Travel is an invaluable way to discover new cultures and broaden your worldview, while simultaneously learning useful skills that you can put to use in your career.
Travel articles have long been an integral component of tourism literature. From first-person accounts and opinion pieces to features on an exotic locale, travel articles provide essential perspectives of an experience.
1. Stay in a rented apartment or hostel
Hostels provide travelers with low cost, short term shared accommodations where they rent beds (usually bunk beds in dormitories) and share common facilities like kitchen and social spaces. Hostels may be coed or single sex and typically emphasize community over hotels.
Hostels are full of experienced travelers and long-term nomads who are an invaluable source of advice when visiting new places. Many have already done all the legwork; therefore they know which activities are worth investing time and money in.
Hostels tend to be safe environments if you choose a reputable hostel chain like Hostelling International or read reviews and recommendations prior to booking. Keep in mind, though, that hostel environments can be quite public spaces. Always lock up your belongings securely and make friends but avoid oversharing as predators thrive off people who feel alone or vulnerable.
3. Stay away from tourist attractions
Travel is about respect for different cultures and their traditions. Avoid tourist attractions that involve riding elephants, petting tigers or swimming with dolphins as these activities often exploit animals for entertainment purposes.
Learn the seasons of the destination you are visiting as this can have a major effect on how touristy and what activities will be available at specific times. Try to avoid traveling on major holidays and events that will drive up prices of hotels and airfare, if possible.
Be wary of restaurants catering specifically to tourists as these will likely be overpriced.
4. Don’t judge others
Travel can help you meet people you wouldn’t normally meet back home; my friend met someone 30 years her senior on her trip to Austria; since then they meet regularly for coffee or walks.
Be tolerant and respectful towards different perspectives and cultures. While it can be easy to judge lifestyles that differ from your own, that would be arrogant and rude of us all to assume that our ways are the only correct way of living life. Everyone lives their life for their own reasons – learn from others by being open-minded.
If traveling with friends, consider turning down or off notifications so that everyone can enjoy some peace from non-urgent calls and messages. Doing this will also help to keep everyone focused in the present while showing your respect for everyone’s time.
