5 TRAVEL TIPS & TRICKS TO LIVE BY
OR HERE’S SOME INFO ON HOW TO TRAVEL SMART…ISH
so a lot of people ask me how i get to travel so much -portugal, barbados, brasil (my favorite), ireland, london, italy, amsterdam, morocco, canada, panama... okay you get the point. now if you know me, you know it ain’t cause i’m bawlin, yet.
and it ain’t cause i’m being flewed out, well not always ;)
i travel smart. that’s it. it really is that simple, i mean as i write this i’m in a fucking lavish ass millionaies house in sonoma, bitch
.... (with 54 dollars in my checking, and 15 dollars in my savings account).
now before you get all up in my business about what my funds are like, which i only shared to give even more context, here is a list of ways to travel smart and save that cash for some grasss, or ass or self care, which could be all of le above.
BOOK AHEAD OF TIME!!
now this, this is important. if you KNOW you want to go somewhere, baby, don’t wait till the last minute to book that damn flight. to be honest, sometime’s i recommend not even waiting till you’ve secured a place to stay. i truly believe, have witnessed, and studied, that when we take risks and live our truest life, the universe, or whoever and whatever you may see as a higher power, conspires to help us tf out.
once you’ve booked your ticket you’ve officially moved this goal in motion and it’s one of the hardest and usually one of the most expensive parts of traveling. if you wait you really run the risk of using the money you would for a ticket, for something else you otherwise wouldn’t have. you run the risk of planning/agreeing to things on those travel dates, rather than planning around it.
another great thing about booking early, is if you’re a part of a mileage plan, like Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan or Delta Airlines Mileage plan, is that you can use less miles to get pretty damn far. I once flew from Alaska to Atlanta for just $6 because I was able to use 12.5K of my miles.
if you’re still not sure about booking ahead of time, at least begin to watch the trip. you can do this on google flights, hopper, and i’m sure a ton of other sites/apps have the option to keep watch on a flight so you can be notified when prices drop. and go up.
2. KNOW TRAVELING ANALYTICS -BEST DAYS TO BOOK AND WHEN
not really sure if analytics is the right word to use here, but i also don’t care cause i’m finna explain what i’m saying. so prices fluctuate and you could buy a ticket on friday and end up spending three times more if you would’ve bought the ticket on a tuesday. ain’t that crazy? but it’s real y’all. they got a system here. a lot of people wait till the end of the week and especially the weekend to spend time investing in themselves, especially time to book travel plans. and this is when the airlines hike these prices up! so catch em when they’re low by booking on a tuesday or wednesday! avoid booking flights during weekends because this is when most people are off work and take the time to invest in their traveling pursuits.
watch the flights you have in mind yaself and watch the flight algebro happen.
3. HOUSE SITTING & PET SITTING
house sitting and pet sitting is for real where it’s at. well if you’re not allergic, afraid, or even indifferent to animals. now i have had some sits where i was allergic to the furry friend and that shit was not cute, or worth it. i had to take benedryl for weeks while i finished the commitment.
pero, if you love animals, pet sitting is a hell of a way to see the world. trustedhousesitters (also rover is a great one, a little less popular, but i think it’s free to join!) is one of the most popular pet sitting sites right now, it has a lowkey-highkey pricey membership fee. if you use my discount you can get a year membership for (>>>) once you pay it you can literally go just about anywhere in the world and get some furry cuddles in the process. anywhere y’all. thailand, mexico, australia.
there’s also tons of work trade opportunities for travel, i personally haven’t done any of this yet, but WHO is a world farmers directory of farmlands around the world you can work AND LEARN in trade of shelter.
4. MAKE FRIENDS MAKE FAMILY!
if it weren’t for my sistahs and non-binary kin… chileeeee… for real. i have stayed with sistah friends in london, shoutout to Charon -who i met while she was an exchange student at spelman for a year, i’ve stayed with family friends in the UK, shout out to Alison and the fam, new york, shout out to new york bae, brasil, shoutout to my lover there and Seth! cali, SHOUT OUT TO THE CALI FAM!!!! Banah, AJ The One, Sua & Tre, Afro-house, Asha, man the list goes on.
anyway i say all that to say that staying with folx has helped me soooo much be able to travel, to travel SAFELY, and to save money while i travel -though i also always encourage folx to be mindful for what and how much we ask of friends & fam so if someone let’s you stay for the F, help out by making meals, or cleaning up, or dropping some money that you otherwise would have spent at an Air BnB or hotel.
disclaimer: i haven’t always been in a place to offer much, and at one point i was ignorant in reciprocity in a lot of ways. remember, it’s never too late to do better (:
traveling with friends obviously helps with splitting certain costs, but don’t be hesitant to invest in yourself and your relationships and go see your friends in other places, even those ones you only met once, reach out, you never know the adventure waiting for you! — when i say ones you met once, be safe. use common sense. and uh don’t try this at home?
5. PLANNNNNNNN
holy fuck. this is actually the most important part of traveling. now as a capricorn, planning seems like it would be my fortay. but with a sag moon and rising… ima mess. i can’t tell you how much money i have wasted by not planning… like obviously leave space open for adventure and spontaneity. and i know the bullshit i said on booking a ticket before housing is secure, which i stilllll agree with myself on. howmuthfuckin ever, know HOW you’ll be traveling between places, an uber a TUK TUK? renting a car? cause those are all different lifestyles and prices, ya feel me? know the distance between places, how far is where you’re staying from where you will frequenting, be it for food, going out, or just seeing the city.
big things you are sure you wanna do, like tours, concerts, or other events, buy that shit early and plan your day around it. plans definitely don’t always work out, but planning can help in avoiding some unneeded anxiety and save some money; whether it’s on saving yourself from traveling super far for the club or eating at places out of your budget because of lack of planning and “it’s just what’s closest.”
anyway, i hope that all makes sense and if any of this helps you travel with a bit more ease and funs, then my work is done here. signing off as your not so local, fairy god parent.
LIST OF TIPS and notes I CURATED ON MY FIRST EVER TRAVEL TRIP out the country THAT I STILL LIVE BY i was 19. a wee lil baby
a podcast, going deeper with one of my bestfriends and super travel sheroes @jenabee will be available later this month. between the two of us we have gone to ___Countries! tap back in to hear more about what free mileage plans to join, find out how you can fly to some places for under ten dollars, and best places in and out of the country to visit on a budget!