As a person in 2019, travelling far and often has become the norm rather than the exception. Thanks in large part to the proliferation of the budget airline and holiday industries, the plummeting costs of flights and an ever-more mobile working generation, people are travelling more than ever. But whether that’s to Moscow or New York, that doesn’t mean make travelling a fun experience. Destinations aside, the physical act of travelling can be arduous and tiring. And with that in mind, we’ve put together a list of things to keep in mind while travelling to ensure that your journey is as hassle-free as possible.
Brush up on your passenger rights
As a passenger travelling on an airline you actually have quite a few rights that are enshrined by law. It’s something that not everyone knows about, and so when they’re invariably subject to a delay or flight cancellation, they don’t even know that they’re entitled to legal resource. It’s therefore helpful to know that should your flight be severely delayed or cancelled, you’re entitled to monetary compensation to the tune of up to €600. The exact amount depends on a number of different circumstances, but you can use this flight delay compensation calculator from AirHelp to work out exactly how much is owed.
Always get travel insurance
It’s impossible to predict when trouble will occur. What is possible to predict is that while travelling your undoubtedly have a higher likelihood of encountering mishaps. It’s for that reason that it’s always advised to take out some sort of travel insurance before you travel. This ensures that you’ll be protected in the event that your luggage is stolen, your passport gets lost or if you absolutely need to see a doctor while abroad. It means you won’t have to pay exorbitant out of pocket expenses but rather will be covered fully by your insurance policy should something go wrong.
Don’t forget your vaccinations
And speaking of getting sick – don’t forget to get your vaccinations. This is doubly important if you’re heading to a tropical destination where diseases not native to your home country are prevalent. If you have health insurance they’ll likely cover the cost of all your jabs. The reason for this is that it’s much cheaper for them to vaccinate you now than pay for all of your medical bills should you contract a rare disease. Trust us on this one; it’s way better to endure the pain of a few needles now than suffer horribly in dubious hospital bed in some unknown part of the world.
Learn a little bit of the local language
If you’re travelling somewhere that doesn’t speak English as their home language, learning to speak a few words of key phrases of the local language will definitely help you out. Not only will this enable you to communicate your basic needs to locals, but it’ll also go a long way to showing respect and solidarity towards the country that is currently hosting you. Guaranteed it will also help you to make friends and meet people way easier than if you chose not to learn anything. You don’t have to enroll in a language school to do this either. Simply watch a few YouTube videos or download Duolingo and clock in a few hours of free lessons and you should be good to go.
Enjoy the local cuisine
It can be comforting to spot a Burger King or Pizza Hut in the capital city of wherever you’re travelling, but any seasoned traveller will tell you to forgo the local fast food and try something local instead. Sure, it might be scary at first. After all, different people eat different things all over the world, some of which don’t even look vaguely familiar. But it’s really important that you move out of your comfort zone and eat as the locals do. Not only will you likely discover some incredible foods that you never even knew existed, but food and local cuisine is one of the best ways of actually experiencing a culture. Many cultures base so much of what they know and how they live around the food they eat, so taking time to learn about and indulge in local dishes is one of the fastest ways of discovering what a culture is really about. There’s an old adage that says the fastest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Well, the fastest way to learn a culture’s origins is through their cuisine. So the next time you’re looking at a deep fried scorpion or strangely shaped vegetable, approach it with an open mind and you might just learn a thing or two.
