It’s not bad, this getting older.  And aside from the alternative being officially Not A Good Idea, age brings knowledge about how to best enjoy the loves of your life.  So let me share with you my favourite travel hacks from 50 years on road, rail, sea and air.  In fact, I’ll be even more forthcoming.  Now I’m heading for year 55, I’ve added five new travel hacks to this list.  There’s no doubt that travel is a great teacher, and I love what it has to share with me.

Below you’ll find my favourite tips for your best travel packing hacks, for planning your trips and journeys and for saving money on your travel budget.  You’ll find business travel hacks plus suggestions for transport and accommodation.  But most importantly in my eyes, you’ll find what I have learned about having the best travel experiences you can.  That’s what makes your heart sing, your eyes sparkle and your steps bound with excitement for the adventures you’ve had and are yet to experience.

Travel Hacks: Planning Your Trip

  • First, know yourself.  Travel is meant to be pleasure and not pain if you’re doing it right.  So plan somewhere that fits with your preferences.
  • No matter how well you do your research, you won’t like every single place.  That’s fine.  Just use it to redefine what you want next time.  And share a good story or two afterwards.
  • It’s ok to have favourites.  It doesn’t mean that you are unadventurous or boring.  It means that some place hit an inner bell that is ringing sweet.  Celebrate that by going back.
  • Keep your eyes and ears open about other people’s trips.  Read travelogues.  Spend too long on Pinterest.  Enjoy feeding that travel lover inside you with new ideas.
  • Take opportunities.  Book that cheap flight or the last minute deal.

Travel Hacks: Attitude of mind

  • It’s your trip, not someone else’s.  Do what makes you happy.
  • Don’t get sucked in to arrangements that you know don’t suit you.  Don’t be afraid to say it’s not for you.
  • Your perfect trip doesn’t have to culminate in a tailored Insta feed.  Unless that’s what makes you happy.
  • Beauty’s where you find it.  Travel to make your heart glad, even if that’s in the least likely places.
  • Sometimes things that make your heart beat faster will do the same for others if you share them.  So never be afraid to offer up alternatives, and to explain why a place has captured your imagination.

50 Travel Hacks From 50 Years On The Road

Traveling Solo And With Others

  • Traveling alone can bring your best self to the table.  Try it if you can.  You’ll learn a lot about your own resourcefulness, and it builds confidence and self-esteem.
  • Don’t be afraid to have some fear of traveling solo.  It will keep you alert and focused.  But if it becomes overwhelming, reconsider.
  • One is fun, but so’s two.  You see a place differently through someone else’s eyes.  And a shared love of travel can cement the joy in your relationship.
  • Don’t forget the delights of traveling with your family either.  I was lucky to travel to many, many places with my mum (I blame her for all this wanderlust).
  • If you have doubts about traveling with someone, listen to the bat squeaks in your head.  They happen for a reason.
  • Traveling with friends can encourage you to step outside your comfort zone for destinations and activities.  It’s always worth a try.   I might never go caving again, but I’m delighted to have tried it once, and it makes a brilliant tale of the road.

Travel Packing Hacks: Practical Preparations

  • Don’t sweat the small stuff.  You can’t control everything as part of the travel experience.  Plan what you can, and leave the rest to chance.
  • Travel as light as possible.  Expending emotional and physical energy on hauling your stuff can mean missing out on some of the experience.
  • If you’re on the move regularly, keep essential supplies ready and packed.  It’ll make taking the next trip a breeze.  We’ve got suggestions for your carry-on essentials here.
  • Have a routine for packing up and sorting out your life before you go.  Travel is much more fun when you don’t arrive at the airport with a big clump of post-its stuck to your phone celebrating stuff you still have to do before you take off.  I have been that person.  Don’t do it.
  • On which note, keep packing lists by types of destination.  And then you can be ready to run at the sniff of a bargain fare.

Budget Travel Hacks: Maximising Your funds

  • Set yourself some priorities.  It’s easy to get sucked in to life’s little gratifications.  But if you commit to a trip, and fund it from sheer hard labour, there’s little that’s so gratifying.  So ditch the small treats, and turn them into the much larger treat of time away.
  • If you have a goal, find a way of recording your progress in saving.  There’s nothing more satisfying than knowing you’ve already paid for 1782 miles of your 6000 mile trip.
  • Book early or book late.  Early if you are constrained by time and destination, late if you’re flexible.  In the middle lies an expensive trip.
  • Don’t be afraid to invest in your dreams.  When it came to household stuff or our bucket list trip to the Delta Blues, there really was no choice.  And now it’s still making me happier than new furnishings ever could.
  • If funds are tight, go adventuring close to home.  There are so many beautiful places to see within two hours of where I live.  I know I’m lucky.  Go find your local adventures too.
  • You’ll find more advice on funding your trip here, where we talk about those Pennies and Cents – How To Get Your Travel Funds Together.

Business Travel Hacks

  • If you get the opportunity to travel for work, take it.  There’s nearly always a chance to take a little time to see the place for yourself.
  • Don’t be scared of taking opportunities to work overseas.  People I know who have done it have massively enjoyed the experience, although everyone has struggled to some degree with culture shock and homesickness.
  • If you have the skills and the flexibility in your home life, travel can be your business.  From dancing to cooking to simply having a profession that’s in short supply elsewhere, keep your eyes and your options open.
  • There’s more advice on how to pack like a boss for business travel here.

Travel Hacks: Getting the most out of the experience

  • Breathe deep.  Take time to stop and see.  Really see.  And listen and taste and touch and all that good stuff.  You’ll associate places with colours and smells and flavours.
  • Quit while you’re still having fun.  And this isn’t just because I’m cracking on a bit.  Wanting a little bit more is to my mind always better than wishing you’d left a half hour earlier before things turned sour.
  • Learn tactics to avoid homesickness.  Sometimes the culture shock’s a bit too much, whether you’re alone or with friends.  Find the things that give you a safe space to get past that, whether comfort is found in your journal, a familiar playlist or a good read.
  • Travel light mentally too.  If you burden yourself with worries, what-ifs and concerns, you’ll find that anxiety can overtake the trip.  Park home worries if you can, or find a way of dealing with them the best you can before you go.
  • Cut your losses.  If it’s not working out, move on.
  • For more on how to get under the skin of your destination, check out my thoughts here.  It makes for incredibly satisfying travel experiences.

50 Travel Hacks From 50 Years On The Road

Travel Hacks For Staying Safe

  • Trust your own judgement, and do only the things that are both comfortable and ethical.
  • Buy the travel insurance.  Whether it’s a perforated eardrum (Bilbao) or palpitations requiring cardiac monitoring (Chicago, brought on by caffeine), you’ll be glad you have it.
  • Trust your instincts too.  On a dark path in the Gothic Quarter in Barcelona my now-husband heard someone approaching us a bit too fast, and turned around in time to thwart someone hoping to rob him.
  • Keep your wits about you.  If you wouldn’t do it at home, don’t do it on a trip.
  • You will laugh about it.  Eventually.  Although it took a couple of years before my lactose-intolerant self forgave whoever slipped me a roll made with milk before I boarded for 14 hours of connecting flights.  And Delta, I’m sorry.  Really sorry.

Travel Hacks For Adventuring

  • Take the road less traveled.  Find the places that make your heart glad and enjoy them to their fullest.
  • Push your comfort zone a bit.  If you don’t try something different, you’ll never know if you have a passion for deserts, life at altitude or frenetic city living.
  • Try fast travel.  Pick a destination and absolutely wring the last drops of experience out of the brief trip.
  • Try slow travel.  Allow yourself time to step back and absorb the experience.  Get under the skin of the destination and see its seasons change.  For me, my slow travel spot is glorious Ghent, which I’ve seen in many seasons and many moods.  There’s always something different to see and explore there.
  • Never stop adventuring.  It’s all an attitude of mind.  My grandad went to New York to run a security team in his fifties.  At the same age my mum went to Adelaide to work in cable tv.   Me?   I’ve got a few years left to find someone to make me an offer…

50 Travel Hacks From 50 Years On The Road

Making Connections As You Travel

  • Find people who share your passion and talk with them.  You’ll find destinations you’d never have considered, and experiences you didn’t know you could have.
  • Talk to people along the way.  You get to know so much more about a place through the eyes of those who live there.  And you’ll remember those moments vividly.  Find out what makes this lovely world turn for them.
  • Accept invitations.  As a child, I remember attending a French wedding by random chance.  And my stepfather going sailing with a former steward from the Ile de France.
  • Try and learn even a little of any languages involved.  And when that runs out, never ever be afraid to try mime and drawings; they’ll get you a surprisingly long way.

Hacks: Making Memories

  • Please think about keeping a travel journal.   It doesn’t have to be a narrative: pictures, lists and artwork all convey that sense of time and place.  Or else use your blog or Instagram feed.
  • Think about the things you experience through all your senses.  Ice cold red pears roadside on the Col De Tende in the snow.  Boston smelling constantly of cinnamon.  The silkiness of the desert at White Sands National Monument in New Mexico, and the sound of the burners at Albuquerque Balloon Festival.
  • Treasure those memories and keep them safe.  When you read them again, it’ll be like meeting an old friend.
  • When you plan your next adventure, see what your journals can tell you about the things you loved and want to do again.

And Finally

Enjoy treading very gently on this beautiful world. It has some incredible treasures to explore, often where you least expect them.  I hope that I’ll still be the wide-eyed explorer when I’m in my eighties, even if that’s rather closer to home.

If you’ve got more hacks to add, I’d love to hear them.

 

If you enjoyed this, why not pin it for later!

50 Travel Hacks From 50 Years On The Road

 

Author: Bernie

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98 thoughts on “50 Travel Hacks From 50 Years On The Road

  1. Bernie, this is such a lovely blog and so much I can resonate with as in our late 40’s and early 50’s we are enjoying month 19 of our new nomadic lifestyle on the road in our camper. Such great tips. Travel indeed is one of the greatest teachers I have every had and has certainly shifted my constrictive values and beliefs about life and myself. Safe onward travels.

    Posted on October 7, 2017 at 8:19 am
    1. Thank you. 🙂 I’m loving the thought of your road tripping and everything that’s waiting out there to be discovered, both of the world and of yourselves. Safe onward travels to you too.

      Posted on October 7, 2017 at 8:58 am
  2. Some really great tips here. As an “older” traveller I really appreciate the art of letting go – not letting the tiny niggling things get to me and that helps make a trip or a journey so much more pleasant. I think as we get older we learn (hopefully) to live in the moment – buy that special gift for ourselves, treat ourselves to that gorgeous piece of cake and celebrate just living. Thanks for this.

    Posted on October 7, 2017 at 8:21 am
    1. I love that you get this too; the art of letting go is a fine thing. I’ve just written your “Celebrate just living” in my diary for today. Those are great words to live by.

      Posted on October 7, 2017 at 8:55 am
  3. 50 years – that’s incredible! Thanks for sharing your hacks – will definitely use them on my travels!

    Posted on October 7, 2017 at 8:58 am
    1. I know! 😉 I started counting from age three, as those are the first trips I actually remember! Mostly to the beach or the moors at that age. I can’t believe it’s been 50 years since my first travel memories. Half a century of such amazing times (and the occasional pants time to make the good memories all the sweeter).

      Posted on October 7, 2017 at 12:19 pm
  4. Beautiful post. Such genuine advice, you can tell you are a true traveller!

    Posted on October 7, 2017 at 9:31 am
    1. Thank you. 🙂 We inhabit such a beautiful planet.

      Posted on October 7, 2017 at 10:11 am
  5. Great post! We have just moved to Australia to experience life as an expat for the 6th time (over 50 years) – your hacks are great and really well put – agree with every single one!

    Posted on October 7, 2017 at 10:24 am
    1. Now that’s an amazing record in expat-dom! I hope you have a wonderful time in Australia; I have brilliant memories of my weeks spent there visiting my expat mum. So glad you enjoyed the post; I’ve still plenty more adventures to have and learn from, so maybe I’ll need to update with 60 from 60! 🙂

      Posted on October 7, 2017 at 10:52 am
  6. What an amazing list. Thank you so much for sharing <3 My mother has a similar lifetime of travel behind her, and she too espouses the benefits of keeping a travel journal. Thanks to her, I have been able to commit to memory hundreds of tiny details that might otherwise have been lost (not to mention my blog!). Cheers to your next 50 years of adventures! 🙂

    Posted on October 7, 2017 at 10:27 am
    1. That’s a wonderful thought, thank you! 🙂 And I am so glad you’ve got journals to honour those memories too. They really are treasures through which you can appreciate those adventures all over again.

      Posted on October 7, 2017 at 10:47 am
  7. I think this may be one of my favorite blog posts I’ve ever read. I truly enjoy your perspective on traveling, and these are all EXCELLENT tips. I’m grateful to have learned many of these lessons and tips over the past few years of travel, but others I am still working on, such as this – “Wanting a little bit more is to my mind always better than wishing you’d left a half hour earlier before things turned sour.” That is brilliant advice, and advice I need to take the next time I stress myself out on the last day of a holiday trying to see it all before we leave!

    Posted on October 7, 2017 at 10:29 am
    1. Thank you so very much. 🙂 I’m still learning this art of travel myself. Coming to peace with the best ways to enjoy my travel experiences has helped offset the arrival of dodgy knees these past few years. 😉 And wishing you lots of happy final days in each destination – it’s always great to leave yourself with things unseen aka reasons to head back to those beautiful places again.

      Posted on October 7, 2017 at 10:45 am
  8. Great advise! Really well put together, some of these are so important to remember! Thankyou for sharing

    Posted on October 7, 2017 at 10:52 am
    1. Thank you. 🙂 This has been on my mind for a while, and it just sort of emerged this morning, when faced with a blank page. Still looking forward to lots more adventures, and wishing you all the best for yours.

      Posted on October 7, 2017 at 10:56 am
  9. I rather like traveling alone within the US, but prefer company on trips out of the country just because it’s more fun to explore that way. I’m not one for group tours just because not everything they plan suits my taste (as you mentioned) and I don’t much like to be on a rigid schedule when I travel. I’m all about travel insurance, as it has saved my rear more than once. I’m a Sagittarius and could live out of a suitcase the rest of my life and be blissfully happy! Great post!

    Posted on October 7, 2017 at 1:43 pm
    1. Solo and with company have different perks, don’t they? But both are most definitely good. 🙂 I could do that suitcase for life since the advent of the Kindle; before then I’d really have struggled with my massive book habit.

      Posted on October 7, 2017 at 3:16 pm
  10. I love this! 50 years of travel has surel taught you so much! I so agree about the travel journal. I kept one on one of my trips, and everytime I read it I find something new that I completely forgot about. It helps us in remembering the little things and moments.

    Posted on October 7, 2017 at 3:32 pm
    1. Going back to the memories is brilliant isn’t it? It’s the next best thing to doing the trip all over again.

      Posted on October 7, 2017 at 6:41 pm
  11. I love this!!! Agree with all of them. The one about your trip not being just an IG feed.. So true. And I’m cracking up at your lactose issue and apologizing to Delta. LOL Great post!!!

    Posted on October 7, 2017 at 6:37 pm
    1. I pity the Delta guy who had to sit in the jumpseat with his back to the toilet. Just sayin’ 🙂

      Posted on October 7, 2017 at 6:39 pm
  12. So many excellent tips! I really like how you organized this post. Thanks for sharing!

    Posted on October 7, 2017 at 7:55 pm
    1. Thank you. 🙂 It just kinda emerged like that, so I’m glad it made sense.

      Posted on October 7, 2017 at 8:07 pm
  13. a lot of great tips – and the wisdom of us over 50’s is really amazing 🙂

    Posted on October 7, 2017 at 9:06 pm
    1. Tis true. 🙂 I like to consider it compensation for all the bits that are getting a little creaky.

      Posted on October 7, 2017 at 9:12 pm
  14. Wow! 50 years! Thanks for sharing your experiences. I bet you have the best travel stories…

    Posted on October 7, 2017 at 9:53 pm
    1. I’d love to think so… 😉 I certainly have a lot of them! It compensates for getting on a bit.

      Posted on October 7, 2017 at 10:04 pm
  15. This post is so very helpful!! If I’m ever feeling nervous about a trip and need a little motivation I shall certainly be coming back to read again – thanks for sharing 🙂

    Posted on October 7, 2017 at 10:23 pm
    1. Thank you. 🙂 I think we all get those pre-trip nerves for all kinds of reasons, but then the sheer love and excitement kicks in and we’re away. Wishing you many adventures.

      Posted on October 8, 2017 at 5:59 am
  16. Definitely agree with going back to favourite places. It means you’ve done the obvious stuff and have time to find the more unusual things.

    Posted on October 7, 2017 at 11:33 pm
    1. That’s very true, and I hadn’t thought of it in that way before. We’ve been to Ghent, for example, more than 15 times, and we still keep discovering all kinds of artwork and new things to visit. One year we were rewarded with a massive set of letters along the Graslei commemorating the World’s Forgotten Boy with “Search and Destroy”. Places do keep on giving up their treasures.

      Posted on October 8, 2017 at 5:55 am
  17. Totally love this post! Well done and I will definitely follow your advice and awesome hacks!!

    Posted on October 8, 2017 at 1:51 am
    1. Ah, thank you. 🙂 It’s been fun learning what works along the way.

      Posted on October 8, 2017 at 5:37 am
  18. This blog lists some pretty amazing stuff. I totally found it useful and could relate to much in there. I must commend you on your writing style and congratulate you on an awesome blog 💞

    Posted on October 8, 2017 at 8:23 am
    1. Thank you. 🙂 That’s lovely of you. I kinda write as I talk.

      Posted on October 8, 2017 at 8:33 am
  19. What a great post, thanks for sharing!

    Carmelatte

    Posted on October 8, 2017 at 3:36 pm
  20. Amazing tips! I blame my mom for my wanderlust too hahaha and she is still traveling more than me. My favorite part is you will laugh about it eventually. Hahah I read a quote somewhere that goes something like life is a tragedy when your in it but a comedy when you look back and that is so true. You always laugh later no matter how terrible it was when it happened. Really loved this post!

    Posted on October 8, 2017 at 6:24 pm
    1. Thank you. 🙂 I love that quote you shared, and that your mum is an adventuress too. In the depths of my misery that lactose-filled night when we were waiting for our connection at Charles De Gaulle, I remembered thinking to myself that at least I’d got no cravings for a box of Marron Glaces. Gotta laugh.

      Posted on October 8, 2017 at 8:33 pm
  21. LOVED THIS! Great idea for a post. I would definitely agree with the don’t sweat the small stuff, even if it’s costing you money or time. I have this thing called the Idiot Tax, which isn’t as harsh at is sounds. The concept is that when you stuff up of things don’t go the way you planned, you just write it off under the Idiot Tax. Always makes me feel better 🙂

    Posted on October 8, 2017 at 7:26 pm
    1. That’s a great tax! Acknowledge and move on is a brilliant strategy. 🙂 I think I might pinch that one for myself too.

      Posted on October 8, 2017 at 8:28 pm
  22. This post made me reminisce immensely! Love the adventuring section, that was my favorite. Happy travels!

    Posted on October 8, 2017 at 11:48 pm
    1. I’m absolutely determined that adventuring will never stop. Happy travels to you too!

      Posted on October 9, 2017 at 5:35 am
  23. This amid such a great post, all of it true. The point that resonated with me most at the moment is quit whilst you’re still having fun. So very true!

    Posted on October 9, 2017 at 1:19 am
  24. This is such a great post, so many helpful tips that you only can learn with time and experience. The one that resonated with me most is ‘quit whilst it’s dtikl fun.’ So true!

    Posted on October 9, 2017 at 2:16 am
    1. Thank you. 🙂 And yes, that one did take me a while to get my head around, but my travels have been better for it.

      Posted on October 9, 2017 at 5:33 am
  25. These are really great hacks! I especially love getting out of your comfort zone and not being afraid to travel alone. Those are things I’ve had to deal with when moving to France and then further exploring.

    Posted on October 9, 2017 at 9:41 am
    1. I’m off on my own again later this month; I like the way it stretches me, and makes me more careful. I’m glad those experiences have been good for you too. Wishing you happy travels.

      Posted on October 9, 2017 at 11:09 am
  26. I love these hacks! What a wonderful list, full of wisdom and experience. I especially loved the making memories section 🙂

    Posted on October 10, 2017 at 3:37 am
    1. Ah, the memories are almost as good as the original journeys. And you get to revisit them over and over again. 🙂 Thank you.

      Posted on October 10, 2017 at 1:01 pm
  27. So many great things to know. Very insightful. Adventuring is a huge one I feel that when it comes to getting out of your comfort zone, it is needed when taking on adventures and traveling.

    Posted on October 11, 2017 at 3:41 am
    1. I really believe that you find new bits of yourself at the edge of your comfort zone, and that’s always fascinating. Wishing you many happy travels.

      Posted on October 11, 2017 at 7:05 am
  28. Awesome! You are so on my wavelength… I am writing posts about all of these tips, so will take a while 🙂 Love the ethos and some of the best sound advice I’ve seen in the blogosphere, there’s so much rubbish its nice to find a gem.

    Posted on October 13, 2017 at 8:37 am
    1. Thank you so much! 🙂 There have to be some bonuses to getting older, and one is really appreciating everything that travel brings to our lives. Wishing you many happy adventures.

      Posted on October 13, 2017 at 8:48 am
  29. Holy McMoly!! FIFTY years on the road?! Wow. I can only dream that in forty years plus I am still alive lol. This is a brilliant post. Really comprehensive and so much I can learn from. Thank you!

    Posted on November 2, 2017 at 12:17 pm
    1. I’m counting from age three, which is about the earliest trip I remember. 😉 It’s been, and continues to be, an absolute blast. And may your next 40 years plus be the most magnificent fun!

      Posted on November 2, 2017 at 12:40 pm
  30. Don’t sweat the small stuff.. my favorite hack among all others but all are important nevertheless .

    Posted on November 2, 2017 at 2:36 pm
    1. It’s for life as well, isn’t it? But it seems to make a real difference in travel terms. I don’t really care, now, some 15 years on, how I had blisters on blisters when we were walking through Barcelona late at night and bumped into one of Gaudi’s houses, all pastel and shining like a sugared almond. That’s the memory that remains.

      Posted on November 2, 2017 at 8:07 pm
  31. Great tips! I like the one about leaving something to be desired as well as those about connecting with others! I think everyone should experience many different travel styles, including, solo, group, family, couples.

    Posted on November 2, 2017 at 3:43 pm
    1. The “leave them wanting more” was probably my biggest discovery in terms of how much I enjoyed travel. It took me a while to work that one out, but I’m so glad it dawned on me eventually. And my feet are rather grateful for it too. 😉

      Posted on November 2, 2017 at 8:05 pm
  32. I agree with all your points here and it shows that you’ve learned so much in your years of travel, we all do don’t we? I completely agree that you won’t fall in love with every place you go to and having favorites doesn’t make you boring. And although travelling alone can be a of fun, travelling with someone else and also with family is a different experience altogher !

    Posted on November 2, 2017 at 7:37 pm
    1. Travel is such a brilliant teacher in so many ways, both about other people and other places, and sometimes about ourselves too. I totally agree about the different travel experiences; I’ve just been away solo for the first time in a while, and it reminded me how much you see things in a different way.

      Posted on November 2, 2017 at 8:03 pm
  33. “Travel light mentally too” – I love that one. And the “adventuring close to home” – it’s easy to go for escapism far away when ther is so much around!

    Posted on November 2, 2017 at 9:33 pm
    1. For me, nothing wrecks a trip more easily than having a mind full of heavy baggage. I’m getting stricter with myself about offloading it before I go. 🙂

      Posted on November 2, 2017 at 10:40 pm
  34. Travel light mentally – I love this! This is a tall order for most people but we try our best! Thanks for the great advice!

    Posted on November 3, 2017 at 3:31 am
    1. It was always a pretty tall order for me too, then I just tried leaving it all behind at the door. Nothing broke or self-destructed, and I had a much better time. Result!

      Posted on November 3, 2017 at 7:06 am
  35. This is a great list of lessons learnt and clearly applied, I really like keeping things ready to go by destination just in case a cheap deal comes up. I am taking this one on board. Thanks

    Posted on November 3, 2017 at 6:31 am
    1. Ah, there’s nothing like being ready to roll when that cheap deal appears. That’ll be me this Sunday; hope it’s you soon too!

      Posted on November 3, 2017 at 7:09 am
  36. Such a great elaborate tip list. Thanks for the post!

    Posted on November 3, 2017 at 6:43 am
  37. Wow – 50 years of travel, that is surely something to be very proud of. Thanks for sharing these tips and advice, they are both insightful and informative 🙂

    Posted on November 3, 2017 at 7:53 am
    1. There has to be some compensation for dodgier knees, and a dislike of top bunks brought on by advancing years. 😉 I’ve been so lucky to have all these travel experiences, and I really hope I’ve got lots more miles to clock up in the years ahead.

      Posted on November 3, 2017 at 7:03 pm
  38. These hacks are amazing and i like the way you have put them altogether so neatly and clean to read n understand.
    thanks for sharing such amazing tips.

    Posted on November 3, 2017 at 8:35 am
    1. I’m glad it made sense. I just sat down at the laptop one morning, and it all came spilling out. 🙂

      Posted on November 3, 2017 at 7:01 pm
  39. Hi Bernie! I love your post! Sometimes when you read “50 things.. bla bla bla” you are immediately like… oh gosh, not again… but your post is so much deeper – I really enjoyed reading it.

    As you know I have a blog and before I felt really bad telling people that some places simply didn’t blow my mind. i was afraid of people’s reaction… but now I know it’s ok to feel this way especially when you travel a lot and can compare places. Realizing that was kind of liberating!

    I find travelling off the beaten track more rewarding once you do all the stuff you have to do but on the other hand we often only have 2 weeks to visit a country and there is so many countries/places to see. In fact sometimes many people (including me) forget that:
    a. you won’t see everything
    b. it’s better to stay in one place and explore it a bit further rather than go to 10 places and rush, not getting anything out of it.

    I feel like I could spend a whole day discussing these points with you! Thank you once again for your amazing post. It made my morning.

    ps. TRUST YOUR GUT FEELING will be my new blog post. We did hitchhiking in Armenia and if only we trusted our instincts..

    and your milky roll before long haul flight… jeezz!!! It must have been awful but on the other hand quite a story to tell your friends 🙂

    Posted on November 3, 2017 at 10:21 am
    1. Your reply’s made my evening too! We could so definitely sit down over about 20 coffees and talk travel for hours. 🙂 Reading your blog, you have such a fabulous spirit of adventure, and whatever traveling life throws at you, you make your very best of it.

      I think sometimes we try so very hard to make the most out of every travel experience that we sometimes forget to be human and allow ourselves space to be disenchanted, just plain tired, or happy to acknowledge that somewhere, no matter how fabulous, is just not for us.

      Whatever happened in Armenia, I’m so glad you are ok to tell the tale…and yes, definitely trust your instincts. Better to be thought a teeny bit rude than to be carrying an adrenaline overload while working out what to do next.

      And that roll, well somewhere there’s a member of cabin crew with a horror tale to tell about this woman on his overnight flight… 😉

      Posted on November 3, 2017 at 7:00 pm
  40. Thanks for this post, Bernie. I hope to amass as much wisdom as you have, someday.

    Posted on November 3, 2017 at 12:00 pm
    1. Ah, that’s just about having inhabited this planet for a reasonably long time. 😉

      Posted on November 3, 2017 at 6:53 pm
  41. 50 years of traveling experience, wow! No wonder these are some seriously amazing tips and very good mentality for traveling!!

    Posted on November 4, 2017 at 8:22 pm
    1. It’s been fun. 🙂 And looking forward to plenty more years of travel to come. Thank you for visiting.

      Posted on November 4, 2017 at 8:47 pm
    2. There have to be some advantages in getting older. 😉 I’ve had so much fun, and intend to continue to do so.

      Posted on November 5, 2017 at 8:38 am
  42. Great tips and advice for all ages. Sharing this in a roundup post to publish on 11-18-17.

    Posted on November 10, 2017 at 7:22 pm
  43. Incredible list of hacks in here, those years on the road had made you better and more better in terms of giving advices. I’ll surey engrave this in my mind and heart. Hopefully I can maximize my funds successfully heheh. thank you so much

    Posted on November 11, 2017 at 2:04 pm
    1. Experience is probably the payback for the knees getting dodgy with age. 🙂 Hope you get your funds together to enjoy many more miles.

      Posted on November 11, 2017 at 4:52 pm
  44. Great informative and incredibly interesting article!! Thank you for sharing!!

    Posted on May 15, 2018 at 9:45 am
  45. Amazing tips! I completely agree with indulging on every travel tip and post to prepare but remembering to stay true to what you love and enjoy! Thanks for compiling all these great tips! Cheers!

    Posted on May 15, 2018 at 11:09 am
    1. Staying true to what you love is really key, isn’t it? It’s a delicate balance with expanding your horizons, but so worth it.

      Posted on May 15, 2018 at 6:49 pm
  46. Great tips, I agree with a lot of them, especially taking the road less travelled. Thanks for sharing!

    Posted on May 15, 2018 at 3:36 pm
    1. The road less travelled is always fun. And the “just one more bend in the path”. Although I have been known to get a call asking where I am when the last one gets me meandering more that I intended.

      Posted on May 15, 2018 at 6:48 pm
  47. So many great tips. Love how you broke them all down for different aspects of travel. However, I think my absolute favorite was under”maximising your funds” I love the:
    “Don’t be afraid to invest in your dreams. When it came to household stuff or our bucket list trip to the Delta Blues last year, there really was no choice. And a year later it’s still making me happier than new furnishings ever could.”
    This is sooo true. I mean so many people think of travel as a luxury which it definitely can be. However, the memories, activities, and experiences you acquire while travelling will benefit you far more than a television, playstation, or even a fancy car in my opinion.

    Posted on May 15, 2018 at 3:38 pm
    1. I’m so glad you get that too. The memories and experiences are such valued treasures. When we take them out to enjoy them, they’ve lost none of their sparkle.

      Posted on May 15, 2018 at 6:45 pm
  48. A real summary of a real traveler! Just love it! Keep sharing

    Posted on May 15, 2018 at 6:32 pm
    1. Road fever’s had me for decades. And you too, I’m sensing.

      Posted on May 15, 2018 at 6:46 pm
  49. This is like a complete guide and a really good compilation. Today when the young kids hastily start traveling for the sake of an adventure, this is really insightful.

    Posted on May 15, 2018 at 8:19 pm
  50. Yap, it’s definitely the expert talking 😉 Agree to all your tips – especially regarding solo travel – will be only about 35 years for me, but….

    Posted on May 16, 2018 at 5:46 pm
    1. Solo travel absolutely makes me resourceful in a way I don’t seem to achieve when I’m not out there alone. From what I’ve seen of your travels, you’re most definitely the expert. 🙂

      Posted on May 16, 2018 at 9:33 pm
  51. This list is like one gigantic motivational travel quote! So many of these things either had me nodding or had me going “GOALS”. Thanks for putting this together and sharing your wisdom!

    Posted on May 16, 2018 at 10:29 pm
  52. Apart from the packing lists, I can relate to this very much! It’s things like these that can make traveling so much more fun and relaxed. Now all I have to do is convince the other half. 🙂

    Posted on May 17, 2018 at 5:15 am
    1. Not sure I’ve managed to convince mine yet. 😉 But we’ve got similar views about being on the road.

      Posted on May 17, 2018 at 7:57 am