I hope they bring joy to your next trip as well.

1. Buy a top ten guide for the city or country

These handy guides give you an overview of what there is to do and how to get around. They are super small you can pack them and they make great reading for the plane.

I like to mark things by day with post-its.

You can get them in digital or hardcopy. I might go digital for my next guide to see if there’s links to places. It would also be easy to pull things up on your phone.

My current dream book: Top 10 Barcelona

2. Get tickets in advance for special shows or exhibits

Who wants to spend the whole morning in line? No one! Scour your Top Ten guide for exhibits that you can purchase tickets in advance to save time.

A few places that we’ve purchased tickets in advance: Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, Guinness Factory tour in Dublin, Ireland, seeing the David statue by Michelangelo in Florence, Italy.

Having these special plans gives you an anchor for the day and you can plan around this.

3. Plan dinner and brunch reservations in advance

You know you’re going to want to eat dinner every night so plan ahead with a reservation. Dinner can be your splurge meal.

This saves time waiting for a table and starts your evening off in a relaxing, fun manner. It’s great to look forward to the restaurant too.

Brunch is also a busy time in restaurants so reservations are a good idea.

I love the Open Table app.

4. Save money by shopping at small grocery stores for lunch

Since you’re going all out for dinner, save money by checking out local markets and groceries for lunch. Pack a picnic with local cheeses, fruits, and a loaf of fresh bread. Yum!

5. Ask people at the hotel what their favorite, local things are

While staying at the Hotel Noi in Santiago, Chile, I asked the front desk person what their favorite thing at the hotel was that most people missed. She recommended waking up early and heading up to the rooftop bar to see the sunrise.

This was the view from my room. Wow, right?

It was AMAZING! My photos don’t do it justice at all.

You can also crowdsource your social media channels by asking for recommendations for upcoming trips.

6. Set a budget for your trip

Based on your planned activities and meal budgets. Then figure out how many weeks until your trip and save each week for your trip.

Pre-paying for your trip, instead of charging dinners and excursions, makes everything more enjoyable.

Try this app for travel budgeting: Trail Wallet.

7. Create a Pinterest board for your trip

There’s tons of great travel pins on Pinterest with recommendations for places to visit and to add to your travel bucket list. I made this board before I traveled to Italy and added things that I wanted to remember once I returned. My best friend is going to Italy and I added her to the board so she could pin places she wants to visit.

I find amazing places that I hope to visit one day and save them on my Wanderlust for Travel Bugs board.

8. Create a hashtag group for Instagram

Hashtags help your Instagram posts get more likes and engagement so plan ahead for success by creating groups of hashtags by city and country that you’re visiting and saving them on your phone or on a Trello board.

Here’s a few I’ve used:

#travel #wanderlust #bucketlist #dreamer

#photosinbetween #theprettycities #thatsdarling#thatauthenticfeeling #vsco #abmlifeiscolorful #myunicornlife #travelblogger #parisjetaine #passionpassport #mytinyatlas #visitfrance #visitparis #topparisphoto#perspective#parismonamour#justgoshoot#parisphoto#seemyparis #goexplore #igersparis #parisisalwaysagoodidea #ThisisParis #eiffeltower #paris
#toureiffel

#topnewyorkphoto #newyork_instagram #nycprimeshot #newyorknewyork #newyorkcity #newyorkfashionweek #newyorkstateofmind #newyorkskyline #nyceats #nycgraffiti #nycgraffiti #nycexplorers #nycblogger #ig_great_shots_nyc t #eatupnewyork #newforkcity #iloveny #ilovenyc #ilovenewyork

Make sure that you’re photos match the theme of the hashtags that you use as a best practice.

More reading: The Philosophy of a Hashtag Strategy

9. Check hashtags for geo-tagged spots

I found this awesome pub, Whelan’s, on a search on Instagram for #Dublin. It was also hashtagged #PSIloveYou because the movie was filmed here.

Reverse engineer hashtags on Instagram with the geolocation tags to find unique places and amazing photo opportunities.

If you’re wondering, it’s the scene where Gerry sings to Holly after meeting him.

We had a great evening at Whelan’s with a few pints of Guinness and live Irish music.

10. Pack one color palette for the trip

Creating mix and match possibilities in your suitcase makes things easy on the road. Just pack extra accessories and scarves to coordinate and compliment your staples. Take it from a reforming overpacker, you’ll be happy that you brought less, not more with you.

Also, leave room in your bag to pack goodies that you bought on your travels.

I hope these travel tips have given you some ideas and inspiration for your next adventure. Have fun planning in advance to make the most of your time abroad.

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