Tips for Traveling

Why, hello! It’s been so long that I forgot my password…and the name of the site I use to blog. But I am back for my once a 6 month post. And today’s post is dedicated to traveling. My husband and I just returned from a two-week vacation (more like tour) of Italy, and just one year ago we were on our two-week vacation/tour of Hawaii. Now I’ve been a few places in my life. My parents tried to do a vacation for us every summer to places like Michigan (to visit family), Florida (to visit family…and Mickey Mouse), sometimes local places like Shelter Island…sometimes cruises to the Caribbean. We always had a great time, no matter where we went, and I am so thankful for those memories with my family…but as I got older, I realized there was so much more to the world that I wanted to see. The cool thing about being an adult is you get to make your own decisions, such as, deciding where to travel to!

The past two trips that I have taken happen to be the biggest two trips of my whole life. When we announced that we were taking these trips, family and friends tended to scoff. These were not *cheap* trips per say, and maybe we weren’t in the greatest financial position to go on these trips but our thoughts were, we want to do this while we’re young and to us, it was worth the money. It’s funny to me that nobody blinks when you say you’re going to college, or going back to school to pursue another degree, etc…but people get pretty judgmental when you say you want to travel. I can honestly say I learned way more traveling then I did in college and grad school combined. But that’s another story I guess.

Anyways, back to the heart of this post, tips for traveling. Here are my tips for the having the best travel experience you can get…

1. Start Early

The earlier you can plan your trip, the better! Early planning means cheaper prices. The only reason we could even afford Hawaii and Italy was because we got amazing deals on airfare. We booked both trips 6 months in advance. Another tip is book your airfare on a Tuesday morning. For some reason, flights are cheaper when you book them that day. If you can be flexible with dates, that is also a big plus! If you’re going the hotel route, booking early also is a great idea because 1 – you may get unbelievable deals (like we did for our botique hotel in Maui, which we definitely wouldn’t have been able to afford if it weren’t for booking early) and 2 – you have time to keep checking the rates. For example, if you book a hotel room at $130 a night initially, and you check a month later and see it dropped to $115 a night, you can call and they have to honor the new rate. Of course, that takes a little work but it’s worth it. Think about it, the money you save by doing that can be a potential dinner or excursion while you’re on vacation. The best thing about booking early is it allows you plenty of time to plan, which brings me to my next tip…

2. Do Your Research

Today, we are blessed with a plethora of resources that were not available back in the day. The first thing I do when I decide on a place to go is buy a book about the destination. I read that thing cover to cover with a highlighter and post-it notes in hand. Lonely Planet and Frommer’s are both good resources. Pin everything on Pinterest!!! I have a board for each place that I visit and it is so helpful! I can honestly say that I have found amazing advice on Pinterest, that has led to some epic adventures. We also like to watch some shows (Travel Channel, documentaries, etc) before going anywhere. We watched Anthony Bordain’s “The Layover” before heading to Rome and it got us so pumped for the food and led us to some great places that were off the beaten path.

Wouldn’t have known about Waimea Canyon in Kauai, without Pinterest!

3. Talk to Someone Who Has Been There

Or even lived there! You can’t beat advice from someone who has been to the places you’re about to go. Especially, if they have lived there or know someone who lived there. Of course, everyone has different taste so try to be specific when asking questions. If you don’t want to end up at the Hawaiian version of Applebee’s, let them know you’re more interested in authentic/non-touristy spots.  I usually ask people to email me advice and then I make one big document that I bring with me on the trip, that way I have options and ideas. Also, when you do get to your destination, talk to the locals!!! They know best and they will always lead you in the right direction.

Road to Hana – best day in Hawaii!

4. Air B&B All The Way!

Air B&B is my new favorite thing. I wish we knew about it for Hawaii but unfortunately, we just learned about it this year. Everywhere we stayed in Italy, was an Air B&B and the experience you get cannot be matched by a hotel! First of all, it is a way smarter financial option. We had amazing apartments for as cheap as $60 a night!!! Second of all, you get to meet locals who are extremely helpful. The apartment we stayed at in Florence was gorgeous and the host was so nice! He sat with us for about twenty minutes and explained the apartment, the area, and gave us amazing recommendations for dinner and things to do. You just get more of an authentic feel of the place you’re staying and for a few nights you feel like you live there! One of the most memorable moments for me, was being able to cook in Florence. We went to the market and spend 15€ for ingredients and had a romantic dinner in our apartment. It was truly an amazing experience. I just feel like it’s more comfortable and you have a lot more privacy. Yea, maybe you have to make the bed yourself…but so what? It’s worth it!

Cooking in Firenze!

5. Have An Open Itinerary and Mind

I’ve been on vacations where every single second is planned out for me and it was miserable. The best adventures are the ones that are spontaneous. For Hawaii and Italy, I had an itinerary and of course, the big things like visiting the Vatican or Pearl Harbor were planned but I also left days wide open. Those were the “whatever happens happens” days and those days always end up being the most fun! You never know what’s going to happen, or how you’re going to feel when you wake up each morning, so it’s important to leave some open time in your itinerary. When we went to Venice, we woke up one day and said “Let’s hop on a ferry” so we did and we ended up seeing the coolest little island I’ve ever seen, Burano. Looking back that day was probably one of my favorites and it was totally spontaneous. Same thing with meals, we didn’t have any dinner reservations when we went, which I’m sure makes some people super nervous, but it worked out in our favor. In Hawaii, the best food we had was from local dives and food trucks. In Italy, small family run restaurants (where we had the most amazing, fresh food).

As far as having an open mind, I think that goes without saying but it is so important! When you’re traveling, the best thing to do is to throw yourself into the culture and learn as much as you can while you’re there. Every time I go somewhere new, I’m in awe of how different things are outside of my little world. It’s amazing to see how others live! I try to soak it all in and take back a little piece of that mentality home with me. Like I said before, I learned more in my collective four weeks of BIG travel then I did in college (which cost much more!). Be sure to truly enjoy every second that you have. Get off the phone, get off the internet, put your camera down and take it all in!!!

Burano, Italy 

*BONUS TIP – Spend a little more money on flying into one place and out of another!

Let me explain. The biggest mistake we made (TWICE) was booking our flights in and out of the same place, knowing that we were going to be traveling to other areas. Our last day in Italy was literally spent getting to the airport – a car service from the Amalfi Coast to Naples, a train from Naples to Rome, and another train from Rome to the airport. So dumb! If we just booked our flight out of Naples we could have woke up at a decent time, had a nice breakfast and headed to the airport at a leisurely pace. Instead we spent all day on the move, and had crappy airport food for our last meal in Italy. The amount of money we ended up spending getting back to Rome would have evened out in the end. Same thing with Hawaii.

So, those are my tips for planning an awesome trip. Now I know I haven’t been to a lot of places – there are a lot more places on my bucket list but I would say we’re off to a pretty good start. My last piece of advice is decide what kind of trip you want before going. Our last trip was by no means, relaxing, but we knew that going in. We wanted to see as much as we could while we were there. If you want relaxing, stick to all-inclusive 🙂

Happy Travels,

Kristina