There is definitely an art to travelling and those who are frequent flyers have usually figured things out after a couple of years. When you have zero experience, flying solo to another country can seem a daunting experience and if you are planning your first overseas adventure, here are a few hacks.
- Last-minute cancellations – The unexpected does often happen and for one reason or another, a person might have no choice but to cancel the holiday and rather than losing the revenue, the tour operator is prepared to slash the price and offer the dates as a last-minute cancellation. If you are prepared to fly at the drop of a hat, browse the top tour operator websites and you might get lucky. Imagine staying at a Pullman Maldives all inclusive resort for half price! Deals like that can be found if you look hard.
- Photos of your passport pages and visa – There’s nothing more frustrating than having to dig out your passport when asked for ID; take images of your main photo page and current visa, then you can show when required. This is especially important when you are travelling in non-English speaking countries.
- Use a VPN – A Virtual Private Network costs a few dollars a month and it enables you to watch geo-restricted content, plus it protects you against hackers by changing your IP address every few minutes. Search the web to find a leading VPN provider and sign up for a few years and you can always watch content you like, no matter where you might be. If you are fed up with the message ‘This content is not available in your region’ you know what to do.
- Frequent flying miles – Most airlines run a frequent flyer promotion and you get free miles every time you book a flight. Some think it isn’t worth the effort but if you fly more than 5 times a year, you can get a free flight at the end of the year. Next time you book a flight, ask the staff member about frequent flying miles and you can join the promotion. Sometimes, air miles can get you an upgrade into business class. Here are a few US airlines that offer complementary Wi-Fi.
- Put rechargeable batteries in the fridge – Store your newly charged batteries in the fridge overnight and it retains all of its charge. When you get back to your hotel room, put your AA batteries on charge and they will be ready when you go to sleep. Don’t forget to invest in a universal power adapter that allows you to use the mains sockets for your devices; this is something you won’t regret doing.
- Google Translate – Say goodbye to language issues when you use Google Translate; just about every language on the planet is available and with AI voice features, you can have a conversation with anyone. They even have many different dialects and the app is free to use. Indeed, there are quite a few travel apps that you can download from Play Store; some are free and some are subscription.
- Use coffee shop Wi-Fi – Rather than paying roaming charges, wait until you are at the airport and use the coffee shop Wi-Fi to communicate. Most SIM contracts include a section for roaming charges when you are in a different region, which happens automatically, so you won’t even know you are using it. Be warned that using public Wi-Fi does leave you open to hacking, so you should have your own cyber-security.
The more you travel, the more experience you gain and we hope that the information in this article goes some way toward making your travelling experience a smoother one. Seasoned global travellers know many hacks that they picked up along the road and we think everyone should have this knowledge.