PRE-TRAVEL TIPS

Hi Guys!

I know we are entering the summer period and as such many people are planning to travel. This is just a guide to assist you with things you must do when preparing to travel.

1. ACCOMMODATION

Personally, I find that Trip Advisor is a very good site for finding hotels/rentals. On Trip Advisor, you get to read people’s reviews about that particular place/location and what to expect. While Trip Advisor does allow you search for hotels, based on personal experience, I think it’s cheaper to rent an apartment through Trip Advisor because it saves you money, you can cook your own food and they have an excellent payment protection service. In October 2013, I remember looking for accommodation in Toronto based on my budgets I was recommended multiple choices, I eventually selected and rented an apartment about 15 minutes’ walk from Eaton Center. I spent about $50 per night for my brother and I. Our apartment was on the 10^th floor, the view was beautiful especially when it was snowing. Also in December 2014, my family came to spend the holidays with me in London, I rented a studio apartment in Belsize Park for them through Trip Advisor for about £70 per night. Talk about a good deal.

 

 

2. FLIGHT DEALS

If you are a frequent flier, I suggest creating an account with your most used airlines. That way whenever you travel, you gather mile points. Depending on how much points you gets, you may be able to purchase a return ticket with your accumulated mile points. Also, they get to send you deal on their flights which may save you a lot when travelling. There are also days of the week, where you get very cheap flights.

 

3. MONEY

Thanks to technology we no longer need to take a lot of cash when travelling, all we need is our bank cards. However, I suggest taking enough cash at least for your first day if it’s somewhere new to you. In case to you need to take the tube, bus or taxi to your accommodation or you need to purchase something at the airport or it could be an emergency. Sometimes, you may need to inform your bank when travelling so your card doesn’t get blocked due to unknown activities. Also, know the exchange rates in case you need to change some money. I also advise keeping some extra cash for emergency. I mentioned this because I hear stories of airlines leaving their customers stranded at the airport. Should this happen to you, at least you have got that emergency money with you.

 

4. POWER PLUG ADAPTER

I cannot stress how important a power plug adapter is especially when leaving your country. I suggest researching what adapter you need for a particular country before travelling. When I travelled to Canada last year, I forgot to take 1. Unfortunately, they use a different adapter from London/Nigeria. I couldn’t charge my phones and laptops. Luckily, my younger brother schools there, so he was able to get one for me.

 

5. TOURS

I suggest researching major tourists’ attractions in that country. On Trip Advisor, you get to see top rated tourist attractions, rated and reviewed tour guides. Talk to people who are staying there or have visited there before. I remember telling my friend Aresse, I was coming to Canada and that I needed suggestions on where to visit. He suggested Niagara Falls and even suggested we go on the boat ride. BEST ADVISE ever. Trust me, it was amazing, we entered a boat ride on the Niagara Falls, it was breath taking. We also went on a winery tour at Niagara on the lake, thanks to that I now love Ice Wine.

Suggestion: http://www.city-sightseeing.com/

6. HAND LUGGAGE

I always advise to put a complete change of clothes in your hand luggage, just in case your checked in luggage get misplaced or is sent to a wrong country. Personally, I have never experienced my checked in luggage getting missing on an international flight thankfully. But having a change of clothes helps to reduce your level of worry.

 

If you have other tips, please fill free to share.

Thanks for reading!
Simi