5 Travel Tips for New Travelers

If you are new to travel, you don't have to be intimidated on your first trip. Keep these five travel tips in mind:

Christian Dubovan (Unsplash)

1. Make sure someone back home knows your complete itinerary and has the authorization to change your flights. This is especially important in smaller rustic destinations. Believe it or not there are still places that have no public phones or cell phone coverage.

2. Keep a business card on you or take a picture of your hotel. This is very important if you don't speak the language and need to use a cab or public transit to return to your hotel. I used this all the time when traveling with students. Fortunately, we never lost one during a tour.

3. If you have food allergies, learn how to say those foods in the native language or take pictures of the foods. This will help eliminate any confusion with waiters or any other food locations.

4. Keep plenty of small bills on you for tipping. Whether it's the euro or the pound, I find it's

more convenient. It eliminates having to wait around while the guide collects his or her tips. The guides aren't expecting to have to make change.

5. Never leave the "make up room" sign on your door. You're advertising that you're not in the room. There are still plenty of hotels out there that do not have a security camera system.

Welcome to the world of travel. I hope you find these tips useful. My upcoming blog for next week focuses on my top 5 traditional Italian dishes. Sorry, no pizza or spaghetti and meatballs. Check them out on geocheftreks.com this Sunday evening.