A few months ago, Lonely Planet published an article on the world’s worst travel advice which got me thinking –  what is the world’s BEST travel advice?! I asked a few people – both first time travellers and experienced nomads – what is as the best advice you have ever been given, and put their answers together with mine!

Here’s what we came up with…

Trust your instincts!

This is Number One on the list for many people!

Say YES to as many things as possible…

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Always take a local up on their offer for tea/coffee/dinner.

(unless they are carrying a machete and wearing t-shirt stating “I like to eat brains” or something similar).

If road tripping through Europe… make sure you drive on right hand side of the road. 😉

Travel solo.

Even if you have great friends or loved ones you like travelling with, take time to travel by yourself at some stage in your life. You will not only challenge yourself but will meet so many new and different people at every place you stop – you may be surprised at just how uplifting solo travelling can be.
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If travelling, particularly if over-landing in remote areas always carry enough food to get by for two days

– you never know when you might get stranded! Choose dried food/fruit and ALWAYS carry water with you. Even when warm, water will still quench your thirst and prevent you from feeling tired or getting a headache. As you can imagine, it also helps to ‘flush you out’ so can come in handy on the unfortunate occasion that you do happen to pick up a bug or two.

Go with the flow! Let your journey take YOU where it wants to

– even if it deviates from your oh-so-carefully planned timetable! This is one of the most exciting parts of travel; you never know what is going to happen or who you are going to meet.

Never, under any circumstances, set your sat nav to the ‘shortest route’  when traversing central Europe.

What the locals may define as a road and what you define as a road is more than often, totally different!
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Never think “it’ll never happen to me”

–  it can and it most probably will, so keep your wits about you.

Don’t put valuables on show

– I stupidly ignored this advice whilst in Saigon and wore what I thought was a teeny tiny, very unnoticeable necklace… this promptly got snatched from my neck by two guys on a moped!

ALWAYS choose a backpack over a suitcase on wheels

– those awful things that holidaymakers insist on dragging behind them so that anybody who is following, repeatedly trips over it – are indescribably annoying and totally impractical!

Don’t stock up / weigh down your bag with non-essentials

like full-sized shampoo & conditioner, shower gel, toothpaste, sunscreen etc etc, believe it or not, people in ‘foreign countries’ do wash and you can get this stuff pretty much anywhere!

Roll – don’t fold!

Anyone with a backpack will understand this advice!
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Always try the street food.

It’s an inherent part of travelling and immersing yourself into another culture – and nine times out of ten is a million times tastier than the food you find in touristy restaurants.

The truth is, no piece of advice is going to be 100% spot on and you will more than likely receive contrasting and contradictory advice from a whole host of fellow travellers at any given time. In this instance, I would refer you back to the first piece of advice in this article – trust your instincts!

Regardless of what advice you’ve been given, if you find yourself in a position where this advice just doesn’t seem ‘right’ , or if you find yourself disagreeing, just go with your gut. It’s your trip; your adventure and you’ve got to experience it all for yourself, with no regrets!

What’s the best travel advice YOU have ever been given? We’d love for you to share it with us below or join the conversation on our Facebook page…