Things You Should And Shouldn't Do When Traveling

For anyone that travels on a regular basis, we have all witnessed or violated one of these Dos and Don’ts of Travel. This is the bare minimum to live by but if you have other Do’s and Don’ts of Travel feel free to comment.

DO

Plan Ahead – I like to be spontaneous, but when it comes to planning for a vacation you will likely pay more, deal with sold-out activities that will cause disappointment, and generally be more stressed if you leave your vacation planning to chance. Focus on things that require reservations for things that may sell out. I also like to pre-research a “bucket” of things that I may or may not do. This allows me to get a sense of the area and I often find “unusual” things at my destination that I would not have otherwise stumbled upon. Please don’t be one of those people that show up at Disney World having not pre-purchased discount tickets, making dining reservations, and more recently made your reservation for park entrance.
Find Something New – This is especially important if it’s a destination that you have been to, but is equally applicable for new locations. Say you’re going on a beach vacation, certainly, you will be going to the beach, going to your favorite restaurant, but maybe you have never taken surfing lessons. DO IT. Some of the most memorable parts of our vacations are the new things we experience.
“Combo Trip” – I call it the combo trip. I love planning trips that are not about just one thing. As with most families likes and dislikes vary broadly. Look for opportunities to make your trip a combo trip. If I get time, I’ll write this trip up in detail. But as an example, one year we planned a trip that started in Colorado going skiing, made our way to Monument Valley in Southern Utah, and wrapped up in Las Vegas before flying home. To this day our family talks of the adventure we had on that trip.
Vacation – I’ll be the first to admit I haven’t mastered this one yet. I tend to want to see and do everything and while the family has a blast, oftentimes we come home more exhausted than when we left. I didn’t always do this but have started to do it more and more. Find time during the vacation, either planned or spontaneous to have some downtime. Maybe it’s just having an early morning stroll down the beach on a beach vacation, wandering through the streets in Europe, and finding a public park to sit on a bench (we did this and our twin 2-year-olds at the time played with the local kids for 30min), or finding a bench in a hidden ally in Disney. Whatever it is, find time to stop for a moment and relax.
Engage with your Destination – If there is one thing I implore everyone to do, it’s get engaged in the destination you are visiting. Please DON’T be the people on the tour bus going around New York, DON’T be the person that visits every port of a cruise and goes on an excursion after excursion, DON’T only plan tourist destination after destination. Whatever it is that may be holding you back, get over it. It’s okay to walk down the streets of New York, it’s okay to spend that extra time and complexity of planning your own activities and transportation. Don’t be held back by fear or whatever it is. My motto is, “if you don’t get lost once or feel uncomfortable once while on vacationing, you’re not vacationing.”
Chill – If it hasn’t dawned on you yet, you can’t control everything that happens in life, let alone on vacation. When things don’t go as planned, when something happens you don’t like, take a chill. Crap is going to happen. You’re going to miss a reservation, you’re going to go somewhere you were dying to go and it will be closed, it’s going to happen. Just chalk it up as part of the exercise and move on. Too often I see people let it ruin their day.

While the “Do” part of Do’s and Don’ts of Travel is important, it’s the Don’t list that will likely ruin your vacation (or someone else’s).

DON’T

Over Plan – Leave time for spontaneous events. As noted in the DO’s section, plan, plan, and plan some more. That said “plan” time to be spontaneous. I will always plan as far in advance as possible the major items that require reservations or other things that require significant coordination, keeping in mind cancelation policies in case I change my mind on something. However, don’t plan every minute of my day. I like to plan with general areas in mind – this allows me to book restaurant reservations and the major activity for the day. Leave the rest of the day for places you might stumble upon (or pull from your “bucket” of things to do as noted in the ”DO” Section.) Some of the most memorable parts of our vacations are the new things we experienced. Didn’t I already say this?
Overpack – I have to laugh every time I read this one. I still to this day find myself doing just this. I find myself violating this rule when our family goes on cruises mostly. We have gotten better with clothing, but when it comes to SCUBA, snorkel, and beach gear we tend to overpack. Being a Florida resident, I am one of those people that likes to set up camp on the beach and do my beaching in “glamping” style. Don’t fall into the same trap. First and foremost, consider your mode of transportation. If by plane or ship, pack light; if by car, maybe you have a little more room; for international travel, this should be when you pack the least.
Force It, or if you do, don’t be offended – Certainly, every parent has experienced this, but it’s equally applicable to singles traveling with friends or couples traveling. Whether it be sightseeing or a day at Disney, keep in mind people’s interests (whether you’re the one loving it or hating it). Far too often I see vacations go bad when, for example, a parent is trying to get their kid to like something they don’t. A personal example, we took our kids to Disney World when they were younger and, can I just say, our kids freaked out during character meet and greets and character dining. You would think our kids were being tortured and we had just gone into a haunted house. Or the times we waited on nap time far too long. Needless to say, plan your days accordingly with others in mind as best you can. Not everyone is interested in the 5000th statue you’ve seen that day. If you love that sort of thing, consider if those with you were done at number 1000, or if you hate that sort of thing, at least take pleasure in what you can, but don’t ruin it for the others. Either way, don’t let this ruin your vacation. It’s not the end of the world if your group wants to split up or you have to spend part of your day in less-than-ideal activities.
Be a dirt bag (You’re not special) – This has always been on the list, but I think with people having been in isolation during the pandemic, this is now on steroids. For all those people that think it’s okay to “meet up” with your group halfway through a line, to be loud during eating, let your kids run around free with no concept of play vs not play times, smoking/vaping around others, and generally think the world revolves around them. YOU’RE WRONG. You can post in the comments all you like, giving situations when you think it’s okay, but YOU’RE WRONG. You are ruining people’s vacations, you’re making people angry on the inside (even if they don’t show it on the outside), and you’re generally inconsiderate at the very least. You may think I am overly sensitive and maybe you’re right, but I also hear all the comments you miss when you have left the area. If you’re not ready to be in a world outside of your social structure that has come to accept this as normal, please don’t travel, and certainly don’t travel internationally. This by far is the most important in the list of Dos and Don’ts of Travel.

If you have any other Do’s and Don’ts of Travel you would like to share or have a story of when someone didn’t follow them, please post in the comments.

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