Your flight is booked, your bags are packed, and you\u2019ve hired a sitter\u2026now what? You won\u2019t find the answers you need by ooh-ing and aah-ing over thousands of breathtaking travel photos on Pinterest. We turned to the seasoned pros to get the tips and tricks you\u2019ll need on the road.<\/p>\n
Kaamna Bhojwani-Dhawan, Momaboard<\/a> Eileen P. Gunn, FamiliesGo!<\/a> Carol Margolis, Smart Women Travelers <\/a> Lauren Juliff, Never Ending Footsteps<\/a> Greg Goodman, Adventures of a GoodMan<\/a><\/strong> Jeremy Jones, Living the Dream<\/a> Charli Moore, Wanderlusters <\/a> Can\u2019t get enough? Click HERE for Part One in our pro tips series.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Your flight is booked, your bags are packed, and you\u2019ve hired a sitter\u2026now what? You won\u2019t find the answers you need by ooh-ing and aah-ing over thousands of breathtaking travel photos on Pinterest. We turned to the seasoned pros to get the tips and tricks you\u2019ll need on the road. Kaamna Bhojwani-Dhawan, Momaboard @momaboard \u201cBefore […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98880474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98880474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98880474"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98880474\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98896733,"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98880474\/revisions\/98896733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98880474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98880474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98880474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n@momaboard<\/a><\/strong>
\n\u201cBefore you leave, plan activities that will take up no more than 50% of your time at your destination. Fill in the rest with recommendations from the locals – talk to your concierge, chat up the barista at a neighborhood cafe, or get suggestions from your online network. Getting to know a new place from the insider’s perspective and discovering new things yourself is always more fulfilling than following a Lonely Planet itinerary.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n@familiesgo<\/a><\/strong>
\n\u201cWhen you first begin traveling with kids, you have to adjust your expectations, be realistic and be flexible. Accept that vacations won’t be like they used to, but that doesn’t mean you’ll never relax again. Sure, it will be a few years before you can sit on the beach and read for an hour at a time (it will happen), but you can sit on the hotel room balcony and read while your child is napping. You can definitely enjoy eating one meal a day in a reasonably nice sit-down restaurant and expect your kids to behave for that. You’ll all relax more if you find something more casual for at least one meal. You also need to know your limitations. If you hate the beach or mountains or lakes or cities or cruises, don’t feel like you have to do those things now because you have kids. Any vacation can be kid-friendly if you slow your pace, set your kids’ and your own expectations accordingly and remember to always be flexible. And always book a hotel with a pool.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n@smartwomentrav<\/a><\/strong>
\n\u201cSet a goal for every trip: to meet a new person, try a new local food, and\/or experience the city you\u2019re in, even if you can only squeeze in a couple of hours. And don\u2019t forget to collect a memento from every trip, whether it be photos, a postcard, magnet or other small item to remember your travels.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n@NEFootsteps<\/a><\/strong>
\n\u201cExpect things to go wrong. Travel isn\u2019t always easy and plans don\u2019t fall together perfectly. Figure out contingency plans in case buses are delayed, guesthouses are horrible or the food makes you unwell. While it\u2019ll rarely happen, you\u2019ll find that you’ll panic less and know what to do if there\u2019s a problem. Plan for the worst so you don\u2019t get caught out if things do fall to pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n@greggoodman<\/a><\/strong>
\n\u201cAlways give every situation the benefit of the doubt and be open to all possibilities. Even if things seem a bit scary at first, everything usually works out if you just give it a chance. More often than not, that person offering you a ride or coffee or place to stay is doing it with the best of intentions. Of course, even the benefit of the doubt should not override common sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n@livingdreamrtw<\/a><\/strong>
\n\u201cOur best piece of advice is to force yourself to visit destinations that are off the mainstream tourist path. It is all too common when researching to find the top three to five destinations in a country and feel obligated to visit them just because everyone else does.\u00a0 You will enjoy a destination far more when you find a new spot that truly speaks to your interests more than having to go \u2018because it is popular.\u2019\u00a0\u00a0 We’ve had this happen to us many times while planning for our travels and always have to take a step back and question whether or not we’re going because we want to or because everyone else does.\u00a0 When you shift from the latter to the former, you’ll enjoy your trip that much more.
\nWant a few of our favorite lesser-visited spots?\u00a0 We recommend Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland; Mayrhofen, Austria; Chania, Greece; Munnar, India; Yangshuo, China; and the countries of Bulgaria, Jordan, Nepal, and Mauritius!\u201d<\/p>\n
\n@wanderlustersuk<\/a><\/strong>
\n\u201cIf there’s one travel tool that every traveller should utilize it\u2019s House Sitting. Choosing to opt out of hotel stays and instead live like a local, we find our assignments immerse us in local culture and community and offer a more intimate view of the destinations we visit. Our experience of travel has been enriched by the people we meet when house sitting and as an additional bonus we have lived rent free for almost 80% of our time abroad over the last three years.\u201d<\/p>\n