How to Travel like a Blogger

Thinking of planning a trip? Congratulations! There is literally no better way to spend your time and money than on travel. You might be new to this, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't still be able to travel like a pro. If you want to look like you do this all the time and feel more confident in your travel fluency, here are a few tips: 

Wear Pants

Terribly under appreciated, pants. And I don't mean trekkers or pajamas. Pants. Yes, you are on a plane and you will (hopefully) spend at least part of the flight sleeping, but you are still in public, and you should wear actual pants. Athleisure is acceptable.

In the same spirit, wear shoes. Not bunny slippers. Packing a pair of slippers or thick socks to change into during the flight is a total blogger "do." Wearing slippers anywhere else is just gross. 

I am so nostalgic for the days when people dressed up for flights, or Americans dressed up for anything. And while I know it's extremely impractical to expect you all to wear your grandmother's pearls on your journey, please keep in mind that even wearing Nike sets to non-athletic activities is pretty much just an American thing. Try to represent us well outside the country and wear street clothes as often as possible.

Pack light

Checking two suitcases for a week-long trip to the Caribbean is not cute, glamorous or "being prepared." It's amateur. The well-traveled pack exactly what they need (and after traveling so much, they know exactly what they'll need), plus maybe one extra outfit in case of stain, rip or accidental twinning. 

If you do not know what you might need, therein lies your problem. Figure that out. Because packing half your wardrobe does not guarantee that you will have the perfect ensemble for any event or venue. All it guarantees is that you'll look ridiculous.

...But do pack the appropriate essentials. 

Phone chargers. Plenty of phone chargers, including at least one that's portable. And if needed, adapters for your phone chargers. 

Also useful: comfortable walking shoes, gum, medicines such as Benadryl and Tylenol, socks, safety pins and tape. Yes, tape. I literally never leave the country with a roll of both shipping and duct tape. 

Also keep in mind what to bring on the plane with you: obviously your wallet, gum, phone, hand lotion and face lotion (the altitude is drying), whatever helps you sleep (dreamwater for me), snacks, slippers or socks, and antibacterial wipes and whatever you absolutely cannot live without. Planes lose luggage. It happens. If it's extremely valuable to you, do not let it out of your possession. 

So you see, there are two sides of packing well-- two ways to be ready for adventure. First, you have to be prepared by having everything you need. Secondly, you need to be uninhibited. Uninhibited by fear, ignorance, drama, and especially by 4 suitcases you don't need.

Plan

This is a fine line kind of a situation. While I think traveling with a specific itinerary is only ideal when traveling for work or, say, a wedding or festival, it is good to have at least some general idea of what you want to do when you get there. Research what restaurants, museums, parks and stores you'll want to visit, and their locations and hours. 

If you're traveling like a blogger, you'll also want to plan your photos. While most of the best ones are taken spontaneously, I've totally visited places, done things and worn things while doing it because of a specific photo I have in mind. 

Get photos!

Duh! Whether you want to be instafamous or not, I'm a true believer in chronicling your life. Take photos of EVERYTHING so that years from now, you can be reminded of the little parts of your trip that delighted you. 

And if you're up for it, don't just take photos; take awesome photos. Some easy-to-pack items to help with this are a bluetooth timer cam, small gorilla tripod and, wide angle lens and light for your phone, all of which you can find at the Apple Store or on Amazon for under $20 a piece. Notice: a professional camera is not one of the things I listed. 

Get lost

Get lost on purpose. Stay at the tiniest hotel you can find, and move between hotels in different neighborhoods every couple of days so you can get lost in more places. Then, go as far away from your hotel as you can get on foot before trying to find your way back, and take your sweet time doing it.  Sit in a park. Pop into a random cafe. Talk to strangers. Eat weird things. Do weird things. Wear weird things. Attempt to master the language. 

Traveling like a blogger doesn't mean going to glamorous places and taking mirror selfies of your outfit. Traveling like a blogger is about experiencing as much of the world as possible and allowing it to change you. Don't go with the intention of gaining Instagram followers and making your frenemies jealous. Go with the goal of learning. Go with an open mind, remembering that traveling like a blogger doesn't make you a big deal. It makes you realize how small you are. And when you find yourself experiencing a moment of awe, humility, gratitude or smallness, you'll know you're traveling like a blogger.