Travel is hard. It wouldn’t be as fun, addictive and life changing if it weren’t. Every traveller has taken his or her knocks; whether it was a missed flight, paying too much for something or spending a sleepless night in a forty-bed dorm with no Wi-Fi.
While we definitely shouldn’t dwell on these learning experiences, that doesn’t mean we should make the same mistakes again.
In fact, travellers generally become better travellers by picking up little tricks along the way.
These are shared with other savvy globetrotters in bars, hostels and airport lounges around the world.
Travel Agents get this type of knowledge first-hand though, whether it is from personal experience or via customer feedback.
This means we have the best opportunity to share them with others. So let’s get on with it then.
1. Be the last person to board
An oldie-but-a-goodie, this classic involves not acting like the plane is going to leave without you.
Watch as the gate lice scramble to get to their seats first, as if they will somehow reach their destination sooner.
Then, as the gate staff announces the final call for boarding, casually make your way to your seat (hopefully near the rear of the plane).
If you spot an empty row (basically business class) on the way to your seat then simply sit down and act like its yours – because you were the last one to board then nobody will know any different 😉
2. Relocate a car
This one only really works for flexible travellers, but can be arranged in advance or last-minute. Car companies often need vehicles transferred from one location to another in a relatively short period of time.
Vehicles can range from small cars to full on RVs and can sometimes even come with petrol credit and/or ferry tickets, if needed. Relocations start from $1 per day and can be arranged in Europe, North America, New Zealand and Australia. Check out www.imoova.com
3. Take your maps offline
I’m all for aimlessly wandering foreign cities until something fun happens.
But, sometimes when you’re dragging a suitcase through cobblestoned streets after a twenty-two hour flight you just want to find your hotel.
So, instead of getting the runaround from local taxi drivers, just download Maps.me – a fantastic app that works offline.
Simply download the area you’re going to be travelling in, e.g. France, and it works just like Google Maps, complete with directions and points of interest.
4. Charge your phone in a pinch
Obviously you’ll sort some sort of universal adaptor before going overseas, but these have a tendency to either explode or go missing.
So, if you can’t be bothered buying a new one and need to get that hot guy or girl’s phone number then plug your USB cord into a TV – they all have a port, usually on the side.
5. Get your luggage quicker than everyone else
This tip is especially handy if you need to collect your bags before a tight connecting flight (especially LAX).
Simply ask for a FRAGILE sticker when you check in and slap that baby on for VIP service.
Most airlines will treat your bag as priority and it will generally come out first. This means you can hightail it to the connection desk, taxi rank or Starbucks -your call.
6. Grab yourself a cheeky room upgrade
This will generally work better in North America as the tipping culture is pretty well imbedded and accepted there, but I have had success in Asia and Europe as well – money talks!
Confidence will go a long way too, as you’ll need to slyly offer a bit of cash to the check in clerk – while keeping a straight face.
Accompany the cash ($20-40 will do) with a smile and a request for a better room if one is available. My success rate is about 75% so far.
7. Lie
I’d love to say that everyone that you meet on your travels will be a delightful person, but unfortunately there are a few people out there that see tourists as sitting ducks.
One of the first questions these people will usually ask will be ‘how long have you been here?’ or ‘have you been here before’?
As harmless (and helpful) as this can seem, it can be a qualifying question to see how gullible you may be.
Suddenly your $5 cab fare can turn into a $50 nightmare, or you may end up sitting in a ‘rip off bar’ that serves the ‘best mojitos in Cuba’ (yeah, it happened to me).