5 Typical Travel Tips I Was Told & Should've Ignored

Having made my way through Europe, North America and most of Asia, all the while hearing a steady stream of similar advice, here are five tips I received and blindly followed, which if I had my time again, I would probably ignore. 

1. “Just book airbnbs”

When I was travelling across Europe with my bestie, I looked forward to Airbnbing; living like locals instead of your average tourist. Unfortunately this meant I was more caught up in cooking tuna pasta than I was exploring the Old Town of Dubrovnik. While it is so great to have your own private apartment with a kitchen and a bathtub, the basic concept of travel is about exploring the culture and scenery.

My advice? Mix up your accomodation with hostels (so you get the chance to mingle with some likeminded individuals), hotels (for a taste of luxury) and something really random like a capsule hotel (bc why not).

2. “Don't worry, everyone speaks English”

Yeah okay, most people in Europe speak a little bit of English, and yes theoretically you can probably get away without knowing anything when you're in major cities. But be warned, there are definitely a lot of  places in the world where that mentality will see you suffer. Take Berlin for example. The nightlife in this German city may be the greatest in the world, but only if you get in, and Berlin security are notorious for turning away foreigners.

Don’t even get me started on the time no one understood me as I pleaded to find a bathroom in Shanghai.

So I suggest you learn just a couple of basic phrases. There is nothing more gratifying than the first bite of a croissant you ordered, paid and thanked a baker for in French.

3. “You have to go clubbing”

You don’t have to go clubbing. Like you just really don’t. You’re in f*cking Europe and newsflash, it’s essentially the same thing as clubbing in Sydney. The worst part about clubbing (aside from the entry fee which you’re almost guaranteed to pay when you’re in Europe) is the fact that you need to write the next day off to recover.

Pick your blow out night and spend the rest exploring, your head will thank you. 

4. “Just do the top things on Tripadvisor”

TripAdvisor is a really helpful guide, but it shouldn’t be your travel bible. It gets so easy to trust their suggestions as your only source of travel info, especially when you jump from country to country in the shortest amount of time.

One of my biggest mistakes was constantly scrolling through their top suggestions instead of thinking about my own interests. If you do this too much you’ll end up at a post-modern art exhibition instead of at the site where the Spice Girls filmed their iconic music video for 'Wannabe'. And believe me, hindsight will not be your friend. Sigh.

5. “Make sure you get a sim as soon you get there”

Okay this one is kind of debatable. On one hand you have access to the Internet, which is great for getting around with apps like Uber, public transport timetables and Google Maps. On the other hand this is horrible for multi-tasking distractions like Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.

I can’t tell you how many times I got angry at myself because I caught myself scrolling through Instagram when I trained it across Japan. I missed so many beautiful bits of scenery all because I was supporting an acquaintance's decision to purchase smashed avo.

My advice here would be to get a sim, but with limited data. That way you’re not tempted to be on it all day, but you’re still sorted if you need to Uber it somewhere.

And, like, you can 'gram when you’re back at the hostel, calm down.

- Haydn Hickson

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