Traveling to a new country is one of life’s most exciting adventures, offering the chance to experience new cultures, meet interesting people, and explore unfamiliar places. However, with all the excitement comes the need for careful planning and preparation to ensure your trip goes smoothly.
Whether you’re a seasoned globetrotter or a first-time traveler heading abroad, knowing a few key travel tips can make all the difference. In this guide to arriving in a new country, we’ve compiled 12 of our best travel tips to help you when visiting a new country, so you can focus on enjoying your travel stress-free! Sounds pretty good right?!
Happy Irish Wanderers have been traveling full-time for many years and still refer back to this list of essential travel preparations when visiting a new travel destination.
Now we are excited to share these with you, so let’s get straight into it.
#1 Tips When Visiting a New Country: Do you Need a Visa?
Let’s start right at the very beginning, and usually the first thing to research when visiting a new country is visa information.
For many countries, you’ll need to apply for an E-Visa before you pack your bags and soar off, but beware! There are numerous “official” websites out there just waiting to drain your wallet with outrageous fees. To avoid falling into this visa trap, just type the country’s name followed by “Visa” and “.gov” into Google to find the real official website!
Remember, all legit government sites finish with .gov – Congratulations, you’ve already saved some cash before even getting to your destination!
#2 Tips When Visiting a New Country: Pack a Pen!
Once you arrive in a new country, you might be required to fill out an arrival card before entering immigration and getting your passport stamped. To avoid getting stuck in a long line with a hundred other people clamoring for the lone pen provided and then additional wait time in immigration because you are still at the back of the queue, simply bring your own pen (and a spare!)
This may sound minuscule, but trust us when you are first through that immigration process you will be thanking us! With minimal effort, you can save yourself a lot of time that could be better spent doing something enjoyable instead of just waiting and looking at the back of someone’s head.
#3 Tips When Visiting a New Country: Know the Exchange Rate
Next up on our top tips when visiting a new country is another important one that unfortunately we can’t ignore – money!
If you’re planning to exchange your currency for the local money in the country you’re visiting, it’s a good idea to know the currency rates beforehand. The best resource for this is XE.com, which is available as both an app and a website.
XE.COM offers the latest exchange rates, keeping you updated with accurate information. If you won’t have internet access upon arrival, take a screenshot of the exchange rate you plan to use. This way, you’ll have a reference on hand to ensure you’re getting a fair deal when exchanging currency in your new destination.
#4 Tips When Visiting a New Country: Bring a Multi-Adapter
When you visit a new destination do you bring along electronics like cameras, phones, bluetooth speakers, tablets, or hair straighteners? Before you jet off with all your gadgets, don’t forget to check the type of sockets used in your destination country.
Even better, if you travel to many different destinations, consider purchasing a multi-adapter so you’re covered for all socket types and save you attempting to jam a three-prong plug into a two-hole socket!
Check our list of 33 cool travel gifts we could not live without.
#5 Tips When Visiting a New Country: Unlock you Phone
The last thing you need when arriving in a new country is being charged extortionate roaming costs.
To avoid hefty roaming charges, consider bringing along an old phone from the depths of your drawer and purchasing a local SIM card once you land in your new destination.
If you don’t have a spare device, you can still use your current phone – just make sure your phone is unlocked.
#6 Tips When Visiting a New Country: Read Accommodation Reviews
When visiting a new country and planning your accommodation, don’t assume that a low accommodation price means poor quality.
If you are still on the fence about whether this could be true, just check out our Indonesia accommodation in the video below. If these kinds of travel videos are of interest to you make sure to follow along on social media because we always share our amazing accommodation finds when visiting a new country.
We’ve stayed at places for under 15 euros which offered rooms so stunning they could be in a magazine, beachfront infinity pools, and breakfast that made us wonder if we were getting a massive bill on checkout!
To ensure you’re getting what you expect before booking accommodation in a new country, it’s a good idea to cross reference the reviews on Google Maps and/or other booking sites to avoid any fake reviews.
You will quickly be able to spot fake accommodation reviews when visiting a country, just look for lots of similar wording and usually on the same date – Silly scammers! This was a big issue for issue for us when booking accommodation in India so be wary of this.
If you are a budget traveler, Egypt, India, Uzbekistan, and Thailand are also some of the most affordable countries we have visited.
#7 Tips When Visiting A New Country: Download the Local Taxi App
When arriving in a new country most airports have your standard taxi services, but if you want to keep your wallet happy, ride-hailing apps like Uber can be your best friend.
Here’s the catch: Uber isn’t available everywhere. Before you arrive at your new destination, take some time to research the local taxi apps and make sure to download and set up an account with them before visiting a new country.
Note that if you haven’t set up an account before arriving in a new country, the process will likely be in the local language. It’s best to complete this setup ahead of time, unless you enjoy playing the “Guess What This Button Does” game in a language you don’t understand.
Also, keep in mind that in some countries you might need a local SIM card to get the taxi app started.
#8 Tips When Visiting A New Country: Ask Your Accommodation the approximate cost of the Taxi Fare
This may seem like a simple tip when visiting a new country, but for some reason, it often gets overlooked. This travel tip has saved us lots of dollars in taxi fares and more importantly lots of wasted minutes in mind-numbing haggling!
When traveling around the country by bus or train, you might need to take a local taxi from the station to reach your accommodation. To avoid the “tourist tax” (which is basically a fancy term for getting ripped off), it’s a good idea to contact your place of stay in advance and inquire about the approximate cost of a taxi ride.
Inquiring with your accommodation for the approximate cost of a taxi ride gives you insight into the honest, local fares so you are less likely to get screwed over when visiting a new country. Every little helps right?!
If there are local taxi apps available, you can use them to check prices and then show the traditional taxi driver the fare. Don’t be shy to ask them to match the price.
#9 Tips When Visiting A New Country: Find Attractions on Google Maps
When visiting a new country we are often asked, “How did you find that awesome attraction? And the answer is – Google Maps. There are countless hidden gems waiting to be discovered on Google Maps.
Heads up, it might take a little time, but the effort is definitely worth it. Just type “Attractions” in the search bar, and you’ll discover a wide variety of sights, including parks, statues, museums, hikes, and much more.
Additionally, as you browse the map, keep an eye out for purple symbols. These mark “popular” spots – locations that are beloved by locals and tend to attract a lot of visitors. While they may not rank among the top 10 attractions in the area that every Tom, Dick, and Harry know about, there are often many hidden gems that people tend to miss.
There’s nothing better than exploring a hidden gem all to yourself when visiting a new country.
#10 Tips When Visiting A New Country: Eat Where the Locals Eat
Don’t shy away from diving into local cuisine when visiting a new destination. Eating like a local is not only delicious but can also save you a pretty penny. The secret? Look for the spots that are packed with actual locals, if the place is bustling with regulars, you just know it’s going to be good!
And if you come across a menu written in a language you don’t understand, there’s no need to worry. Google Translate is another great travel app to have. Just take a photo of the menu, and it will instantly translate it for you. Bon Appetit.
Check out our top travel-saving tips and how we eat cheaply around the world.
#11 Tips When Visiting A New Country: Smile, Wave and Hello
When you visit less-traveled countries, don’t be surprised if you catch a few stares. The locals might not see many foreigners, so remember when you are visiting a new country – they’re just curious, not rude.
The secret to winning them over? Three universally understood moves: smile, wave, and say hello!
Just like that, you’ll watch those curious looks morph into big smiles. Who knew you were just a wave away from becoming an international star, they might even want to take a selfie with you!
#12 Tips When Visiting A New Country: Bring Small Gifts From Home
Our final tip when visiting a new country is our favorite one, which is to bring along some small gifts from home.
Bringing a gift from home, in our case Ireland, is a thoughtful way to show appreciation to locals -whether it’s your guesthouse host or the shopkeeper you shared laughs with while buying water each day.
Small, easy-to-pack items like postcards, coins, fridge magnets, or even a snack you didn’t finish on the plane make perfect gifts when traveling to new destinations.
These simple gestures are a heartfelt way to express your gratitude as you depart and teach others about your part of the world, offering a warm “until we meet again, my friend”
Tips When Visiting A New Country: Summary
These tips for visiting a new country may seem simple, but they’re incredibly effective. We are seasoned travelers at this stage and use each travel tip mentioned above.
By planning ahead and following our easy advice upon arriving at a new destination, you’ll make your travel experience much smoother and find yourself eager for more adventures.
Once you catch the travel bug you are in for a life-changing experience. Who knows you may even find yourself full-time traveling like us.
Why not let us know how you got on using our travel tips or share some of your own, we would love to hear from you.
Feel free to leave a message below or contact us on our socials.
Slán go fóil
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