Travelling Tips: Mistakes Each First-Time Traveller Makes

You are excited.  You’re going to head off to your first overseas trip, and it is an incredible feeling. Additionally, it is a daunting feeling.  

What will you find out of Australia’s borders? 

What will the world throw at you? 

How can you cope?  

You will inevitably make mistakes the first time you travel, just the same as you would make mistakes in any other aspect of life.  These are the typical ones that rookie adventurers commit.

Overbooking:

It is tempting, on that very first daunting trip off, to get everything locked in — each hostel, every move, each breakfast, lunch and dinner.  That way, you do not need to worry about anything. However, you’ll quickly come to realise that it is worth it to have some flexibility. Book your flights, and possibly an accommodation package.  However, you’ll generally save money if you care for everything else.

Being fearful of locals:

You could always spot the first-timers, hands guarding their money belts, faces set to “suspicion”, continually trying to determine what the scam is, who is trying to tear them off.  It is hard when you first begin to spot the crooks in the friendly natives, so lots of people mistrust everyone. That is a mistake, though. The vast majority of locals are not out for you. Nevertheless, there are scammers out there, and it is the innocent rookie travellers that offer their most straightforward targets.  

Attempting to see everything:

It’s your big overseas trip, and you need to see as much as possible — you need to tick as many boxes as possible.  But that is a mistake. You must trust that you will travel again. Here is the deal: everything will cost more than you think it will. You will spend twice as much as you had planned and that is a conservative estimate.  Before you travel, save more money. Do not take 

a sleeping bag, unless you are going camping.   Many hostels won’t even allow you to use them. Do not pack too many clothes — remember, you buy things as you travel.  Don’t take a massive first aid kit. You need a few requirements. Do not take more than three pairs of sneakers. But do bring soap — many hostels do not supply it. Buying a lot of It is tempting to walk into one of the travel stores and only go wild.   Wear clothes you are comfortable wearing. 

Panicking:

Things will go wrong.  And that is not because you are a rookie — things are always going to go wrong.  That is part of travelling. So your train did not turn up, or your resort has dropped your booking, or $50 has gone missing from your wallet.  You will sort it out. Getting angry or freaking out is just going to make it worse. If you are in an accident, or you get sick, or your bags go missing, or someone of a thousand other accidents happen while you are travelling, you will be delighted you spent that little amount on an insurance plan. 

Using the guide book as gospel:

It is great to have a guide book, something to direct you in the right direction and provide you with background information on the areas you are visiting.  The error that first-time travellers make is doing things listed in the guidebook — just seeing the restaurants, staying in hostels and seeing the attractions which get the guidebook’s stamp of approval.  There is more to the world than the pieces recorded in those pages..