HOW I TRAVEL

Country and Area Selection

Use the tips above. I like to travel to diverse places, eg. Perhaps more countries and fewer places within each country. If there is an equivalent spot in another country, maybe save that vibe for that country eg. Beach/mountains. On your whole trip, which places are particularly known for the vibe, rather than looking country by country?

Often the less developed the country, the cheaper it is, the more the economy will benefit from your visit, the more raw it may be, the more you will be able to do. I tend to maximise my time in cheaper countries and minimise my time in more developed countries where possible. But this does not always follow; cheap places such as South East Asia are very developed for tourism whereas somewhere like the Baltics will allow you to get off the beaten track a lot more and meet some truly inspirational travellers.

Time and Planning

More of the first, less of the second. Being prepared > having a plan.

• Longer is always better

• Fewer stops, longer stays - more authenticity and independence

• Choose fewer and more diverse stops

• People make travelling good and memorable - don’t be afraid to make your plans flexible to this. But also don’t be afraid to not follow the tourist route.

• Go solo? Travelling with a friend or partner can be great fun too - but the most challenging experiences come from going solo. If you are able to spend some time travelling solo (before you have someone at home to miss) you won’t regret it.

• Don’t rush

• Be flexible

• Don’t plan in any detail

• Avoid booking more than a day ahead if possible

Research

Do your homework about a place/activity you’re doing, esp if it’s rogue.

• Use travel forums eg. Tripadvisor, particularly good for things like border crossings, working out what prices you should be paying for things

• Use Uber to see what reasonable taxi prices should be where possible

• Read blogs eg. Along Dusty Roads

• Take a Guidebook! Lonely Planet 👌🏼 Great to get your head into a country or place

• Ask locals

• Use FB groups for backpackers in the region you are in for questions and local updates

• Ask other travellers you’ve met, especially those you know are a similar style of traveller to you

Going BIGGER

The further you push yourself, the more comfortable and confident you will become in those environments. I myself find current local culture more interesting than going to museums or ruins from the past; when I can immerse myself in the local culture I find those truly magical unique moments.

• Learn the local language where possible

• Get to know locals

• Take rogue opportunities that come up - be bold but safe

• Imagine bigger and see if you can make it happen

• Don’t be afraid to be different from other travellers/tourists

• Hire vehicles (cars/motorbikes) - this can get you off the beaten track. Even hire a driver for the day in a v cheap country
  If you get to know locals well, they could drive you places. Get locals to tell you where the best places/food places are

• Maybe even buy a car if you can; more on this in the Roadtripping section

Booking Flights

This is fairly straightforward, but esp if you have had a job with a lot of expenses before you can save some money here:

• Google Flights and Skyscanner are my go-to places to find flights (I normally look at both before committing). Sometimes they will be even cheaper on these than on the airline’s websites since Skyscanner are a broker. Don’t forget to investigate baggage since this may make a seemingly cheap airline more expensive than another.

• Use your Airmiles: if you have used an Amex for eg. expenses before, you may have enough airmiles to get you a nice flight across the world and cheaper. Book far-ish in advance though since they don’t reserve many seats generally for airmiles tickets.

Activities/Treks

Things that aren’t basic transport, hostel accommodation or eating.

• A mix of tours and non tours: Small tours are good for meeting people and can connect you to local people

• Book tours at the local town where possible - always much cheaper

Negotiation: Buying from Markets and Tours

Learn to negotiate and walk away from steep prices, but be generous too. Learn where that line sits.

Accommodation

Your choice of accommodation (the same applies to tours also) defines the sort of ppl with whom you will be sharing it eg. Super cheap hostel = v young travellers, keep in mind some hostels are party hostels if you need a break, super expensive tours = no one near your age probs. V all inclusive multi-city tours = fresh holidaymakers (you may want to challenge yourself beyond this one). Though they can be trashy, you can meet many great people in party hostels and if you have been off the beaten track for a while, this may be exactly what you need!

Booking.com is my preferred way of booking most accommodation. After a certain number of stays a year you get good discounts and never have to put a deposit down (unlike Hostelworld where they collect their fee as the deposit).

However use both HostelWorld and Booking.com to search for hostels - the most reviewed and best reviewed will have more people in you can meet. Highest rated do run out of rooms tho.

When with a partner, AirBnBs can be real nice. If you can, make sure to message the host first to make sure it is available so that you don’t end up chasing a refund when they try to offer you a different place all of a sudden after you’ve paid. Keep in mind the extra fees AirBnB charge for the booking - if extending you may be able to pay in cash for cheaper directly with the host.

This goes for all accommodation, always check if extending will be cheaper if you can pay them directly in cash rather than through a booking agent.

If with a friend or partner, all sorts of different accommodation can be nice - mix it up! Tiny guesthouses in the middle of nowhere were some of our favourite places we stayed. Little cabins 😍

Transport

Your choice and budget of transport defines the level of safety and authenticity eg. Local minibus - super authentic but also a risk of theft, Super tourist bus - no locals and v young/new travellers/tourists. I like to take local transport and use the local bus stations. Bus stations are some of the most interesting places when travelling in developing countries - a place where the locals all collect together and restaurants etc will always be catering primarily for them.

• For long distances, don’t go for the cheapest (least secure) and there is no need to go for the most expensive, so go in the middle.

• For short distances, you will probs want to take the basic local transport. Take precautions such as keeping your bag with you where possible. Enjoy as much as possible when you don’t have a bag with you 😄

• Sleeping pills can make long night bus journeys a lot more enjoyable 😴 Watch out though! Don’t take too high a dosage if it’s not that long a journey and/or it’s to a dangerous place. You will be drowsy if you take a lot. Attach your hand luggage to you to avoid theft while you are out of it.

• Sometimes you just have to compromise safety and security standards to get places - get used to this, find our what’s normal when travelling in that place and try to be as safe as that if not a little bit safer.

Food

Local food is one of the best things about travelling and it won’t generally be from the most hygienic of kitchens. This is OK. Braving the Delhi belly the next day (and sometimes everyday) is part of travelling.

• Ask the owner/waiter what they recommend from the menu

• Bus stations are great places to find what the locals really eat

• Find our how the locals eat eg. Menú del Días in South America, Thalis in India. This is probs the cheapest way to eat as well.

• Maybe make a checklist of dishes you want to get through in each country 😄

• Become a regular at a small local place at least once 😊

• Being as unfussy and open as possible to any food really helps, esp when staying in the homes of locals or when trying crazy things like still-beating snake heart

• Use the 10x rule to train yourself into foods before you go - eg. You don’t really like white fish; eat it 10x and then your stomach should be ok with it and even enjoy it 👍🏼

Packing

Pack as light as possible but have a big enough bag you don’t stress too much packing it. You can find my packing list here.

• Don’t forget to bring your home SIM card for authorising bank transactions etc and keep the line running at home

• Packing cubes help organisation and routine if packing stresses you out (like me)

• Learn to roll pack

• Throw stuff away

• Try not to buy too much stuff but clean/new clothes are the best feeling

• Take clothes that are practical eg. Merino wool (particularly underwear) to last several hardcore wears and not smell, but also clothes that look good. You want to feel good!

• Take good thermals such as Icebreakers in you are going anywhere v cold

• Consider footwear: trail runners are much lighter and more comfortable than walking boots but you may prefer the look of leather walking boots and the fact their waterproof. Flip flops are a must but you may want Tevas too/instead if you’re going to be in hot places of tough terrain. DO take casual shoes; It may be hard to find them out travelling (esp if you have big feet) when you suddenly realise that you did want something else to wear other than your bright yellow and red sportiva trail runners. Guilty.

• Be able to condense your stuff into one backpack - safer and easier when tackling unfamiliar and dangerous environments such as the bus station

• Get a good backpack - you will be using it a lot

• Get a good fairly stuffable daypack you can put inside the big backpack - you will also be using this a lot

• Take a good super light towel

• Take a super light sleeping bag liner

Cash

😭

No matter how much money you have in your bank account, this can be a great way to lose hundreds down the drain or end up stuck with no money at all.

• Get a good travel credit card = one that exchanges at the market mid rate and charges no fees on transactions or withdrawals. Make sure it has a good cash limit or take two. You will probs be using it a lot for ATMs. A good card is the cheapest way to get foreign currency out or pay if a card reader is available (outside countries with complicated black market rates)

• When getting cash in the UK before you go eg. Dollars for safety, always order over the internet. You will save a lot of money this way.

• TransferWise to a local friend to get out large amounts of cash if you can.

• If you need lots of cash and you are in a difficult country for it and don’t have a friend for TransferWise, try services such as Azimo, Western Union or MoneyGram.

• Black Market Rates: There may be countries with poor economies and ineffective economic measures in place where you may save/make a lot of money by paying for everything using cash taken from eg. Western Union or from enhancing US Dollars/Euros in cash with Black Market money changer. Such as Argentina right now where you get a rate about 1.5x better than the Google rate in Western Union. This can be a real pain in practice to organise and complete but it will be worth it. Leave yourself whole mornings to get the cash - make sure you take out enough to last you a while and order it a day or two before. In Argentina, the post offices are the most reliable places to receive Western Union money, although generally with the longest queues.

• Make sure you have enough cash! Consider this before all treks/areas where there will be no cash point for days.

• Don’t expect small shops to break large notes for you. Don’t be that tourist with the 100 USD bills trying to buy handicrafts from the indigenous 😅

Navigation & Connectivity

This falls under safety but also making your life easier and less stressful.

• Maps.Me is recognised worldwide generally as the best offline maps app that exists for travel. Download this and download the maps for the regions to which you are travelling in advance. Avenza maps also lets you navigate detailed mountaineering or trekking maps if that is required but is much more expensive. Maps.Me has many popular trails loaded already.

• Unlock your phone in your home country before you leave. This will allow you to buy cheap SIM cards in each country and stay connected. Now you may choose not to do this so you are not distracted by your phone - and this is definitely probably ok in safer countries such as Vietnam, if you have offline maps - but in less safe countries consider how being able to use Google Maps as a backup/research places on buses/call ppl etc may make you safer. WiFi is often terrible in hostels too.

• If you do have a local SIM, Google Maps will come in pretty useful too of course, but always have Maps.Me there - it’s often more accurate and has trails the Google Maps often doesn’t have.

• I would recommend taking care of your Instagram since it’s the most common way travellers connect with each other right now and a great way to find each other again if you see yourselves about to cross paths. Make sure you have WhatsApp too.

Roadtripping

The most amazing adventure I’ve had travelling was when I bought my own car and roadtripped through Patagonia. It’s a completely different style of travel to traditional backpacking and comes with different challenges and rewards. If you want to get off the beaten track, this is a pretty good start, especially with a good 4x4. Being prepared though is perhaps even more important here since there is so much that can go wrong. But so much that can go so right too. Here goes.

• Get a company to help/handle all the paperwork

• Buy vs Hire

• Take a jump starter, big Jerry can with gasoline in it and a shovel

• Download podcasts for long drives and download music playlists

• Download offline maps

• Buy physical maps: not only are they pretty, they allow you to look at large areas in detail which makes route planning much much easier than using your phone since you can see the places you want to go and scope out more. Plus they don’t run out of battery/signal!

• Record your own voices on Waze

• Set aside days for route planning so you can book things in advance. Good to know which parts of your trip can be spontaneous and which need booking further in advance eg. Ferries

• Hitch Hikers: Normal roadside Hike-hikers don’t expect to contribute financially so consider whether this is something you want; giving ppl a ride from your hostel may work out better for sharing petrol. Decide what your criteria are for potential candidates eg. Young couple, negotiate before they get in the car on time, distance and any contributions otherwise this could get very awkward! It’s often a great way to practice the local language and make the sort of friends you might not meet anywhere else. Research what the norms are for the area; are hitch hikers normal and generally safe to pick up?

• Book ahead or find accommodation before dark! Leave early enough. It’s stressful to say the least if you arrive very late somewhere without accommodation.

Safety

(the longest and most important section)

Travelling to developing countries is really fun but is generally more dangerous than developed countries. This can add to the fun but is most fun with a good risk assessment and management of those risks 😁:

Safety Considerations:

1. Cities are more dangerous

2. The night is more dangerous

3. Certain countries require more precaution

4. Certain areas in certain countries/towns require more caution or should be avoided

5. As a caucasian person and/or dressed as a tourist, you will be a target

6. In terms of physical safety, the roads are likely to be the place you are most at danger

7. As a western girl, you will generally be a target for non-western men

Safety Rules:

1. Always research safety recommendations in the city to which you are travelling first, where possible, or ask at your hostel if your are concerned

2. When transporting yourself and your luggage at night in towns or cities, always take a taxi - Ubers are safest where available but read about local taxi scams. There are some cities where you should always take Ubers/Taxis eg. Jo’berg. Avoid arriving in places at night if possible.

3. Where possible, travel with at least one other person

4. Find out and avoid no go dangerous areas eg. Newtown in Jo’berg

5. If going out in a city, especially at night, take as little as possible if not nothing out with you

6. Hidden fanny packs are good 👌🏼 eg. Osprey Stealth. Not sure I want to think about the number of hours/days/months this little pack has spent squeezing my stomach 😂

7. Avoid showing anything flashy eg. Cameras, watches - keep these hidden/off as much as possible. Watches can get taken off you without you noticing

8. Zip pockets/secure pockets where possible for valuables in more dangerous areas, otherwise keep them in your fanny pack

9. If travelling in a particularly dangerous place, dress like a local and unflashy as possible

10. They say give everything to a thief if they ask for it, but realistically you are travelling for a long time and losing everything could just about ruin your travels completely. Therefore use the tips above to prevent this. If compromised, use your judgement as to if you can make an escape or minimise loss. If in a v v dangerous country and there is no avoiding it, you probs expected this anyway!

11. Look (and be) as unlike a naive vulnerable tourist as possible

12. Respect the roads 🙏🏼

13. When walking on your own through anywhere not completely safe, don’t wear headphones/earphones - you want to be able to hear everything: vehicles, attackers etc - plus blootooth headphone are super easy to steal off your head

Solo Female Travellers (and groups of only female travellers)

Female travellers face extra danger, particularly westerners travelling in non-western cultures. As a female, be very wary of trusting men, particularly over friendly non-western men (not that you can necessarily trust the travelers either): 

• Unless you are completely sure they are someone you can trust (eg. with a reputable company), never leave the safety of a group/safe public place with them; esp never get into transport with them eg. cars and motorbikes. Make sure someone knows where you are and you have a way to contact help.

• Say you are in a relationship/engaged/married

• You may even want to wear a wedding ring

• Dress modestly to avoid drawing attention to yourself; match the local women. eg. India - local women cover themselves

• Always try to find someone to travel with; if possible, have a guy in the groups as this will put off predators

And in case something does happen:

1. Get good travel insurance. If you never use it, you probs haven’t pushed yourself far enough 😋

2. Back up your phone when possible. Back up cameras before you leave.