Advice for traveling abroad?

[neocia]

Hi, perhaps vague and a little OT but does anyone have useful tips or anecdotal advice about traveling abroad? I've never been outside the US, but I'm going to Belize from May 1-30th by myself. I'm flying into Belize City then taking a cab and a bus ride 3 hours north to Sarteneja to volunteer at a manatee rescue called WildTracks.

That said, I know a lot of people posted in the Summer Plans thread that they are also traveling to various countries so feel free to discuss tips or cool stuff about any countries you've visited 🙂 Thank you - I'm just an anxious person and hearing about other people's experiences will make me feel more prepared.

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[swiniazycie]

Quick travel tips from my phone:
-Get a bag to keep your passport close to your person, and hidden if you can(my mother is terrible about this. She lost her passport and credit cards twice before I took them and held everything.)
-split up your money between your bags/person and remember where you kept what. Again, when mother lost her cards I saved the day with my money stock.
-relax and be flexible 😉 I'll try to add more when I think more. All my trips I had someone slightly more veteran than I with me or nearby.

 

[Gwenevre]

Underpack. Pack the minimal amount of clothes and accessories you'll need, and buy anything else when you get there. Especially phone chargers; buy an adapter when you arrive. Keep your flight itinerary on you all the time, and don't be afraid to ask questions when you arrive at the airports. Have phone numbers for your volunteer contacts somewhere besides your phone in case you lose your phone.

 

[orca2011]

Make copies of all forms of identification and important documents.
Get any currency you need before you arrive there and avoid exchanging anything in the airports. Not sure if Belize is like Ecuador in that they use the USD.
Second the underpacking. If you're able to, I'd even just get one of those large hiking backpacks. When I traveled during my month long spring break in Europe, it was way easier to transport around than an actual suitcase. I used those space saving bags to further compress clothing (also kept them cleaner since I had shoes in the bag too).

 

[neocia]

Thanks for the good info so far! Is it worth buying an international cell phone of some kind? I'm not even sure it would get reception up in the rainforest where I'm going. Most of the staff there just use Wifi to send texts and emails.

 

[Gwenevre]

Thanks for the good info so far! Is it worth buying an international cell phone of some kind? I'm not even sure it would get reception up in the rainforest where I'm going. Most of the staff there just use Wifi to send texts and emails.

When I went abroad I got a texting/calling app on my Ipod Touch that worked over wifi, it was a great investment. I used Textfree by Pinger.

 

[DVMDream]

I should convince my grandparents to write a book on travelling.... They have been to every continent but Antarctica and have been to so many different places, I couldn't even begin to name them all. That is all they do is travel.

Some things my grandma has mentioned to me over the years:
-All currency get out prior to going, don't want to get stuck without a way to pay for things and might be hard to find a place to change currency once there.
-Try to avoid using US credit/debit cards in other countries, they can work, but you will get charged an arm and a leg for it.
-Don't expect US electronics and straighteners/curling irons/etc to work in other countries. Check labels and voltage information for the country you are going to and what you straightener can handle... then determine if you need to buy one over there or just need an outlet adapter.
-Be careful, be respectful and know the culture of where you are going beforehand. You can get into a lot of trouble in some areas by doing something that is completely harmless in our culture, but not good in their culture.
-Watch any purses, backpacks, etc you take with. People watch for travelers and things get stolen easily from travelers and the country doesn't have to be a "bad" place for this to happen. Pit pocketers are smart and fast, a rubber band around money/credit cards or a wallet as well as not putting anything in a back pocket can really help. Also, if you carry a purse, try to find one that has metal underlying the bottom, people often steal by cutting through the bottom of a purse and all contents fall out and the purse owner is not aware.
-If staying in any hotels by yourself a door stop alarm. Put behind a door if it is opened it sounds off an alarm. Has saved my grandparents from intruders on a few occasions now.

Overall, be safe, keep an eye out, research where you are going before hand, where you need to be, what is the safest way to get to where you need to go and have fun!

Some of the above might not apply specifically to where you are going, but just be aware that travelers are prime targets of theft because they are often distracted.

 

[orca2011]

Thanks for the good info so far! Is it worth buying an international cell phone of some kind? I'm not even sure it would get reception up in the rainforest where I'm going. Most of the staff there just use Wifi to send texts and emails.

I initially bought a phone when I went to the UK but ended up bringing my US phone back with me for the second semester and just put in the UK Sim card. When I was in the Galapagos, I just took my US phone and kept it on airplane mode and used What's App to message people since it work's over wifi. You may be able to buy a sim card down there and switch it out, but I think someone told me it was hard to down in Central/South America --think you can't use a US credit/debit card or something like that.

And definitely the whole brushing up on local culture thing that DVM mentioned. That can definitely be huge in certain countries.

 

[Jess Monster]

Give your family a good itinerary of where you will be and when (as much as you know, at least).
Keep an emergency list of numbers on you with international dialing codes in case you were to be incapacitated and health workers needed to contact your family.
Set up an international travel consultation with a doctor and make sure you have all of the necessary vaccinations and know about country specific health risks.
Make sure you have international health insurance and if you don't buy a temporary plan right away.

If you're bringing an expensive camera or other device, look into insuring it against theft and accidental damage.

Understand how they process visas, how much they cost, and when you receive them (before you travel or as you enter the country).

As for a phone, it's usually cheaper to buy one in country and then just buy minutes as you go.

 

[Puffins]

I really love traveling. I spent two months backpacking in Europe last summer. Here are a few of my recommendations:
-as orca mentioned, make copies of your passport, insurance information, emergency contact information, driver's license, etc and store them in different places
-get a cross-body style purse with zippered pockets. I kept all my important stuff (wallet, phone with cellular off) in one zippered pocket that I kept "locked" with a small karabiner. Keep your hand on your purse at all times when you're in public, especially in crowded places.
-pack light and pack in layers so you can easily adapt your clothing to the climate/culture
-bring a lightweight cotton scarf. It is so versatile. You can use it to make yourself more modest, to make yourself look dressier if you're going out at night, use it as a pillow cover, tie it up like it's a bag to keep clean things separate, etc
-SHOWER SHOES. Mine were my normal sandals (Tevas)
-get a small combination lock to lock up your luggage in hostel lockers
-I really recommend Patagonia synthetic underwear. It's so comfortable and very easy to handwash when you're out in the sticks
-I found that bringing a packable nylon bag was so helpful. I used it for groceries, wet clothes, picnics, and so on. It was my most useful item I brought. I got something called the Chico Original Reusable Bag on Amazon for $5
-Lastly, bring a journal and try to detail your adventures 🙂

I'm really excited for you! Have fun!

 

[neocia]

Y'all are the best. I'm writing all this stuff down 😛

 

[jmo1012]

if you are the kind of person who forgets where your "safe" places are, write down where you are hiding things 😉 otherwise, you might end up finding large sums of cash months later in a backpack that you had completely forgotten about (i am far too absent-minded for my own good!)

 

[DVMDream]

otherwise, you might end up finding large sums of cash months later in a backpack that you had completely forgotten about (i am far too absent-minded for my own good!)

But then it feels like you have won the lottery! Randomly, without doing anything! 🙂

(I used to forget about money in birthday cards and Christmas cards and then I would "find" the cards later on and BAM! money). Always a good find.

 

[KCgophervet]

One thing I haven't seen mentioned is to have the address, phone numbers, and directions from how to get from transit to sleeping place printed out beforehand. I relied on my printed out Google-maps instructions pretty heavily during my trip to Europe, and kicked myself for not double checking one of them (my directions were from the hostel and I didn't print out the entire list of directions and also didn't have the phone number for the hostel, very unnerving experience for me especially because I wasn't in a super touristy area and not a lot of English speakers around).

 

[orca2011]

But then it feels like you have won the lottery! Randomly, without doing anything! 🙂

(I used to forget about money in birthday cards and Christmas cards and then I would "find" the cards later on and BAM! money). Always a good find.

I did this the other day and opened a little container I used in college and high school for gift cards. Found $120. Best win.

 

[starsofv]

I looooove Belize! You will have sooo much fun. I sure did

 

[neocia]

I looooove Belize! You will have sooo much fun. I sure did

Yay, glad to hear. My parents are making me so nervous about it - I think they are just worried 'bout their lil baby lol

 

[orca2011]

Yay, glad to hear. My parents are making me so nervous about it - I think they are just worried 'bout their lil baby lol

If it makes you feel better, mine had a family sit down and had us all watch Taken together before I went abroad in college.

 

[jmo1012]

But then it feels like you have won the lottery! Randomly, without doing anything! 🙂

(I used to forget about money in birthday cards and Christmas cards and then I would "find" the cards later on and BAM! money). Always a good find.

i stashed well over $100 in a "safe place" in mexico and found it many months later at iveccs. my friends and parents were all like how could you not remember losing that much money?!?!

 

[Skimble]

Belize was one of my most favorite places! You'll love it. Go SCUBA diving if you can.

 

[animalrie]

I'm studying in Australia right now and just got here after 2 weeks of backpacking throughout New Zealand. The 3 things I could not have lived without were:
-quick dry towel (if you're traveling a lot or staying in a hostel you don't want to have to be carrying around a bulky, always wet towel)
-ear plugs (sooooo much sleep would've been lost if I didn't have these)
-backup phone battery (I got one that will charge my phone about 8 times after it's charged once. You'll be grateful to have this when everyone else is searching for a place to plug in their phone)

Have an incredible time!!