6 Pieces of Travel Advice For Your Next Adventure

Jun 2018

Travel is a wonderful thing. If you have the opportunity to travel, don’t hesitate and freaking do it. Short trips, long stays, local destinations, and international voyages; there are endless possibilities and so much to see and do with each and every one of the above.

My fiancée Andrew and I love to travel and in fact have grown tremendously in our relationship because of it. You learn a lot about someone when traveling and I recommend that before you commit to someone; see how you both do on a long trip together.

About a year ago, we spent 3 weeks traveling from Shanghai, to Xi’an, to Beijing, to Seoul, to Osaka, to Kyoto and finished it off in Tokyo. The point of today’s post is not to recount those wonderful adventurous 3 weeks but rather to share some travel advice, specifically travel advice when traveling with family.

There is no better time to write a travel advice post than when coming off of a weekend wedding trip to the wine country outside of San Francisco with my entire family; cousins, aunts, uncles and beyond…

On the flight back to Miami, I found myself thinking about traveling in groups and thought I’d share some of my experiences and travel advice with you.

Travel Advice Tip 1: Location, Location, Location, of Your Lodging

When traveling you will most likely have the general destination of where you’re going, but it is important to also think about where it is you’ll be calling home for the duration of your stay.

Do you want to be in walking distance of restaurants, bars or attractions or do you prefer to be off the beaten path? I find that with groups and families, it’s nice to be closer to things to do so that people have options and can easily walk to places. This also can help with transportation logistics.

Luckily, there are so many amazing resources around for any budget when it comes to lodging. Hotels are an obvious and safe choice but can be costly depending on your destination. Consider renting an Airbnb next time you’re with a large group.

Depending on the type you choose, this provides great common spaces and the opportunity to cook some meals. Breakfast is important for my family and I have to say that waking up to my mom cooking breakfast after a night of enjoying the vino we purchased whilst wine tasting was just icing on the cake. Yes, I have no shame; home cooked meals just somehow seem to get better with age.

Just keep in mind that the standards of cleanliness vary from person to person and photos can be deceiving. When booking an Airbnb keep your expectations in check.

Travel Advice Tip 2: Make Plans, But Not Too Many

Making plans are hard with a large group at any time, but trying to figure out what to do and where to eat with a party of 22 isn’t fun when everyone is already hungry.

My advice is to make general plans, specifically for meals, and stick to them – there’s nothing worse than being somewhere with a large group of people with nothing to do.

At the same time, allow yourself the flexibility to feel things out when you arrive at your destination. Talk to the locals and find out what they do for fun – you’ll experience the place in a much more original and authentic way.

In Livermore, there was no shortage of things to do but pleasing everyone can get difficult. Luckily most people in my family enjoy the vino, all varietals, so we hit up a few awesome vineyards, Wente, Concannon and 3 Steves, to name a few.

Travel Advice Tip 3: Be Curious

Travel centers around new experiences. Be bold and try things you’ve never tried before. The new experiences you’ll be enjoying can come in all shapes, sizes, and flavors.

Try new foods, drinks, physical adventures, etc. Thrill and surprise yourself.

Travel Advice Tip 4: Take Your Space

Get away when you need some you time. Family dynamics can get overwhelming and there is nothing wrong with resetting and giving yourself a breather.

We rented a large Airbnb on 10 acres of land so when I needed to clear my head and get out of the group, I did things like going for a 3-mile walk with my Dad and offered to walk and get coffee for everyone with Andrew. It’s important to keep the sanity and peace.

If you know people really like their own space, consider hotel rooms. It gives you the opportunity to separate and really disconnect. Also, you won’t have to share a bathroom.

Take a breather and relax, remember, you’re on vacation!

Travel Advice Tip 5: Be a Savvy Packer

If you’re going for the weekend, try to pack a carry on only. Plan out your outfits, there is no point to bringing stuff you absolutely know you will not be wearing. Weather is important to note – bring transitional type things and comfortable shoes.

Remember the details. For instance, on this trip, I played DJ. I brought my mini UE Roll that really saved the day – music is a wonderful way to bring people together. Cards are another great distraction and can be made especially fun in large groups.

Travel Advice Tip 6: Pace Yourself and Know Your Limits

Some advice that I will give (even though I don’t always follow it myself) is to not stay out until 3 am the day before the wedding…Not to mention the time difference and jet lag doesn’t help. Wine hangovers can be brutal!

If you have a limited amount of time in any one place, make sure you don’t spend it sleeping all day. If there is a time difference, try to sleep on the plane there so that you’re fresh when you arrive.

Other General Travel Advice

Personalities when traveling in large groups are an interesting element. I haven’t traveled with my family for many years and everyone has changed; thankfully for the better. We all have new and sometimes strange routines.

Some things never change though. For example, my Mom is still a horticulturist, yes that’s a real thing and I remember from our childhood trips, stopping on the side of the road for plant clippings. Yes, she left San Fran with some cuttings of interesting new dessert plants. That’s my Mom and I love her for it.

My brother and I now need coffee in the morning. It took my Dad 2 days to realize that conversation with me would be sassy and short until I had my coffee. Sorry, Dad!

Travel Advice in Business

Many of the above tips apply to leisurely trips as well as business trips. If you have the opportunity to travel for work use your off hours to explore wherever your destination is.

As they say, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”

Use it Or Lose It:

Next time you’re planning to take a trip or visit someplace new, use the following tips to plan and execute a successful trip!

Tip 1: Pick a location that suits your wants and needs

Tip 2: Make plans but leave room for flexibility

Tip 3: Be curious and be adventurous

Tip 4: Make sure you take some time to relax

Tip 5: Pack appropriately

Tip 6: Pace yourself and know your limits

When To Use It:

Hopefully, this part is pretty self-explanatory 🙂

What Do You Think?

Do you have any other travel tips or tricks? Share below!

Wanderlust on and keep priming that pump!

Xoxo Bri

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2 Replies to “6 Pieces of Travel Advice For Your Next Adventure”

Bri Neuburger says:

June 7, 2018 at 7:17 am

Hi Dave!

It certainly was a BEAUTIFUL wedding weekend – for a minute there I thought I packed for a weekend in Miami but thankfully, it warmed up quickly. I must say, the people of Pleasanton are so kind and welcoming! The vineyards were stunning and such a great activity.

Agree with the luggage – if I can help it, a backpack and carry on is all I need. My wedding weekend might be a different story though 🙂 With the airline seats, I too like the aisle seat!

There’s a show on Netflix set in the Ozarks and it’s actually pretty good. Check it out. That sounds like a great family vacation and a great setting. Enjoy!

Best,
Bri

Dave Savadge says:

June 5, 2018 at 12:38 pm

Good morning Bri. Sure sounds like your tasting/wedding trip turned out to be a roaring success. I have tasted at all three wineries that you mentioned, plus about two dozen more within a 5 mile radius. A friend of ours works as the Head Winemaker In Charge at Wente. Wente has a tradition that once harvesting begins in the early fall, no one can shave until all the grapes are picked and pressed and the juice stored in barrels, which occurs around Thanksgiving. So Brad enjoys his yearly period of no-shave scruftiness, much to his wife’s chagrin.

Your travel tip #5 is the most important. Make this your mantra: “Put airport baggage handlers out of business. Ommm.” I never check luggage, always use a single carry-on. With access to a washing machine, I can live for months using just the contents of that one bag, and have done so, which once included attending a wedding in Florida. I mean Florida, just like California – – who dresses formally for a wedding except for the B&G? That wedding, incidentally, could be another story by itself. Let’s just say a few unwritten rules got bypassed, on purpose.

Another travel tip I use exclusively – always choose an aisle seat as close to the front of the plane, for a few reasons. If traveling with a companion/SO/friend, take the aisle and center seats. 1) nobody else gets bothered when you get up to visit the LGR/LBR. 2) You can get up and stretch your legs/take a stroll and work the kinks out on a long flight. 3) Upon landing, you grab your carry on from the overhead storage area, leave the plane, and go immediately to pick up your rental car, bypassing everyone else who is waiting at the luggage claim area.

Sometime this summer we are planning another trip to the Ozarks to visit our sister, BIL, and assorted nieces and grand kids. These vacations are laid back, yes there is some planning of stuff to do/visit, but a good portion is just kicking back and whatever happens, happens.