Kayla’s Guide to Traveling - Everything She Thinks You Should Know

Often what dictates our travel ability is money. You can read all about how we save money to travel in our blog from last week. But for these next two weeks, Dakota and I will be writing about our own guide to traveling, from each of our perspectives. I’ll be speaking on my advice this week, and Dakota will be taking over next week. Let’s dive in!

Saving money aside, there are a few things I do when it comes to preparing to travel, starting with research. A lot of people think this is extremely boring, but I can spend hours finding out all I can about the place I’ll be going (I have an information pamphlet sitting in my mailbox as we speak about an upcoming destination). I feel as though it is very important to understand the importance of the place you’ll be visiting. And this can really come to a few different extremes. If you’re going to a National Park, I think it’s important to understand why it is a National Park, not just where the best Instagram-able picture destinations are. If you’re going to let’s say Dry Tortugas National Park, or anywhere along the Florida Keys, you’ll find out that it’s important to use coral reef safe sunscreen so as to not damage the wonderful coral reefs that are being protected in that area. I think you see where I’m going here. There’s a lot to learn about where we’re going. Since we primarily travel to outdoor destinations, we like to take into account the history. But, if you’re going to a city (e.g., NYC) it may be more important to research where not to go, how to be safe, where to get the best New York style pizza, etc. It’s really all relative to your destination but becoming educated on where you are going is important no matter where it is.

Watching the sunset on Stony Man Trail, Shenandoah National Park

When I research the area, I also look for the best places to eat, the best places to see or go, etc. I do this primarily on Pinterest. I love reading other travel blogs. There are a lot out there that each have their own unique perspective. Oftentimes you’ll see the same place or activity on various blogs, and I think that goes to show that it’s a place worth visiting!

Stony Man Trail Sunset

Now that we have that covered, the next few tips come closer to when it’s time to travel. Depending on if you are traveling via plane or not, your luggage limits may have to come into serious consideration. Not only do I research the destination itself, but the various policies. For example, our most recent plane experience was a bit stressful. We were taking our tent with us and had to be sure we were underneath the luggage weight limit per the airline. Luckily, we just made it. However, on the way back home, at check-in the clerk told me that we were over, and it was going to cost us $100. What! Because I researched prior to our departure, I knew that for x amount of pounds over, it would cost x amount of dollars (I can’t remember the exact amount now). We did not exceed that limit, not even close. So, we were able to avoid being overcharged since we knew about the policies.

Anyways, be mindful about your luggage. Look at what TSA considers OK for carry on versus checked baggage. Look at your airline's restrictions and see if they offer a personal item and a carry on, or if they charge for one or the other.

Navajo Loop Trail, Bryce Canyon National Park

Packing can also be very stressful. For me, I have found it to be extremely helpful to write down on paper everything I need and cross it off once it is in the bag. On the way home, I can cross reference the list to make sure what I brought with me, is also coming home with me. If you are taking a road trip, some of this may not apply, or it may be easier. When we take a road trip, we aren’t this organized cause we’re just throwing things in my car.

Memories are important to me as well. We take the time off work to travel, and use our hard-earned money to travel, you can guarantee that I want to remember where we went! Dakota and I both have digital cameras we bring, he sometimes brings his GoPro, and I have a National Park Passport, a hiking journal where I keep a log of our hikes, and we have a few other things we bring. We keep all our ticket stubs and other souvenirs, and as soon as I get home, I make a scrapbook of where we just went. For me, it's almost as fun as taking the vacation itself. It is a great way to document your travels and look at them for years to come.

In all, traveling doesn’t have to be as stressful as it may seem. There are things that you can do to make it a more seamless experience. If you have any other tips let us know in the comments! Stay tuned for Dakota’s tips next week…

Alien Themed Store on our way to Las Vegas from Death Valley

-Kayla