Turn your vacation into something you’ll cherish and remember long after you unpack with these simple tips to make your time away more memorable!
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1. Pick Great Souvenirs
One of my biggest pet peeves is thoughtless souvenirs. You head out to have an adventure in another state or country and the only thing you have to remember it by is a shot glass or snow globe that was made in China? Ain’t nobody got time for that! When you’re traveling, head to local haunts and find things that you will use in your regular life that will have a story to tell when people ask about it. Recently I was in Cabo San Lucas with my husband and found a beautiful scarf in a local designer’s store. The scarf was roughly $30 and when I got it home, I had it framed. Now it’s a beautiful piece of art that everyone gushes about when they come over. And c’mon, doesn’t it just sound so exotic and romantic to tell friends how and where you found it?
2. Plan Plan Plan
The worst mistake you can make as a traveler is to assume that things will just work themselves out when you land. You want to have a great trip right? Right. Well the first step is doing just a tiny bit of research. Great sites like Trip Advisor and City Guides give a ton of tips from people who have been there and even have apps with GPS technology on them to tell you what’s near you from food, to bars to shopping and everything in between.
3. Take A Tour
I love signing up for tours when I go out of the country. You get first-hand information from people who live there; and not only do they tell you the basic information, they have those extra little tidbits that will make your sound like a native when you re-tell the places you visit to your friends and family. You can do some research on tour companies online or ask your hotel information desk for a list of the best ones and their rates. It’s well worth the investment!
4. Take Great Pictures
I know we have all come to rely solely on our smartphone cameras to capture all life’s moments, but do yourself a favor and pack a real camera too! I always travel with my Sony Nex-7 digital camera and sometimes even my old school Holga one. Yes, uploading straight to Instagram or Twitter is much easier when you’re using your phone, but when it comes to recording these travel moments in high quality, a good stand-alone camera always trumps your iPhone (plus keep in mind you can always sync your photos to your phone and upload to social media from there).
5. Write It Down
As much as you may think you have the world’s best memory and will remember all the magical details of your journey, you don’t. Grab a pen and a pad and write it down. Or, take notes on your phone like I do. Usually, you will only go to that vacation destination once in your life time, (especially if it’s a big expensive trip) so take the time to jot down your thoughts and ideas as you go. Names of places, the great things you saw; the more details the better!
Happy traveling!
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