5 Travel Hacks that will always come to your rescue.

In the world of TripAdvisor & HolidayIQ, travelling has become fun & interesting. Whether you want to take a break from the 10*10 monotony or want to visit your favorite place, travel soothes you all the same.

Planning the travel is even more fun – stay, food, itinerary or commute. Every little thing related to travel inches me more towards the place – like there is still hope left – like there is still so much to do.

In all these years of last minute trips & meticulously planned vacations, I have learnt that spontaneity is as much important as planning is. And information is the mother of good travel stories. Really, it is. Following are a few travel tips, from my experience, that would make your vacations worth every penny.

1. Check out the open timings of the tourist destinations:

It has happened to us more than once. In one of our road trips, we drove all the way from Hampi to Badami. We were taking a pit stop in Badami that day before leaving for Jog falls. We figured that half a day would suffice for Badami caves sightseeing & thus were ultra relaxed when we checked in our hotel. After a long siesta, we took our time to get ready and started at 4:00 pm from our hotel to visit the caves. Imagine our shock, when we came to realise that the caves stay open only till 4:30 pm. Yeah, some run it was.

2. Start early, be a morning bird:

We used to sleep till late on our vacations, have late brunch, take time in getting ready & start for sightseeing only after past noon. This kind of lazy style though helped us revel in laziness but somehow never left us enough time to absorb the place. For the last few trips, we have started to wake up/ travel early & our trips have become elaborate. We now catch a few Sunrises, check out a few more places and come back as happy travelers.

3. Ditch the checklist:

Planning is good. Researching a place even before you get there is good too, Planning your itinerary is even better. However, if you want to absorb the place, ditch that checklist. I used to be the traveler who had to cover all 15 places in the same day. And I used to do that too. But that never left me satisfied. I continued to long for more till I realised – as long as I have been to major attractions & eaten the local food; I am good.

Remember that dialogue from the movie, “Ye Jawaani Hai Deewani”?

4. Travel Light

Most of us want to carry our households with us when we travel. I once went to Jaipur with two of my colleagues for a two day trip. And not even in my wildest dreams, I would have imagined that they, together, will carry 10 shades of nail paints; a hair dryer, straightner & curler along with tons of clothes, shoes and accessories. Nothing against this, some people love to pack. It’s just that you enjoy a little more when you travel light. And you enjoy a hell lot more when you travel light on a road trip.

Carry a comfortable, cotton travelling pants with you. Carry a couple of travelling, loose t-shirts & you are good for a weekend trip. To experience what a blessing that can be, you need to try this. Nothing like them! I have a friend who travelled parts of Western UP on her Royal Enfield for 5 days in the same pants. That ought to be an experience.

5. Be local, eat local

No, I am not going to quote that Roman proverb. But I would definitely endorse, “Be local, eat local”. If you got to eat paani puri , why come to Goa? And if you want to eat butter chicken masala, definitely Alleppey is not the place. Check out the local food & eat from the places that are crowded. They serve fresh and good food.