Travel Hacks
5 mistakes I no longer make when traveling
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Travel broadens our horizons, provides relaxation – and is simply fun. If you avoid these mistakes, even more so.
I out myself as a travelholic. I love travelling! And (almost) all kinds of it. I like a beach holiday in a Greek all-inclusive resort just as much as a backpacking trip to Bali. I find city trips to exciting metropolises just as inspiring as hiking holidays in beautiful nature. I still have quite a few destinations on my list, but I’ve also been able to make a lot of wonderful trips. I made a lot of mistakes – as always in life. But fortunately, as always in life, I learned a lot from it and that’s why I do a lot of things differently today.
I no longer make these 5 mistakes when traveling
1. Travel in high season
Traveling to certain destinations in the high season has a number of advantages: The weather is usually exactly what you want for the location. The infrastructure works, everything is open. But the disadvantages of the “peak seasons” usually outweigh these for me: high prices, full tourist hotspots.
Therefore: Cheers to the off-season! Sure, in the rainy season you experience one or the other shower in many tropical countries. But it rains in places like Thailand or Mauritius usually not the whole day, but a maximum of a few hours. And for that it is quieter, the tourist crowds stay away. This causes prices to drop. For most destinations today, I would always choose the off-season.
2. Book the cheapest flights
If you don’t have much money, but still don’t want to do without traveling, you naturally try to save everywhere. And it can be worth it when there are many costs involved (small pension vs. luxury hotel, for example). But one point where I no longer save at all costs is the flights. Business or first class isn’t an option for me either, but I now make sure, for example, not to mix flights from different providers, but book the entire trip directly with one airline – even if the flight costs a little more in some cases. This way you have the best possible customer service if something goes wrong and you don’t have to deal with third parties trying to pass the buck on each other for travel problems.
And today I pay more attention to the flight times: get up at three o’clock in the morning or land at one o’clock to save 50 euros? In my experience, it’s not worth the unnecessary stress.
Another cost factor: Flights with two or more stopovers are often cheaper than the variant with fewer changes. But in the meantime, non-stop flights or a few changes are worth the extra charge to me. Because every stopover can cause delays, cancellations or problems with the luggage, which in turn means that there are problems on the next flight.
3. Connection times that are too short
Speaking of changing planes: nobody likes long travel days. That’s why I used to always try to plan the shortest possible transfer times between trains and flights. And even today I try to avoid six hours at any intermediate airports, even if it would save me money (see above).
But it can be just as difficult if too little time is planned for the transfer. Flights are often delayed, so suddenly you only have 15 minutes instead of the hour planned to catch the next flight. This is unnecessarily stressful and, in the worst case, can lead to missing the boat. Often the luggage doesn’t make it onto the next plane if the transfer time is too short – and then you end up at the destination airport on time, but your suitcase is still stuck somewhere else.
4. Packing too much
Traveling with only eight kilos of hand luggage is not for everyone – even if the now very real risk of luggage loss drops to zero if we don’t check in a suitcase. But even if I definitely can’t always do it (or I don’t want to, if I absolutely have to take certain outfits or my yoga mat with me), I at least try to pack well under the 23-kilo mark.
I generally tend to overpack and plan for every unlikely eventuality. In the meantime, however, I have learned that this usually does not happen – and my fear brain has understood that you can also buy most things at the destination. A smaller suitcase is also sufficient, you don’t need nine pairs of trousers and 13 dresses for a two-week trip, and you don’t usually need high heels for a beach holiday on a tropical island either. My biggest game changer: when I travel, I read almost exclusively on the e-reader – how much space you suddenly gain when you don’t have to stow away any more books!
5. Don’t miss any sight
If we have been flying or driving for a long time, then of course we want to see as much as possible in this place. Unfortunately, Instagram has greatly increased the urge to head for every nice spot for a photo. I’m definitely one of those people who make a long list of places and activities that I absolutely want to see or experience for every travel destination.
In the meantime, however, I have learned that, firstly, you can also have a wonderful travel experience if you don’t head for every single beautiful church in the old town or every secluded bay on the coast. And secondly, that you usually have more interesting and memorable experiences anyway if you leave the well-trodden paths of travel guides and influencers and discover your own favorite places in a relaxed manner.