ESSENTIAL TIPS THAT CAN SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE YOUR TRAVEL EXPERIENCES!

After two decades of extensive traveling, I've learned a few useful tips that make my travel experiences safer, financially friendly and more comfortable. My husband and I travel internationally several times a year for business, quickly becoming globetrotters in our thirties.

It's super exciting taking trips as a couple, living out our dreams and exploring the world together.

We strategically route some of our business travel to include stops to some of our favorite destinations. Whether traveling for business, pleasure, alone, with friends or family trips can go much better when properly planned. ​

Here are a few useful tips and tricks when planning your trips. 

1. Make travel More affordable. 
a. Shop around third-party sellers. Don't limit yourself to just going directly to the airlines.

​Here are a few great options for travel sites we've used:
1. kayak.com   2. cheapoair.com  3. expedia.com  4. google.com/flights 


b. Shop long in advance for plane tickets.  The closer you get to the date your travel date, the more expensive tickets become.

c. Consider alternative routes. You can save time and money when you do! 

d. Search for flights strategically.  If you've been searching for flights for a few days or you return to specific pages, clear your browsing history. Close the browser and relaunch the page because sometimes when the cookies track your previous activity, you won't get the best prices, you actually won't see the most competitive rates, and in some cases, you're actually offered higher prices!

2. Accommodations. Explore options.
You don't have to limit your options to hotels rooms, you can try travel sites such as  airbnb.com and flipkey.com.
In countries that are safe, these are great options worth exploring.  Read lots of reviews, pay close attention to pictures, ensure you see the units and the compound (beware of close up shots, too many shots about activities but not the venue itself)

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Choose hotels wisely. When in doubt stick with the more prominent Hotel brands. Look closely for hidden fees.  Enquire about parking facility and cost if you plan on renting a vehicle. 
 
3. Ensuring your Safety is a must.  Before heading off to an unknown country consult travel advisory. Research the country or island you are traveling to intensely. 
Locate your nearest embassy.  Secure all the contact information including the embassy's address.  If your country doesn't have an embassy in the destination you're traveling to, locate one that is friendly to your country or island. (especially if you're going to nations with high conflict zones)
Get insurance. It's useful to have international medical insurance (ask your bank for credit cards that provide insurance coverage)  
Get your immunization shots. Outside of being a health precaution, being immunized is a requirement of some countries. 
Don't travel with large amounts of cash.  Consider credit and debit cards as a viable option. Bare in mind, sometimes cards may not work at certain hotels or merchants, so having multiple cards can be useful. When changing currencies most times I've gotten more value for my money at merchants rather than the airport Cambio (currency exchange).


4. Secure important documents. Always check your boarding pass before leaving the ticketing counter. Ensure personal and destination information is correct. 
Take a picture of your travel and identification documents as a security backup. Lock your Passport and travel documents in the safe in your hotel room when going shopping. 

@simplyshellytnt

I've fallen in love with Ariana Pierce's gorgeous Florence Floral passport case. 

This versatile case is not just a great conversation starter, it's also RFID blocking so it protects my credit cards and passport while at airports or other public places from predators lurking to steal personal information AND it doubles as a cute wallet during my shopping trips.

​Ariana, a young successful entrepreneur and social media influencer happens to be an avid traveller, created several beautiful color options that you can choose from. ​

5. Don't make assumptions about in transit requirements when you have connecting flights.  Think ahead, about the countries you'll be stopping in, not just your final destination. Depending on the passport you hold, you may require an additional visa or immunization requirements to be allowed to move on t your final destination. Not having these requirements can result in you being held back for additional screening or even turned back. Now that would totally suck! ​

Make travel creative, strategic and fun while securing your safety with these few tips.
Cheers to exploring a world of wonderful experiences! 
What are some of your travel tips!  I'd love hearing from you. You can share your experiences and recommendations in the comments below. 

Follow me on instagram @simplyshellytnt where I share my travel adventures and lifestyle tips! 
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Shelly