Making the Most of Your Travel Experience

It is easy to travel to a new place and feel like you need a vacation when you return home. Debbie and I have traveled a great deal in the last four decades and I think we have learned some valuable lessons on how to make the most out of visiting new places. We just returned home from spending three days in New Orleans. We had a great time and I want to share some of what we have learned about enjoying a new city. So this week, five tips on how to make the most of your travel experience.

TIP ONE – LEARN THE HISTORY

When visiting a new place, take the time to learn its history. Before traveling to New Orleans, I read a small book and several Wikipedia articles about the city. While we were there, we took a carriage ride through the French Quarter. The guide told us much about the history of the city, but because I had prepared for the trip, his commentary expanded what I already knew, and I was not trying to absorb a lot of information all at once. I also knew some interesting trivia that was new to our guide.

Several years ago, we took a family trip with our boys to visit the invasion beaches at Normandy. A month before we left, we spent a lot of time studying the invasion. We watched movies, documentaries, read books, and wrote papers. The boys were not thrilled with my “study before we go theory,” but once we were there it made for an unforgettable experience.

TIP TWO – DO LESS

Don’t try to do too much. This is a common mistake; people often try to see everything.  People had given us a list of fifteen things we must do while we were in New Orleans, we did four. It is so easy to go everywhere and see nothing. It takes time to really see and appreciate things which are new and different. New Orleans has a LOT to offer;I am sure that we would have enjoyed all fifteen adventures, but I think it is better to take your time and really try and appreciate where you are.

TIP THREE – PUT SCREENS AWAY

Put your phone away. I had my phone with me and used it to call our Uber, but when we didn’t need tocall for transportation, our phones were put away and silent. How can you appreciate where you are if you are always distracted? We saw so many people, of every generation, who were in the most wonderful places, and they were just staring at their phones. I admit that it takes some discipline to refuse to look at the device, but I didn’t miss anything!

TIP FOUR – TALK TO STRANGERS

Don’t miss the chance to meet new people. I really enjoyed all the sights, smells, and tastes that New Orleans had to offer. But there was nothing better than talking with the people we met. We met a family from Texas and began a random conversation about what kind of cocktail they should order.  This turned into an hour-long conversation about kids, education, and the Lord. We also talked for a half hour with a woman who was in high school when hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. She told us how hard it was to find food and water and how thankful she was to the US Army and National Guard who came with water and food. She also told us of relatives who had to resort to looting just to get food. Her stories gave life to the disaster which devastated this city.

TIP FIVE – GO WITH THE FLOW

Finally, you need to be flexible. Few things work out just exactly like you planned. The weather can change suddenly (we got caught in a thunderstorm), getting lost is always a possibility, and things are seldom as advertised. We saw a lot of people visiting the Big Easy who were really  upset over things they could not change. Better to prepare yourself before you leave and acknowledge that everything will take longer than you planned, it will be more expensive, and it may not live up to your expectations.  But with the right mindset this doesn’t need to be a problem. Just remember that traveling to new places and doing new things means there will be some things which cannot be anticipated.