If you’re anything like me, you love travelling, and can work up a lot of excitement well in advance of your actual departure date. So what do you do during that period of excitement when you’ve already booked your tickets and are waiting for time to hit the road? Of course there is the obvious step of determining travel plans, transportation, and accomodations, but what else can you do to fill the time?
Track the Weather
If your destination is somewhere you are very familiar with, you may have a good idea of what the weather is like in the season that you’re planning on visiting. If you aren’t pretty well acquainted with it already, go ahead and look up what the weather is likely to be like at that time of year; it may not be what you expect. You don’t want to be surprised by sweater weather in the middle of summer or heat waves further into fall than you’re used to. Likewise, you want to avoid getting caught without a jacket during wet weather or lugging an umbrella all over town in the middle of a drought.
Once you’ve established what the weather is typically like, keep an eye on the daily and weekly forecasts. My favorite way of doing this is to add the city to my phone’s weather app, so that I can scroll over to my upcoming destination when I’m checking to see if I’ll need a hat or a raincoat for the day. You can also just pull up any news or weather website for the place you’re going. Keeping an eye on the weather leading up to your trip will not only give a more realistic picture of the weather as you get closer to your departure time, but it will also allow you to take note of weather patterns. Are there large fluctuations in temperature from one week to another? Does it rain a little most days? Can you expect a steady heat wave? These patterns will help clue you in on what to think about packing for your trip.
Study Up and Select Your Wardrobe
I always like to do a little research before I decide what I’m taking with me. Weather tracking is part of this; once you familiarize yourself with what the weather is like in a given location, you’ll have a better idea of what to take to make sure you’re comfortable in any situation. You can also get inspiration by finding advice from other travellers who have been to your destination. This might include packing lists, helpful tips, and tales of packing successes or failures.
I also like to look at fashion magazines, blogs, and Instagram accounts based in the city I’ll be visiting. Chances are that you won’t be attending fashion week or a red carpet event, but getting a feel for popular fashions may help you feel more comfortable when you’re out with the locals. You’re not necessarily trying to copycat the residents, and you’re unlikely to fool anyone about being one of them, but it can be helpful to track trends as you’re planning. Do people dress in a more formal or informal way? If everyone is dressed up, you’ll stick out like a sore thumb in running shorts and a sweat shirt, and if everyone is wearing trainers, your six-inch heels might be overkill. Do people wear a lot of makeup? If not, it might be worth saving some room in your suitcase by paring down your beauty kit. Are there sites you’d like to visit that have dress rules? You might need to bring something dressy for an evening out, or a scarf to tweak your outfit for modesty before entering a religious building.
Don’t overthink things, though. There are two main things to keep in mind: be prepared and be yourself. It doesn’t matter how much you may be able to make yourself look like a glamorous London girl if your feet are killing you, you feel self-conscious, and you’re getting drenched by a sudden shower.
Start Packing
One of the most helpful things I’ve started doing regarding my travels is doing a trial run on my packing well in advance of my trip. That’s right – a few weeks before my trip, I will decide what I’m taking, get it all out, and pack my suitcase.
This may seem excessive, but it accomplishes several things. First of all, it helps you decide what you can feasibly bring with you. You may have grand plans of bringing a pair of killer heels and your cute new faux fur jacket to wear for a night out on the town, but find when you start actually trying to fit it into your suitcase that you’re going to have to sacrifice your favorite pair of jeans to make it work. This way, you won’t find yourself in a panic the night before you leave, trying to make last-minute decisions about which outfit to leave behind. It also forces you to look over everything that you’re planning on taking to make sure anything that needs to be washed, ironed, or repaired is taken care of before you’re on the road. It will also give you a chance to make sure everything goes together and fill in any gaps while there is still plenty of time to make changes. You can also make sure your travel beauty kit is ready to go, which is especially important if you need to make it flight-friendly.
Practice the Language
No one will expect you to become fluent in the language of every place you ever visit, and you’ll never manage it unless you carefully select your destinations with the language as your only criteria. The truth is, you can usually get by with a few key words and phrases that will be useful in the situations you’re likely to find yourself in, and good-natured attempts are always appreciated by the people you meet.
Duolingo is a good place to start, as it is free, breaks learning down into short, simple lessons, and has a lot of languages available. While the vocabulary isn’t always tailored to what you will need on a trip (how often do you really need to tell people how many sisters you have?) it will teach you some key words and give you a feel for the language, which will make you more confident when you encounter it in the real world. Be sure you learn key phrases like “Hello,” “Goodbye,” “Please,” “Thank you,” and “Yes” and “no.” It is also useful to know how to count to ten, ask for the check, and somewhat understand the menu. Try to pick up the names of a few kinds of meat and vegetables that you’re likely to run into, and you should be able to understand the menu at least well enough to avoid disconcerting surprises when something unexpected shows up on your plate. It may also be worthwhile to look up some YouTube videos explaining how to pronounce place names to avoid confusion when asking for directions, buying train tickets, or directing a cab.
Inspire Yourself
Part of the thrill of travel is the excitement that builds up as you’re getting ready to go. Embrace it! There’s no reason to play it cool. Flip through travel guides, skim blogs, look at pictures, read histories of your destination and biographies of famous residents, watch movies set there (bonus points if they’re in the language spoken there!), watch travel shows and vlogs, look up reviews and best-of lists. Pick out some big, can’t miss activities (is there a castle? An important museum? A highly-recommended boat tour on the river?) as well as some promising spots near those destinations and where you’re staying, so that you have lots of options, both big and small. Some nights you might have reservations at a trendy restaurant, others you might just want to pop down to the pub round the corner or the cafe down the street for a more relaxed evening. And who knows, it might just be the little hole-in-the-wall place that produces the best people-watching and the most fun interactions of your whole trip!
Just remember to not over-plan to the point that you let your itinerary dictate your every move. Leave room for spontaneity. Sometimes abandoning your plans might be the best plan of all, when you pass an interesting-looking place as you’re walking down the street, or a local recommends a favorite breakfast spot or tips you off on the best vintage stores in the area.
The main thing to remember about getting ready for a trip is that it’s all supposed to be fun! While you should always try to be prepared, you also shouldn’t stress yourself out too much over little details. If you didn’t bring enough socks, you can buy some at your destination. If the restaurant where you planned to eat is closed, someone can recommend another. If you thought you were ordering grilled veggie pasta and get a cheesy potato pancake, maybe it’ll be even better than what you were expecting!
I hope these tips help you to enjoy your next trip, and the time leading up to it (which may be longer than we’d like just now!). Let me know if you have tried any of these tips, or if you have suggestions of your own that you’d like to share!
