Adventure Awaits: 11 Bloggers Share Travel Tips

If you’re anything like me, you’re already counting down the days till your next vacation! Although I love going on local adventures in Central Florida, I always look forward to researching new places and planning my next out-of-town itinerary.

As a blogger, I have the amazing opportunity to link up with other bloggers and influencers, and occasionally get to collaborate with them! Back in January, I had a blast teaming up with local bloggers to bring you our favorite hidden gems in the Central Florida area. Now, as we gear up for summer vacations, I’ve partnered with other bloggers to share travel tips. From sustainable travel planning and traveling with family to fashion tips and beyond, these tips are sure to help you make your next trip a memorable one.

11 Travel Tips from Bloggers

1. Choose a color theme. – Jaxodyssey

Choose to pack pieces that mix and match and can be worn in more ways than one. I usually stick to three colors that will coordinate together. For example, one time I chose black, red and pink for my LA trip. I packed a black faux leather jacket, black faux leather pants, pink sweatshirt, pink tennis shoes, pink tank top, red blouse, red dress, black pumps, black tank top, etc. I was able to mix all these pieces in different days no problem.

{ Blog: Jaxodyssey; Instagram: @jaxodyssey; Facebook: @jaxodyssey; Twitter: @jaxodyssey; YouTube: Jaxodyssey }

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2. Reuse what you already have. – Lydia Loves Purple

Look around your house and find things that you can substitute for single use plastic items. You probably have a reusable water bottle, so pack it. You probably have some bath hotel samples, clean them out and refill with your stuff or just use up what’s in them. For more tips from Lydia on planning a sustainable trip, visit her full post here.

{ Blog: Lydia Loves Purple; Instagram: @lydia.loves.purple; Facebook: @lydialovespurpleblog }

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3. Take a family poll and go local. – Adventures of Mom

With a family of 4, planning a vacation with all of our different schedules can be a challenge. Once we have a time frame, I take a family poll to see what everyone wants to do on vacation: beach, waterfall hunting, city exploring, etc., and then come up with a list of locations to suit these needs. Then we take a vote. It’s a very democratic process. Finally, when we have our spot, I’ll do research via Google Maps for the coolest places/things to do in the area. (With a deep dive into maps, a lot of these spots have reviews, photos & links to websites.)

I’ll book the hotels/places to stay and with lists in hand, we head off. When we get to our ‘destination’, we hunt down a local eatery, and ask the server & staff about what they do for fun — a lot of the times, it’s better than my list — so the list gets chucked for the most part and we go ‘local’. Locals always know the best places!

{ Blog: Adventures of Mom; Instagram: @theadventuresofmom; Facebook: @adventuresofmom }

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4. Check with local bloggers. – The Orlando Duo

It may seem obvious coming from a pair of bloggers, but you’d be surprised just how many people don’t think about checking in with the locals to see what’s going on in a city. If you don’t know anyone’s handles, try searching for a hashtag (#orlando for example) and see who is talking. A lot of times, local bloggers have the city name in their handle. Don’t be scared to reach out and message them, us bloggers love to talk with new friends!

{ Blog: The Orlando Duo; Instagram: @theorlandoduo; Facebook: @theorlandoduo; Pinterest: @theorlandoduo; Twitter: @theorlandoduo }

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5. Be kind to animals. – Coleman Concierge

Our travel advice – be kind to animals.  This is always a good idea but especially true when you travel so do your homework and find activities that are fun, educational, and help endangered animals to survive. Ecotourism has raised awareness and protected environments for Florida animals such as manatees, panthers, sea turtles, and Key deer. Each of these animal populations has grown anywhere from 300% to 1000% in recent history do, in part, because of the choices travelers make. For more from Coleman Concierge about animal-friendly eco tours in Florida, check out their post here.

{ Blog: Coleman Concierge; Instagram: @coleman_concierge; Facebook: @colemanconcierge }

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6. Map out your trip with tools like Trello. – Dreams to Plans

When traveling internationally, I often take long trips – upwards of 3 weeks – so there’s a lot of planning that goes into them. I’m a very visual learner and planner so I love using a collaborative project management tool called Trello to map everything out. To start, I’ll create a “Board” with the name of the destination and a beautiful picture from the location to get me really excited and motivated about it. I then break the actual planning down into three sections:

• To Do
• Doing
• Done

That way, I can see everything that’s still pending, the tasks that I’m actively working on, and what’s been completed all at one glance. You can create custom checklists, assign due dates for the tasks, and so much more. I have everything from my packing lists and budget to Visa requirements and my itineraries in here.

{ Blog: Dreams to Plans; Instagram: @dreamstoplans_; Facebook: @dreamstoplansblog }

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7. Plan to backpack it! – CityWhit

When we travel, we tend to bring way more than we truly need. “But WHAT IF we need it?!” Taking a minimalist approach to packing allows you to save money on baggage fees and have more free time at your destination! Pack versatile pieces of clothing that can be re-worn and obtain your toiletries at your destination. If you have bulky items such as a coat or boots, wear them on the plane to free up some space. For more tips from Whitney on backpack-only travel, visit her full post here.

{ Blog: CityWhit; Instagram: @city.whit; Facebook: @city.whit; Twitter: @citywhit }

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8. Travel comfortably and stay hydrated. – Diary Looks

Traveling is one of the most fulfilling experiences one can have. What people don’t realize is how overwhelming it can be and that it takes a toll on you, either during your vacay or after. There are little things you can do to make the most out of your getaway, whether that is for a weekend or a month.

I don’t do airport fashion; I travel in the most comfortable ensemble I can find in my closet and that makes me feel a little bit better, especially on those long flights. I also do a thorough research of where I’m going and make a list of things I want to see with the ones I cannot miss at the top. Finally, I drink lots and lots of water (I usually do on my day to day as well). Hydration plays such an important part of feeling good and you will need tons of energy to make the most out of your trip. Safe travels, adventurers.

{ Blog: Diary Looks; Instagram: @cristalbobonis; Facebook: @diarylooks }

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9. Stay cool while travel planning with teens. – Mom2Boys

I’m fairly certain that most people who have teenage boys struggle with the dreaded “but screen time is my lifeline” mentality. It’s an ongoing battle to pry their game-playing-snapchat-posting smartphones from their hands. We get it, but as their parents, we are painfully aware that we only have a few short summers with our boys before they head off to college. And for us, that means trying to spend as much “quality time” with them as possible.

I think the word “captive” might be a bit too strong, but suffice to say we needed options that would allow us to disconnect from technology and reconnect as a family. We booked three nights at Attean Lake Lodge in Jackman, Maine. Warning: one visit to the website and you’ll likely be booking your stay, as well. It’s the type of vacation destination most people only dream about where you can go off the grid and truly unwind.

Breaking the news to our boys that our cottage by the lake would not have electricity or Wi-Fi didn’t end up being as devastating to them as we feared. In fact, they both agreed that it sounded like fun. PS – the main lodge, just a short walk down the path, has all the comforts of home, including electricity and Wi-Fi. So, technically, they will still have a lifeline to the rest of the world. For more from Betsy about planning a trip to Maine with two teenage boys, check out her full post here!

{ Blog: Mom2Boys; Facebook: @adventureswithboys }

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10. Use technology to collaborate on trip planning. – Digital Nomads in Love

My partner Gabriel Chapman and I have taken over 40 trips together since we met two and a half years ago. In the beginning, we found that planning travel together stressed us both out, mostly because I like to make quick decisions and he likes to think things over and double check to make sure we have everything perfectly in order. We’ve found that technology helps us to collaborate well together. We use shared Google Sheets to plan our trips together- one tab with an itinerary, one with links, and another with ideas for different parts of our trip.

It’s awesome because all of the information is right there for us on both of our phones at any time. We’re able to share ideas and look over the plan from A to Z to make sure we haven’t missed anything. I always make a Yelp Collection, bookmarking restaurants that we want to visit, so we can find something local and authentic anywhere we are.

Gabriel also makes Google Maps for each trip, marking the places we want to go so we can find directions easily, whether we’re walking or driving. One cool thing about this system is that it’s really easy to share our ideas with people who want advice about the destinations we know well- we just send them the links and they have all our research. Now that we’re ‘on the same page’ it’s easy to make travel planning just as fun and easy as taking a trip!

{ Blog: Digital Nomads in Love; Instagram: @digitalnomadsinlove; Facebook: @digitalnomadsinlove }

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11. Enjoy the journey and make it your own. – Celebrity Chef 4 You

When I think about advice on planning your next vacation or trip, so many things come to my mind. Try your best not to overpack, make a point to taste and sample local foods, do not over-schedule to see and do everything possible, slow down to stop and enjoy your trip!!! But most of all, have FUN. It is not just the destination. What makes your trip a great one is the journey.  Your attitude can make or break it! Don’t expect it to be just like in someone’s Instagram account. Make it unique and make it your own!

{ Blog: Celebrity Chef 4 You, Instagram: @celebritychef4u; Facebook: @celebritychef4u }

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What are your travel tips? Sound off in the comments below!