TripHip - Travel Tips and Advice for Traveling on a Budget

No matter where you are traveling, chances are you will be spending a lot of time "out and about" during your vacation.

It can be easy to forget to regularly drink water, with all the excitement of exploring a new city or natural scenery. But if you don't drink enough water throughout the day, your body will really feel the effects, which include fatigue, heat exhaustion, headaches and cramps.

It's a good idea to carry a water bottle around with you - whether you're spending a day at the beach, going shopping, or hiking through the woods. You can carry a sturdy bottle water bottle like a Nalgene bottle, that has the lid attached to the bottle so you'll never lose the lid.

Whether you buy a water bottle or bottled water, it's up to you - just remember to keep hydrated!

Frequently washing your hands is a good way to keep from picking up any stray illness, especially if you are traveling in a foreign country. But finding a convenient washroom isn't always easy, and some are so dirty that you feel like you need to wash your hands after you wash your hands.

So carry a pocket-size bottle of hand sanitizer gel with you, and use it periodically throughout the day. Try to be reasonably discrete with it though. It's pretty rude to shake someone's hand, then reach for your hand cleaner.

Everyone has heard that you shouldn't drink the water when you are traveling outside the country. While this is certainly true, that isn't where your safety concerns should end.

If the water in an area is especially suspect, don't even eat any raw fruit or vegetables unless its something that you peel the skin before eating. All food should be well cooked, so try to avoid rare or raw meats.

Some places in developing countries may try to sell you "bottled water" that is actually filled with tap water. If your water has a broken safety seal, don't trust it. For the best security, buy carbonated water. Bubbles mean it hasn't been opened.

Don't forget ice cubes. No sense drinking bottled water if you are going to drop a few tap-water ice cubes in your drink. That includes any drinks ordered in a restaurant.

The news can always alert you to major conflicts in your destination area, but you should be prepared for the unexpected. Check for any possible risks to tourists at the U.S State Department website (travel.state.gov) in their travel warnings section. Warnings with regards to violence are usually well-known due to news coverage, so it won't be much surprise that certain countries are not safe for tourists.

What may not be reported in the news as often, are outbreaks of disease in various parts of the world. They may not be newsworthy, but you need to know before you plan your trip. The CDC website (www.cdc.gov) offers warnings for even minor disease outbreaks around the world.

If you are prone to hayfever or other kinds of seasonal allergies, I suggest you pack your preferred allergy medication with you even if you are not traveling during your usual allergy season. You never know what kinds of plants and pollen will be around at your destination.

It’s never a bad idea to get travel medical insurance, in case something happens. I have traveled to Europe on multiple trips. On some trips I purchased travel medical insurance, and on others I didn’t.

If you are planning to do any kind of sports, such as skiing and even hiking, then you should probably get travel medical insurance. If you plan to go bungee jumping or anything extreme like that, then you should definitely get travel medical insurance! However, if you plan to just hang out in the cities and not engage in anything too physically strenuous, you could try going without travel medical insurance. It’s really up to you, and whether you want to take the risk of anything happening and having to pay for it out of pocket.

Anyone with food allergies knows that they need to be careful when ordering meals in a restaurant. It can be even more risky if you are eating away from home, and possibly in a restaurant where no one speaks English.

If your allergies are more annoying than life threatening, you could get by with learning some words in the local language so you can ask if your trigger foods are in any dish.

For a more severe allergy that you can't risk, you will have to stick to major restaurants where the menus are in English and the staff speak it as well.

If you are traveling in a foreign country, particularly in Asia, South or Central America, or Africa, it's advisable not to drink the water, or else you might get sick.

Instead, always drink bottled water. Make sure that the bottle is properly sealed when you buy it, because sometimes people will fill old bottles and try to sell them as new.

Also, when you order a drink at a restaurant, ask for the drink without ice. You can bet that the ice they use probably comes from the tap, which means it's just as unsafe as drinking the local water.