With a new year on the horizon, we're bringing you our top tips for adventuring well this season. We’re all about intentionally working travel into our lifestyle; it has a way of expanding our worldview and creating lasting friendships. Sometimes travel can seem inaccessible, but it can be as simple as hopping in the car for a day-trip to a neighboring city! Whether you’re jetsetting away on a dream international trip or planning a local weekend getaway, here are our top travel tips for the new year.
1. Download a fresh album or podcast on Spotify or iTunes and wait to listen until your trip.
The album will keep you entertained and become infused with travel memories. Bonus points for listening right at take-off; nothing will beat the feeling of rising through the cloud layer with your favorite new album playing in the background.
Being lost in a new city with absolutely no cellular data or ability to speak the local language may make for an interesting story, but this stressful situation can be avoided by downloading area-specific Google Maps to use offline. Then, when you’re out of cell and wifi-range, you can still find directions to the hip new dinner spot.
3. Pack Smart.
We are all about Marie Kondo'ing our Taytu Weekender & Montecito Weekender. Make sure to pack several small healthy snacks to eat well when flying, and bring your own pillow and sound canceling headphones.
4. Stay hydrated.
Bring your own empty reusable water bottle to fill up in the airport. Buying a water in the terminal is overpriced and a waste of plastic!
You’ll most likely save money, especially if your Airbnb has a kitchen to prepare your own meals instead of dining out three meals a day. The biggest perk? Meeting your hosts, the easiest way to make a local connection. Airbnb recently launched their new “Experience” option, with cool packages like “Surf with a Local!” Airbnb Plus is another new feature, guaranteeing a luxurious stay in verified homes. We’re eyeing this spacious London loft, and this mid-century modern San Francisco apartment.
Yes - the last thing you want to do after a long travel day is empty your luggage. However, think of the five minutes of hassle compared to unlimited minutes of satisfaction every time you open your closet! Daily routines go out the window during travel but unpacking can ensure a little bit of normality.
While Yelp is the go-to for food and sightseeing recommendations in the United States, we’ve found that Trip Advisor and more niche guides like Townske offer both a wider range of options and more local finds. They’re guaranteed to navigate you to the off-the-beaten-path Parisian wine bar and the tucked away coffee shop.