Travel Abroad 2023: Best Guide for All Those Who Are Looking for Vacation and Holiday This Year

Last Updated: January 01, 2023

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If you are planning to travel abroad in 2023. Then you might want to consider reading these facts. Traveling abroad is a very interesting activity that someone can do. While traveling abroad you might be excited but at the same time it is very important that they have to take care of your things. You have to be careful about a few things and that is what I am going to share with you over here.

I am going to be sharing with you some of my top travel life hacks. I have been traveling so much recently. I did some international travel. I went to Spain. I'm going to Mexico next week. Some domestic travel: New York, San Francisco. Just lots of uh really, really cool tricks. And I feel like I've picked up some travel life hacks that I have made. My experience with traveling just goes so much smoother so hopefully these hacks will help you on your next trip. Some of them are specific for international travel but most of them will work no matter where you're going. This article is sponsored by Squarespace a uh big thank you to uh Squarespace for making this article possible whether you need a website domain or an online store or make it with Squarespace. Now, let's go ahead and get into these hacks. 

Travel Abroad and Vacation Abroad Tip Number 1 

 I'm going to divide this article into uh four main sections of travel hacks, packing money, and budgeting navigation. And Safety. So starting off uh with some packing life hacks. The first one is when you're packing for the trip, don't undo the expander. Lot of suitcases have a second zip that will make the suitcase a little bit bigger. It'll expand in the bag so when you're packing to go to your destination, don't unzip the expander. uh This will make sure that you have enough room for souvenirs and for extra things you might buy while you're there. Then when you're at your destination packing to come home I'll do that expander uh and you'll have just that little bit of extra room that you need. If you're checking a bag make sure you mark it with some sort of identifier so It comes around the carousel, you know which one is yours. Don't You get a fancy bag tag uh or customized monogram luggage. All you need to do is take some sort of ribbon or bow. Tie it around the top and you'll know exactly which bag is yours. Also, I can just take a piece of duct tape. Put it on the top and write your first or last name on it and you'll know which one is yours. Not quite as lightly as the ribbon. The ribbon is a little bit prettier but, you know, hey, it gets the job done. 

Travel and Vacation Abroad Tip Number 2 

If you want to have cute outfit combinations on your trip, but don't want to be caught. Over packing, plan your outfits before you go and take pictures of them on your What I'll do is while I'm packing, I'll try on different outfits that I was thinking about packing for the trip. I'll take a photo of it and then make sure that I only have as many outfits as the days that I'm there that way. You're not bringing a bunch of extra clothes and then wasting time in the morning on your trip, trying to decide on an outfit, just pull up your phone. Swipe through the outfit pictures that you took before you came and choose what outfit you want to wear. For that day when it comes to clothes pop, lots of mix and match items so that you can create different outfit combinations. But don't have to pack distinctly different outfits for each day's plan to wear. Each piece that you pack twice in two different outfits and you can mix and match the clothing so that the outfits are different but you're still getting your use out of each clothing item that you brought if you're going on a trip for longer than a week plan on doing laundry. If you try to pack more than seven days’ worth of clothes, you are going to have a giant bag. You're going to be lugging it around. It's going to be so heavy. Instead just pack a week's worth of clothes. If you're going for three weeks do laundry, three times, keep track of which closed in your bag are dirty and which ones are still clean. You can use packing, cubes or Dividers uh to organize your clothes and keep the dirty ones separate from the clean ones where you can create makeshift ones. Like I usually do, I'll use my toiletries bag or my shoes to kind of create a divider down the middle of my clean clothes, and my dirty clothes for international travel. 

Travel Abroad 2023 and Vacation Abroad Tip Number 3 

Don't forget a power converter, different countries use different outlets and different wattage. So, you have to make sure that you have a power converter, otherwise your plug isn't going to fit into the socket. If you're flying with an International Airline carrier, make sure that you bring a power converter for that companies, Home Country. If that makes sense, for example, I was flying from the u.s. to Spain but it was on Lufthansa uh which is a German airline. So I needed a German power converter to charge my laptop on the flight. I know it gets really, really complicated but it is the saddest thing to be on like a 12-hour flight and lose power. After three hours, another carry-on must if you're traveling with friends is a headphone splitter, you can plug it into the socket and then put two separate pairs of headphones in. So you and your friend can watch a movie together or listen to the Music. 

Holiday and Travel Abroad Tip Number 4 

I have a few to carry on. Will make international flights so much easier and more comfortable. Comfy socks. I usually bring a pair of fuzzies. Socks as soon as I sit in my seat, I take my shoes off and it just makes me feel so much more comfortable and relaxed, especially on a long-haul flight emergency is an immune system booster. That is meant for people when they're starting to catch a cold but all that vitamin C, what it really does is just rejuvenate your system and give you more energy and I'll bring a little pack of emergency in my carry-on and like an hour Before the flight lands. When they do their last round of drinks, I'll get a water cup poured in my emergency and it'll just give me that boost of energy and make me feel so much more refreshed before we land on a long-haul flight. Definitely, bring a little travel toothbrush, head to the bathroom and brush your teeth before you land, because it might be like 20 uh hours that you're traveling and that's a long time to go without brushing your teeth. 

Now, let's talk about money. uh Money saving hacks. And uh budgeting tips for international travel, only bring a small amount of the local currency with you and use an ATM. um When you get there, you never Want to travel without cash because you know, there could be problems with your credit card. It's always good to have at least a little bit of cash. The ATM fees in the foreign country are only going to be a few dollars and if you're getting you know a couple of hundred bucks out that's going to be a lot cheaper than using a currency exchange or getting it at your bank before you leave. If you're doing a lot of international travel, get a credit card without international fees. Most credit cards will charge a small percentage if you're using it in another country, but they make specific travel cards that won't charge any fees. I have a United Card. And I can use it anywhere without extra fees and it makes it so much easier because I don't have to pay cash for everything. There is usually an annual fee, I think for the United card it's like $99 uh year but if you're traveling a lot and then you can use those points for airline seats and upgrades and that kind of stuff, it definitely works out if you're thinking about buying an international data plan, check the Wi-Fi policies at the places that you're staying and you might actually not need one. I used to buy data plans. Everywhere I went if I was traveling but recently it seems like every hotel or Airbnb does uh Wi-Fi. It's definitely worth looking into and it'll save you a lot of money. No, the food customs in the countries you're visiting. If you're traveling internationally in America, water is free at the table. Ketchup is free, condiments are free, but uh if you go sit down in a restaurant in most parts of Europe and ask for water, they are going to charge you for it and those can definitely add up. It varies in each country. So research these Customs before you go so that you don't have those surprise charges when you get your bill. 

Holiday and Travel Abroad 2023 Tip Number 5 

Let's talk about navigation. First, Google Maps can be used offline. You don't need data or Wi-Fi. You can download the places that you're going to beforehand and map out your routes. So that even if you get lost and you don't have Wi-Fi, you still have a map that works. Learn simple words and phrases of the local language before you go. It'll be much easier to navigate than picking it up when you get there. Yes. No. Lost bathroom. And if it's too much to remember, make a little cheat sheet in your phone so that you can pull up those words when you need them. If you're on a Long flight to get to your destination, consider going for the exit row, exit row seats. Usually have extra foot room. There aren't any chairs in front of you, so No One's Gonna Be leaning back and encroaching on your little space. If you're traveling with a friend, your first instinct might be to sit next to each other but consider uh going for Aisle seats across from each other on a long flight. It'll be much easier. 

You'll still get to talk and chat. You can pass things back and forth, but you have that extra space and convenience of the aisle Rose. This is what's even. And I do when we travel, literally Otto Our honeymoon, we didn't sit next to each other on the flight, not kidding. If you're planning on sleeping on the flight, I am like a pro flight sleeper. I will sleep for like five or six hours on a flight. It's pretty impressive. I should put that on my resume as a special skill. Anyways, if you're trying to sleep, go for the window seat because you can lean against it with your pillow and it'll be a lot more comfortable and no one will disturb you trying to get up to use the bathroom? Learn the public transportation systems of the city that you're visiting. Most big cities have bus systems. Public transit fairies look into it before you go. It'll probably be a lot cheaper than taxis or Ubers and uh it's fun to do as the locals do now let's talk about safety uh before you go on your uh trip, make sure that you take photos of all your important documents. If you lose your passport and go to the US Embassy, they um want your social security number, maybe your passport number driver's, license, and a number better safe than sorry. Take photos of all those important documents and keep them in a secure folder on your phone, petty, theft, and crime. Tend to just be part of the equation. Asian, when you're traveling to Big tourist cities and big tourist icons, there are going to be people scoping out unsuspecting tourists, to grab their purse or pickpocket them. If you're carrying a purse, I highly recommend doing a cross body strap this way. You can keep it protected under your arm and it also makes it pretty much impossible for someone to snatch it off of your shoulder. Look up the crime index of the city you're visiting. Before you go you can find this information really easily just by Googling it. You can find information on the types of crimes and scams that are reported in that area and how safe it is. 

International Vacation Tip Number 6 

The day at night, for men and women. This is really helpful to me especially when I'm traveling alone. When I was in Spain, with my dad, he was working most of the time. So during the day, I was out traveling the City by myself and I knew in advance, which places were safe for me to go alone which places I definitely did not want to go at night but we're fine during the day and also just kind of lets you know what kind of scams you should be aware of another way to keep your money and valuable safe is to wear a money belt. If you're traveling to a city that, you know, has a high crime index or you're going to a specific monument that You know, tends to have a lot of petty theft where you take a money belt and then put your shirt over it. So no one will even see that you have it. You can keep your phone, your credit cards, your money in there and make sure that when you are accessing it, it's in a private location like a bathroom or a restaurant. Don't do it out in public and make sure never to keep all of your cash or credit cards. In one location, spread it out between your purse, your money, bout your pocket, your bag that way, if something is stolen, all is not lost and you still have cards and money in other places, make sure to bring it Forms of ID just in case even if I'm traveling domestically and I only need my driver's license. I will also bring my passport just in case something gets lost. This actually happened to Stephen on our honeymoon. He lost his driver's license while we were in Hawaii, but luckily I had packed his passport because I always bring two forms of ID, it's just a safe way to go. Not only would it have been very difficult to get home without an ID matching his ticket but he also couldn't have ordered any more lava flows for the rest of the trip. 

International Vacation Tip Number 7 

The things extremely important that you need to know before you take your first trip overseas the first article was all about things to do in preparation of your trip and this article has to do with the things to do once you arrive the first thing is tying in to the last article make sure that you have your vaccines your visas for the countries where you're going and make sure to have extra pages in your passport and at least six months left on your passport before it expires really important they won't let you into the country without those things once you have your luggage and you've cleared customs the first thing you want to pull out is your ATM card it is usually the best exchange rates when you use your ATM I don't go to the little kiosks that where you can exchange money because the rates are terrible and the fees are extremely high so your ATM is your friend next I do suggest even if it's a little out of your budget to take a taxi or an uber from the airport to your accommodation there is nothing like being jet-lagged don't know where you're going first time in a city with all of your luggage and trying to use public transportation or shared transportation first of all it takes three times as long secondly it's better going door-to-door I always take a taxi or a neighbor from the airport even if I intend on using public transportation the rest of my trip

International Vacation Tip Number 8 

Speaking of public transportation you definitely want to take time to learn the transportation system most transportation systems in large cities like London and Paris they actually have apps now so you can download the app figure out where you're going in advance that way when you show up at the subway or the train station you know where you're going and you know how to get there another thing besides giving yourself time to learn the transportation system make sure you give yourself some time to jet lag there is nothing worse than being jet like your entire trip because the first night you didn't give yourself a little extra time for a little extra sleep usually for jet lag I do my best to stay up till 9:00 10 o'clock at night and then I will take a melatonin and crash until first thing in the morning a good way to start your trip and get to know the way things work and have a guide and actually get to meet people and keep yourself up if you're Jett legging is to do a food tour the first night that's usually the first thing that a book when I am going on a trip

International Travel and Trips Tip Number 9

 I love it because you're eating with people you're getting a no group of people you have a guide you can ask all the questions about what to do and where to go for Travel Abroad 2023 and who to see and everything like that and it's a great way to have a great conversation food wine and people it's fantastic next we're going to talk about timing and bookings make sure to give yourself enough time between traveling different cities that you are not rushed and stressed and they'll give you enough time in the new location to really enjoy what there is to see I can't tell you how many times I've talked to people and they're going to go to Italy and they're going to spend one day in Venice then they're going to take a train and spend one day in Rome and they're going to take a train and spend one day in Florence and then they're going to go to the Amalfi Coast and they're all going to do it i like six days that is a terrible idea one you want to have as much time as possible in each location and honestly those trains in between public transportation and trains and cars it takes longer than you think remember you're the foreigner in these places and you're not used to seeing the roads or the transportation systems so as a result it's going to take you just a little bit longer so think about that when you are making time to get between the different location another thing about timing do not book every second of every day it is not worth it you might not make it back to that country or that city but don't overbook yourself make sure that at least part of everyday free

International Travel and Trips Tip Number 10

You may just want to go sit in a cafe have a coffee you may be feeling jet lag that day or you may meet some interesting people that want to go this way when you have overbooked yourself this way and I promise that is no fun new adventures happens when you leave space for them so when you're making your first trip overseas you may not be completely comfortable with taking all the local customs and local food but I promise you those are some of the most amazing things you'll be doing I don't recommend necessarily eating all those critters on this trip the street stalls in Thailand or something like that where caterpillars or crickets in Mexico even though they're really good but I do suggest that you learn the customs and try the local food additionally before you go I Suggest that you learn some of the tipping customs because it's really nice to help out the local economy and tipping and I also suggest that you learn a few words in the local language it's so nice and you'll get so much further if you simply say please and thank you in the local language so random tip that my sweet grandma told me long before the days of Instagram was to make sure that you take photos with you in them and make sure to take photos of you being silly those are the photos that you will love most I promise you may not remember where that beach was or which mountain you were taking a picture of if it's just scenery but if you're in it and you're being silly promise you'll remember exactly where you were so the next items have to do with being safe while you're traveling first and foremost make sure to carry With you at all times but I don't recommend carrying your passport it's best to leave your passport in the safe at the hotel or the Airbnb And just take a driver's license or some other form of identification and some in case something happens to you I also suggest that you learn the number for911 that you're visiting not every country uses 9-1-1 additionally hate to say this but don't drink too much it is not good if you are unawares when you are out at night with friends or by yourself in a foreign country so just remember don't drink too much make sure that you are walking with confidence everywhere that you are going while you're traveling overseas you don't want to be looking down at your phone or wandering about you want to be walking with confidence people thieves pickpockets and everything they will take advantage of anybody that looks like an easy target additionally make sure that your phone has Google Maps or your favorite ways or something like that you'll always want to have your phone with you to get you from point To point B when you're walking around and the final safety tip I have for you is to ask for help ask for what you need you can pop into a store and ask the guy working there you can ask somebody on the street don't be afraid to ask it will help you in the long run additionally if you feel threatened in any way my suggestion is that you pop into the nearest store that is lighted with lots of people to keep yourself safe

International Travel and Trips Tip Number 11

So the final tip I have for you are for all of those shoppers out there every time I travel I carry a fold-up duffle bag with me because I love to shop I'm always buying tchotchkes and linens and everything like that so when I travel I can fill up that duffle bag and I can put all of my wares everything about in there and I just add it as an extra piece of luggage on my way home Only paid $25 for that duffel bag and it folds up into like this but it opens up like this.

International Travel and Trips Tip Number 12

Have you ever wanted to go see places all over the globe? Well, I have. I've been to every continent except Antarctica. I want to help you. See how you can go visit the uh whole world. I find that even experienced Travelers. Get confused about exchanging money. So let me tell you the key is never exchange USmoney into foreign currency here in the United States. Because you will be ripped off, like you cannot believe the best ways to get money. Number one, make sure that the ATM um card you have allowed you to do withdrawals overseas without a fee. If you're at some crummy bang that charges you to withdraw, money overseas, you need to change Banks, or maybe look at a credit union or Charles Schwab where you don't pay those junk fees using ATM um card outside the United States. Also, most of the Time in most countries, you'll be doing your purchases on credit cards, some charge foreign currency transactions, junk fees and others. Don't you want to make sure that you're able to use a card? That doesn't charge any junk fees. 

Abroad Travel and Vacation Abroad Tips 13

You just have to look around and ask and they must disclose to you now, whether or not they charge you these junk fees. Here's another thing using a credit card I got make sure, you know, there's a trick now where you'll be asked if you would Tip a in US dollars always say no it's a huge rip-off be. You always want your charges in local currency wherever you are. That's how you want the charge process many times. You'll be handed a terminal and they've already pressed US Dollars, you override that press the button for doing your purchase in local money. Otherwise, you can end up paying a lot more for that purchase. Trace that meal than you thought. When you travel across the country or outside the United States, some credit cards. Issuers will shut you down cold. If you don't set up a travel alert, and if you call an issue or they'll tell you, we don't need to be advised or they'll tell you how to do that alert on their website or they'll take it from you over the phone, but it's really key to do this because you don't want to end up somewhere where you can't use your credit card because they didn't know you were going. To wherever you are right now. And that's why you set up that alert up front. Now, I also have my protocol about how I handle things. I put a little bit of local currency wherever I am. And One credit card in my pocket, everything else goes in a pouch, you put the pouch over your neck and I tuck it into my pants because of the problem of pickpockets in many places, you don't want that to mess up your vacation. 

Travel and Holiday Tips 14

There's somebody who picks my pocket. All they got was whatever local currency. I have in that pocket and that one credit card, that reduces the pain, the hassle for you. Then if somebody gets everything you got, the thing you don't want to do is ruin your trip before it even starts. And if you're traveling internationally the rules required for your passport have really tightened. A lot of countries now require that you have six months remaining on your passport. From when you would be expected to Turn to the United States. Others, six months from the point you arrived in whatever country you're going to know the rules for where you're going. And how much time has to remain on your passport before you actually go to the airport. Now, I always take pictures of the photo page of my passport, with the number, in case, the passport ever gets stolen, I have it stored in Google photos and I also have a hard copy that I take with me on my Trip separate, from where my passport is. And also one that I keep in a key place at home, that if all else fails, I can have a family member, go get that and be able to send that to me, Airlines have gotten more and more difficult to deal with on baggage with every rip-off fee they can possibly have that just gets Amplified when you're traveling internationally because if you violate their baggage rules on either size of a bag, number of bags are weight of a bag. 

Travel Vacation and Holiday Tips 15

Bag, the averages you could face each Direction could be in the hundreds of dollars. So know your airline's rules for baggage. I even have different sizes of carry-ons because I only ever travel with the carry. The one I take is based on the rules for the airline that I'm flying, where I'm going. Key rule with your checked bag is, don't ever pack anything in it that if you don't have it at the other end, when you walk off the plane, you're going to have a real problem. Electronics, any jewelry, any medicines, anything of real value you want to keep in a carry-on because if you check that stuff, the airline won't cover it. If your medicines are in it, what are you going to do? If you depend on those medicines to stay healthy or alive? So anything Ultra important or valuable has to go with you in your carry-on. So, one survival kit that I recommend for traveling. The air is to have one of those Neck pillows, you can have the kind really, really tiny that you blow up or you can have the ones that you just take with you. That really helps. If you're on a long flight it helps so much to have that neck pillow. I also recommend if you have an Amazon Prime membership or you have Netflix that you download movies and shows that are eligible for offline um viewing so that you can watch content and can also download podcasts. And you're having trouble falling asleep on your flight, download podcast, it helps anybody fall asleep if you're taking a big international trip, don't plan a lot of stuff that first day when you land especially anything, that's non-refundable, you don't know what kind of flight delays are mishaps. You could have with your travel and you're likely to be. So you want that day to be mostly a day at leisure if you want to do? One thing that people do, you can get on one of those Hop On Hop Off buses. 

Travel Vacation and Holiday Tips 16

With one time, though, I flew to London and didn't get any sleep the night before and couldn't check into my hotel. Got on one of the buses and promptly fell fast asleep on the bus and fell all the way across the aisle out cold. One area that can be a huge gotcha. When you return home is Bill shock from your cell phone carrier be very wary, using your cell phone outside, the United States, particularly AT&T, and Verizon charge, Unbelievably High fees, to use your phone overseas, including High daily charges. Even if you sign up for a plan, T-Mobile has unlimited texting and unlimited data with anybody though. You should download apps. And make sure your friends back home download apps Viber WhatsApp, WeChat there are a variety of these that allow you to contact each other. On the data side of your phone and over. Wi-Fi is Well, including making free calls back and forth to the United States. So you avoid all the rip-off charges that your cell phone carrier wants to hit you with. I'm so biased. I love to travel and this is crazy but I've loved every place that I've gone in the world. I cannot think of any place I've ever been that I wouldn't want to go back to again.

Conclusion: Travel Abroad 2023: Best Guide for All those Who are Looking For Vacation and Holiday This Year

So, traveling is something that stays in your memories forever. Adhering to all the prerequisites before going for your next travel abroad venture can make those memories more remarkable.