Ten Lessons I've Learned From Traveling

Throughout my life, I’ve been fortunate to get to travel a fair bit. I’ve seen a dozen countries and about half of the US, and will finally see the Pacific Ocean in a few weeks with a trip to Seattle for a work conference. In those travels, I’ve experienced a lot of things I wish that I’d have known sooner. Today, I want to share ten of those with you.

One thing we don’t think about as Americans going abroad is that, once we get to a destination, that our access to information might be a lot less than it is here. With your phone and internet connection, for example, you can always look up directions to get from the airport to the nearest hotel or restaurant.

I suggest writing down important dates, locations, and directions in a pocket notebook before you take off. That way, if you lose your phone, it gets stolen, or just dies on you, then you’ll be able to get where you’re going.

Penciling down some useful phone numbers and phrases in the local language can also be a literal lifesaver if you find yourself lost in, for example, Berlin after a flight gets canceled.

I can’t remember the number of times I’ve checked into a hotel only to see that the advertised laundry service is, in fact, down for repairs for the foreseeable future. Things like that can happen, and it’s important to plan in such a way that you’re more self-sufficient if some essential service goes down when you’re traveling.

For this specific one, I always make sure to bring a small travel bottle filled with laundry detergent when I go abroad. I don’t love doing sink laundry, but I’ll certainly do it to guarantee clean underwear and socks for a few more days.

To quote an old military adage that folks in the infantry swear by is that ounces make pounds, pounds make knee injuries. This is true in traveling as well.

I like to travel in such a way that, if I have to, I can run for a good bit with everything I have with me. This will come in handy at the airport when schedules get tight, but can also get you out of the rain and into your hotel room faster. So, with every item you’re packing, ask: will I use this?

With the last point in mind, I find it useful to sit down, well in advance of a trip and plan out outfits with a forecast open in front of me. That way, you can make it such that each piece of clothing that you go with can serve in multiple outfits.

One way to do this, which I love doing, is to pick a small set of complementary colors and build from there, for whatever activities I think I’ll be getting into every day. With that said, I do still pack one or two statement pieces that can make outfits pop, but no one is perfect when it comes to travel.

Some things happen when traveling that can make life unpleasant. For example, I get nosebleeds and headaches at about the worst time.

Do you want to have to play through the pain of a headache or a little sunburn when you have a 26 hour travel day ahead of you, with no chance to get out of airports and into a pharmacy? Me either. Thus, some painkillers, bandaids, and facial tissues go into my carry-on, or even in jacket pockets as soon as I’m through security.

I get that the golden arches are some of the most recognizable symbols on the planet, but if all I wanted, food-wise, was a cheeseburger, I certainly wouldn’t have to fly across the Atlantic to get it.

Even if you’re hungry for something like comfort food from home, I recommend trying, at the very least, a new twist on it. For example, I recall going to a great burger place on the roof of a half-abandoned, Soviet Era mall in Prague. They served awesome burgers, fries, and only local beer and ingredients. Sure, it wasn’t as familiar as the fast food places, but eating a burger under a concrete bust of Lenin was interesting, to say the leas

One time, I was supposed to meet a friend in Berlin, where we would begin a 2-week tour of Europe, leading around people on a trip they had paid absurd amounts of money for. We planned it for six months, down to the hour.

Well, as I was getting to the airport, I get a text: his flight got canceled and he’s routing to Switzerland instead in the hopes of catching a flight from there. Well, shoot. He might end up a day late.

I get to the counter, and, lo and behold, my first flight is delayed four hours, meaning I’ll be in New York, not Berlin. Also, my friend, who had all the official say to change things, was now on a plane and unreachable.

I ended up booking a flight to Paris, having to get fairly curt with an airline manager to do it. From there, got the next flight to Berlin. Oddly enough, the bag claim for mine was right next to the one my friend had managed to get on. Somehow, we both ended up on time and in the right country. The point is, when you’re traveling, adapting is going to be part of the adventure.

Especially when you’re abroad and don’t know the language, you’re kind of on your own in terms of safety. Generally, I don’t recommend going out at night alone, or to parts of town, you don’t know so well.

One tip I’ll give is to take a second and plan a second way out of your hotel. In some places, robbers or worse hang around hotel lobbies looking for lost-looking tourists.

One of the big lessons I take from that story I put in the section about not being in control is to expect delays.

Had we, for example, planned longer layovers, both my friend and I may well have gotten to Berlin a lot less stressed than we did.

The last tip I’ll leave you with is to invest in some quality socks. For me, foot pain has been a constant for years, and a pair of nice, wool socks is one thing that makes walking miles through cities and airports bearable. If you haven’t tried nice socks, I’d highly recommend them.

I’m sure there are a lot more things to think about when trying to have travel go successfully and smoothly, but hopefully, a few of the things here help you plan and thrive on your next trip.