L & T's Travel Tips

Get a good camera

Yes, most new phones these days have amazing cameras, but there's nothing like capturing a cheetah leaping across the road as it's hunting an impala (didn't catch it though...not sure if I would be able to watch that!) in perfect focus. After our first year abroad, we bought a Nikon D3200, plus an 18-200 lens. My little point-and-shoot just wasn't good enough for the trips we were about to take in the next year.

recommendations

The best cities, countries, and hotels we've been to were recommended to us by friends. Before we book anything, we always talk to someone who has been there before (we're lucky in that we happen to have lots of friends who travel). If it makes sense for us, we will book it right away. You spend less time researching, and you have a reliable review from someone you know. Our Egypt trip was basically an exact replica of a group of our friends, and two of our really good friends copied our Tanzania trip.

*One stop in the Stockholm Subway system, Sweden*

read blogs

A lot of off-the-beaten-path experiences we've had have been from reading other travel blogs. And those have been some of the most amazing things we've done. Finding a tiny stream which led to an incredible hidden waterfall in Iceland, and discovering the amazing art and cave-like architecture of the Stockholm Underground were just a couple of the cool things we saw from reading blogs, rather than the typical travel and tourist websites.

location

Lisa has an incredibly hard time picking apartments and hotels to stay at. But location is always the key. We won't even look at something that's far away from the area we want to be. We are huge walkers when we travel. I can probably count on my hand the number of times we've taken public transit. Now, of course, some cities have amazing transit systems, but we would much rather walk. We get a much better feel of the city and lifestyle that way. So, location location location!

CEMETeRIES

Trevor has an obsession with cemeteries. So wherever we go, Trevor makes sure he finds one. But in all honesty, there is something beautiful and calming about them while walking through. Not to mention some amazing landscaping, trees, and gravestones that are hundreds of years old. I definitely recommend visiting one on your next trip.

shoes

Whether or not you prefer walking like we do, make sure you bring a good pair of running or walking shoes. Even if you're going on a beach vacation and don't plan on doing a lot of walking...bring them anyway! No matter where we are or what we plan ahead of time, we always end up walking ridiculously far on at least one occasion. Don't forget!

luggage organizers

Organization is key when traveling. I was terrible at it when I started out. Then, while living in Kuwait, we discovered the Japanese store MUJI, which is basically heaven for any traveler or organized person. We spent SO MUCH time and money in this store. We bought a ton of mesh clothing bags (3 different sizes), carry-on sized containers for liquids, laundry bags, and pill containers. They also have clothes, stationary, all the notebook sizes in the world, and even furniture. I love it. Packing and unpacking is so much easier when you have a little organization!

unesco Sites

Many UNESCO World Heritage Sites are usually closed one day of the week. I feel like Mondays are typical days when lots of them are closed. Obviously not whole cities, but sites like cathedrals, parks, etc... So if you are planning on visiting one, make sure it's open! We've made that mistake on at least one occasion.