
Matt Leedham | Karryon
My number one travel tip is jetlag is a mindset. Always set your watch to local time as soon as you get on the plane. And start following your destination’s timezone eating and sleeping wise. The sooner you stop thinking about the time at home, the better.
Other than that – be nice to people wherever to go. Always be curious to listen and chat to locals, smile, and remember you’re a visitor to someone else’s home – not an invader.
Julie Leung | Brisbane Airport Corporation
My top tip is to say YES to travel. Book the ticket, go on that trip, explore places that are different to where you have been before. And if it is overseas, I always tell people that if it goes on your face or body, it will likely fall under the international travel restrictions for powders, liquids, aerosols and gels. This includes perfume, shampoo, mouthwash, shaving cream, lip gloss and toothpaste. They must be in containers of 100ml/100grams or less and be carried in a single 20cm x 20cm zip lock bag. The good news is that these restrictions don’t apply to your checked-in baggage. Happy exploring!
Mark Harada | Karryon
Travel gently. We should try and leave a place better than we found it. That means pick up someone else’s rubbish, speak thoughtfully to locals, and bring little Aussie gifts (Tim Tams or little soaps usually go down a treat). I also try to avoid using the air-con in my room and limit getting my room serviced.
Shoana Bannister | Journey Beyond
Go with no expectations. The best places I’ve travelled to are the ones that I’ve had no idea about. These have often been the ones that have blown me away.
Also, take a Powerbank to make sure you can keep phone/camera’s charged all day if you’re snap happy like me!
Jacqui Tufala | Abercrombie & Kent
Consult with an expert in the region you plan to travel. And book with suppliers that are well-connected to ensure insider access and unique experiences. It is so important to ensure you have a carefully curated, well-planned itinerary to maximise your time, add value to the money you have spent and create long lasting memories of fabulous travels in this beautiful world that we live.
Gaya Avery | Karryon
One flight garnered me two tips. About to settle in for the 13 hour flight, the doctor next to me pulled on some compressions socks. “Look around,” she said. “All these people are doctors going to a conference.” They were all pulling on the same types of socks. Don’t let deep vein thrombosis ruin your holiday.
Later that flight, I got to talking to a member of cabin crew and complained that I’d almost left my headphones in the hotel safe. Her advice was to put one of the shoes you’re wearing on the plane in the safe. You can’t walk out the door without your shoes, so you won’t forget valuables in the safe. That flight changed how I travel.
Maria Pandalai | Personal Travel Manager
Where possible pack light with only a cabin bag. If you’re the type who prefers to pack everything but the kitchen sink, invest in a good luggage tag tracker. The struggle with delayed luggage is real at the moment!
Karen Deveson | Cruiseco
Best travel tip: where you can, just say yes and go. You just don’t know what is around the corner 😉.
Dani Tuffield | Karryon
Travelling to a new destination is magic, we all know this. It can’t properly be explained. It invokes feelings of awe and wonder and something so deep and spiritual that we will quite happily work our butts off to pay for this feeling forever. In my opinion the most powerful wizardry lies off the pages of the books, itineraries and tour guides. Those moments when you stop and sit at a cafe (a random one, not a researched one) and just watch and smell and listen. When you struggle through buying who knows what at a local deli and you sit in a park or on a beach and feel the place sink into your pores. That is the stuff I live for. Don’t get me wrong, I love an itinerary as much as the next person, there are places that cannot be missed. My tip is to also make room for the smaller things that somehow seem to fill up the really big and important parts of our heart and soul.
