Hey Pandas, What Are Some Vacation Hacks You Know? (Closed)

If you go on vacation by plane with a partner: Each of you gather all the stuff you need. Then pack your suitcases with half of your stuff and half of the stuff of your Partner who is doing the same with his / her suitcase. If one of your suitcases get lost when you arrive at the destination, both of you have some clothes and important Things.

Go where the locals like to be, not where all the tourists gather. It's much less crowded there

1. Don't unpack your suitcase. Leave it on the bench / couch / sofa, open, with the stuff packed as it was. 2. Keep two spare plastic shopping bags: one for dirty shoes and one for dirty laundry to keep it separated from the clean laundry. 3. Travel light. Overpack on socks and underwear and underpack on shoes. Choose a set of shoes to match your destination. Generally, sneakers (converse style) are best for me. They can be dressed up or down, and used to run or walk in the wilds just as well as in a museum.

Learn the map of the city/region well in advance. You won't get lost or fooled as easily because you look like you know where you're going. Otherwise, you have more time to enjoy the atmosphere when you don't have to stare at the map application.

Pack a few bandaids, needle and thread, safety pin, dental floss, eye drops, eyeglasses cloth and nail file. It's the stuff you never think of until you need it.

At the very least, learn how to ask if someone speaks your language in English. Other common phrases are good to know as well, but that's the best one. Also, don't go to France without preparing for the French. They're mean as hell if you don't try to blend in (in my experience).

If you’re going to a country with a different wall socket for electricity, BRING AN EXTENSION CORD. I can’t stress this enough, adaptors are expensive, and it’s worth buying one and then using an extension cord to get 5+ spots to charge things.

4. Find out what apps they use in the country and preinstall them. For example, in South Africa, you need Waze (navigation), AirBNB (it doesn't suck here), Zomato (restaurants), Admyt (to get into malls without ticketing), Eskom se Push (to know when the electricity is going to fail), Google Translate (for local languages), Uber (works fine here, quite affordable), Zapper and Snapscan (to pay digitally). Apple Pay/Wallet also works here.

Don't do tourist stuff every day. If you have enough time, just hang out. In a new place, I alternate tourist days with hanging out days. If I have even more time, I hang out even more. This is the best way to get to know a city.

If you are driving, always pee when you get gas - or recharge.

Make sandwiches and snacks so you don't have to stop at a restaurant.

If the weather is hot, don't bring or buy any chocolate snacks - unless you have a cool place to keep them, or will eat them immediately.

If you've booked and paid for a flight (may also work for buses, trains, cruises, hotels, etc. but I've only tried with a flight) and have to cancel/change plans last minute but can't get a refund because it's within 48 hours of departure (or whatever the cutoff is), try changing reservations to a future date instead of cancelling (it may be free or there may be a small fee). And then cancel it the next day now that you're well within the notice/refund period.

If I need/want to visit a major city (like Paris or London), I like to book a four-day coach holiday (where the excursions are not included). They tend to be really quite affordable, and your trip and accommodation are taken care of. The cost of your holiday can rise significantly when you book excursions with them, but you are in no way obligated to do so. The tour guides don't like you skipping all the excursions as they can make good money off those, but feel free to cheerfully say no to every single one.

Have a small bag ready with all the stuff you need on vacation. Then leave it alone. This can include razors, lots of other personal hyenine items, (wait looking through my bag). Snack bars (side compartment), pen, paper, playing cards, mini cribbage board. If you need something small on a vacation but don't have it, get it when you come home and throw it in the bag. Also put emergency supplies in your car if you are driving.

Get yourself some shorts/pants that close at the top with a drawstring. Get loafers or other slip on shoes. As you make your way through the security line, begin putting EVERYTHING you carry in your pockets in your bag pockets. Breeze through the scanners/metal detectors, enjoy your trip!

If you stay at a hotel, always lock the door and put something to block it (a chair or the suitcase) - so if anyone tries to open it, you'd be woken up by the noise.

It may seem paranoic, but hotel keys or cards have a limited number of combinations and mistakes can happen anytime. A colleague of mine got a hotel room, opened the door and, as she wanted to lay in bed, she literally freaked out to find a man sleeping there already. They had given her a room that was already occupied.

If you enjoy camping, You can make your own super effective fire starters by stuffing dryer lint in the cup of a cardboard egg carton and drizzling melted wax over the top. If you need a bear can, you'll lose the key. Every one does. Wear a washer around your neck. Switch from your hiking boots into camp sandals as soon as possible, especially if you have a multi day hike. Let those dogs air out.

Learn basic words in the language if you're going abroad like help, do you know how to get to....?, where's the hospital, etc. Also learn emergency numbers just in case and depending on the place you are sometimes it's best to not show you're a tourist. Like obviously you might stand out but don't like wearing a bunch of gold cuz ur gonna get ransacked and worse...trust me plz.

Ask the cab driver if they can give you a rough estimate of how much it will cost to get to where you're going, before you get in. You'll avoid being taken for a ride and overpaying. That scam is common in some places.

Don't get on the plane right away. Some people rush to get on the plane the moment their section is called. Stay at the gate as long as possible (especially if you're not worried about where your carry-on is stowed), you can stretch out your legs in a more comfortable seat for a little longer.

This one is tough to get right.
When you are out walking around and being a tourist, pay attention when you stop to look at something and try not to stand in other peoples way, in the bike lane, don't ever stop at the bottom or top of an escalator.
You will want to look around, that is perfectly fine. Just please try to pay a little attention to where you stop so you are not in everyone else's way while looking around (or the French people will mad at you, somewhat justifiably I say).