Over the past 20 years, Caz and I have been fortunate to have visited over 50 countries and lived in 5, and today we’d like to share with you our 20 best travel tips!

Whilst our style of travel has evolved from solo travel to traveling as a couple and to now traveling as a family of four, there are some core travel habits that have served us well, and we continue to follow them to this day.

For us, travel is not just about checking places off our list.

Our motto has always been “accumulate memories and moments, not just possessions”, and we like to do that through travel.

From our travel experiences and 10 years of travel blogging we’ve accumulated our fair share of top travel tips along the way and it was difficult to limit this to just twenty!

We hope this list of our best travel tips will inspire and help you to travel, and travel more often!

Our 20 Best Travel Tips

1. Make Travel a Priority

If you want to travel more, you’ve got to make it a priority!

Seriously, if you don’t have enough money for travel yet you have a wardrobe full of designer clothes that you never wear, or a garage full of expensive toys collecting dust, then you’re not clear on your priorities and purpose.

We’ve been able to travel overseas consistently over the past 20 years because we made travel one of our top priorities.

We channeled most of our energy, focus, and finances towards travel.

Currently we don’t own a lot of stuff, but we sure have a lot of memories.

2. Spend More Time in Fewer Places

When you’re planning a trip, don’t try and go everywhere and do everything – that’s a recipe for burnout and blowing your budget!

Instead of racing from one end of a country to another, or tearing through 6 countries in 6 weeks, get to know a region well.

Constantly having to pack and unpack, spend time searching for cheap flights, deal with different time zones, currency changes, and even visa issues can lead to burn out.

And moving around to too many travel destinations can really eat into your finances.

Slow down and take more in. This way, you’ll get a better feel for a place.

Traveling with kids?

Plan for a slower pace than you would if traveling solo or as a couple. Be realistic about what you accomplish, especially when traveling with toddlers.

The less you feel you have to see and do, the more enjoyable and stress-free for everyone.

Understand that you will never have time to see and do EVERYTHING. And be okay with that.

3. Don’t Expect Things to Be Like They Are at Home

If you want everything like it is at home, then what’s the point of going anywhere?

Keep an open mind to learning and experiencing new things when you travel abroad, that includes trying new foods which can tell you a lot about a culture – and don’t be scared to eat the street food!

We travel abroad to experience different cultures, environments, and ways of thinking. So don’t shut yourself off to experiencing all a country has to offer.

If you travel with an open mind you can have a much more enriching experience.

There will be moments when other cultures will shock you. Don’t judge them. When this happens, sit back and say, “Isn’t that interesting, tell me more!”

4. Travel Does Not Have to Stop Once You Have Kids

We often get emails or have conversations with people we meet on the road who express that once they have kids their travel days are over!

Take it from us, family travel is possible and need not be a hassle. In fact, it can be one of the best experiences you have as a family!

Sure, we don’t travel around the world like we used to or party as much as we did pre-kids, be we obviously still travel and so do MANY other families – the family travel niche is alive and growing.

Over the past 20 years, our travel style has evolved from traveling solo, to traveling as a couple, to now traveling with our two daughters and many of our readers are inspired to follow in our footsteps.

Yes, family travel has its challenges and there are pros and cons of traveling with kids, but creating priceless memories is something to cherish!

There are valuable benefits to traveling with kids. They force you to evolve your style of travel, and in my opinion, usually for the better.

Top Tips for Traveling with kids:

There are three key essentials to having a stress free family vacation. 99% of the time your child will be irritated, cranky or screaming because they are either:

1. Tired

Provide enough opportunities for them to rest and an environment for them to get a good nights sleep.

2. Bored

Choose a kid-friendly destination that has enough activities to keep them occupied, and bring along a few home comforts such as a stuffed toy, reading books, or activity packs which can be a lifesaver on flights and road trips.

3. Hungry

Pack enough healthy snacks to keep them satisfied, especially on flights, buses and road trips. Long road trips or flights can leave kids feeling cranky and hungry.

When eating out, go out for breakfast or lunch as we find it easier to handle than dinner as they tend to be cheaper and more casual affairs. Plus by dinner time our kids are tired and can get a little crazy!

A hungry or tired kid is a grumpy kid, much like me actua