Planning a trip: What to know before you go!

Want to know what you should know before planning a trip? Read on!

Flights: check

Accommodation: check

Now we get to have some fun! What do we want to do while we’re there and what type of experiences do we want to have?

Accommodation

When we book a hotel, we check to see what type of amenities the establishment has and sometimes that guides our booking. However, when we rent (which is our preference in a few countries) we look into a few more things: where is the closest grocery store? where are the local restaurants and cafes? Is there a drugstore or pharmacy close by? This is pretty simple and straight forward – a search on google or another search engine online can reveal these details for most cities / towns.

Pharmacies

When we vacation in Europe and South America, we have found it invaluable to know where they are. Whether its to get the equivalent medication you have run out of, or to get an antihistamine because a bee got friendly with you at the restaurant last night! This happened in Athens, and the welt on my leg meant I didn’t have to describe, in greek, what I needed to the pharmacist. Through sign language and multiple ‘S’ efharistó!‘ we managed. Knowing where one is saves you some time and effort.

Language

Speaking of which….always know some, at least enough to be polite. I’m not that talented with languages. However, I try to always make the effort to memorize ‘please’, ‘thank you’, ‘how much’, ‘washroom please’, and other simple phrases in the local language along with ordering food, and understanding the words for food if we will be grocery shopping. This would have came in handy in Portugal when I was sure that what we were looking at was chicken. Turns out, it was not – it was a very tough turkey breast, and I would have known had I checked. So, even a language app on your phone is better than no prep at all!

These are easy things to prep for in advance, and ensure your trip is an enjoyable one. Check out our ‘Knowing where you’re going’ post to be prepared for your specific location!