Hi guys!

I wanted to talk about some things that I learned before and while traveling. I learned most of these thing from my parents who have traveled and also my sisters who travel A LOT! I feel like this blog post will be one of those that is always being added to just because I learn something new every time I go somewhere! Here are 7 things to know before you travel!

1. Learn cultural norms - You will want to learn things that could potentially be offensive where you are headed that would be totally normal where you live, do some research before getting there!

2. Know the exchange rate before you leave - It would seriously suck to get there any if cost so much more than you expected. Just know what you are getting yourself into! Sometimes its like you get a discount for yourself. For example, when I was in Singapore, it was like a discount when I would shop because of the exchange rate. Just something to pay attention to, make sure its in the budget!

3. Alert your bank - Let your bank know that you will be making purchases in another city or country, you want them to know your travel plans so they don’t freeze your account. There is seriously nothing worse than being somewhere and your account being frozen! This happened to my whole family while we were at Disney World one time because we lived in Iowa and there were charges happening in Florida. Its a great thing that the bank does in case of fraud but a bummer if you don’t plan ahead.

4. Bring your debit card - My sister told me this one and it makes so much sense! Bring your debit card with you to the country you are traveling to and then take out cash. Refrain from pulling out cash and then exchanging money, you will lose less money this way!

5. Learn some of the language - Its important and polite to learn at least the basic words in the primary language that is spoken wherever you are headed! Things like hello, goodbye, thank you… that sort of thing! Its a nice gesture and can help you with certain situations!

6. Make sure you know that even if you plan things will not go as you planned and that’s usually where the fun stuff happen. Yes, it is nice to have a plan or an itinerary to get in all of those things on your “must do” list- it is important to also be okay with changes! While we were in Santorini we didn’t plan on spending any time hiking, but we stumbled upon it and it was one of the coolest afternoons of the trip!

7. Be cautious, but don’t be closed off! Be aware of your surroundings and the people around you, but don’t let that stop you from meeting new people and making friends on your travels! We have met so many great people on our trips and love that! We met a couple while we were in Mexico last summer and spent pretty much the whole time with them! That wouldn’t have happened if we didn’t get out of our comfort zone.

I hope that you guys found these tips helpful for your trips that you have planned! Do you have any tips to share? I feel like when you are traveling you are constantly learning and I love that! Like I said before, I’m 100% sure that I will learn something new about travel on our next trip and the trip after that.