Whether you are a first-time traveler, a seasoned globetrotter, or somewhere beyond or in-between, taking the time to reflect on your travel experiences and plans gives you an opportunity to consider how to be a good traveler—or more accurately, how to be a better traveler.
No matter how many places you’ve visited, there’s always time to learn how to be a better traveler.
If you’re searching for tips for being a good traveler, it can be easy to buy into the idea that there are “good” travelers—and on the flip side, “bad” travelers. However, there is more nuance in life than binary thinking. To complicate this notion, we are framing “good” within the framework of bettering our practices, learning from our mistakes, and finding ways to align our impact with our intentions as we set off around the world.
It is good to remind yourself that being a “good” traveler is not a destination, but rather an active commitment to doing better as you learn. Your ability to slow down, reflect, and travel with intention, as well as your commitment to accountability and repair, are major pieces of the good traveler puzzle.
How to be a good (or better!) traveler
You hold a lot of power and responsibility for where, how, and why you travel, so be sure to consider these tips for being a good traveler throughout all the stages of your journey.
While planning your travel
1. Research potential programs and experiences
Meaningful travel is most possible when you travel with intention. This intentionality is necessary to apply throughout the entire process—beginning long before you step on a plane.
Developing a travel routine that begins with researching the who, how, and what of your travel desires will help you be a better traveler. So, start now! Even if you already have your travels booked, go take a minute to learn more about who will be involved in making your experience what it is!
2. Consider locations outside of your comfort zone
Maybe you already have your flights booked (with hopefully the best deal possible), or maybe you are only beginning to dream of the possibilities—no matter where you are in your planning process, remember that location matters! To be a better traveler, it is important to develop a mindset and skill-set centered around becoming comfortable with discomfort.
We learn the most when we are challenged to expand beyond our comfort zones.
Choosing locations to travel to—be it countries on the other side of the world from your own, smaller cities beyond those most traveled to, or places that aren’t tourist-focused—during your trip will allow you to develop the skill of embracing ambiguity and leaning into discomfort, making you a better traveler.
Pro-tip for being a good traveler: Learn about ethnocentrism. Understanding what it is can help you disrupt those notions when they arise.
3. Understand the history and present
Before you board the plane, take some time to read up on your destination’s present AND history.
Being a good, responsible traveler means learning about where you will be traveling and the people who call that place home. How do people live where you are going? What are the customs, traditions, and norms? Although you will learn more about this firsthand while you are abroad, doing some ground work before you leave will help you be a better, more prepared traveler.
Even more, learning about the sociopolitical state of where you are traveling can give you some insight into how your experience will be. What is the colonial history and legacy? How are Indigenous people treated and celebrated? What type of government is in power, and who are the main leaders? What social movements are happening? What does the general population care about?
4. When possible, choose sustainable travel options
In order to become a better traveler, it is important to consider your impact and create a plan to reduce your footprint. Can you take a train? A ferry? A bike? Are there local organizations that can help you offset your carbon footprint?
What about packing some reusable bags for groceries—some countries charge for plastic bags anyway, so it’s a win-win—a reusable water bottle, and solid walking shoes? These intentional choices can help you minimize the trash you produce, as well as give you the opportunity to get to know your new home away from home in a more intimate way.
READ MORE: Green Study Abroad Made Easy Thanks to This Handy Tool
5. Identify your intentions, goals, positionality
When considering how to be a better traveler, take a moment first to reflect on your own power, privilege, and positionality. Your identities—and their intersections—influence your travels in overt and subtle ways.
Start to reflect on this now, and keep up the practice while you are abroad. Take the time to also understand why you want to travel and what you hope to get out of your travel experience.
When you have a clear vision and some goals identified, use that information to make decisions while you are abroad. Are you hoping to become a more engaged citizen? Make sure you have a plan to vote while you are abroad.
Do you hope to improve your language skills? Prioritize activities that integrate you within the languages spoken. Good travelers cultivate their experiences based on their goals.
6. Create a plan to document and reflect on your experience
Journaling can be a great way to reflect on your experiences as you travel.
How do you want to remember your experience? What modalities help you reflect about your days? Some travelers choose to journal at the end of each day, reflecting on what they learned, saw, and tried. A fun way to document your experience is through journaling on postcards from the destinations you visit!
Other travelers may prefer to share about their experiences through blogging, photo-journaling, or posting on social media. No matter what modality you choose, in order to be a better traveler, consider ethical practices for taking pictures of people you meet and sharing the stories you hear, especially on social media.
7. Pack with purpose
Traveling better also means packing better. Bring goodies from your home to share with those you meet—whether it’s locally made goodies or games for local kids to play with. These items can open up conversations and help you develop lifelong friendships!
Pack versatile clothes for different situations—it can be helpful to pack scarves for covering shoulders, wearing it as a head covering, or even as a pillow on the plane! Make sure to include your essentials in your carry on—i.e. your prescriptions, electronics and converters, access to money (don’t forget to check expiration dates on all of your cards!), and a couple of changes of clothing.
And always, always, always double-triple-quadruple check that you have your passport (again, check the expiration date!) and any required visas, vaccinations, and other entry requirements.
READ MORE: The Essential International Travel Checklist PDF for Newbies
8. Develop a budget with integrity
Once you’ve had time to reflect on the who, what, and where, you can begin to shape the how through a good budgeting plan. Use your goals and reflections as guideposts in your decision making.
Choose the things you are willing to “splurge” on and the things you would rather be spending savvy. Maybe you’re more excited about trying the local cuisine than going to all of the typical tourist attractions, so budget accordingly.
Pro-tip for being a good traveler: Pack your student ID! If you are still a student, make sure to check if you can receive a student discount on transportation, at museums, or other tourist activities.
While abroad
9. Localize your experience
Support local, small, and family-run businesses—not only will you directly impact the local community, but you will also be able to get to know the local area through the local community. Think of the yummiest foods, intentionally crafted goods, and experiences that will keep your body dancing for more.
Get to know the local community by sampling some mouthwatering cuisine.
Take *free* walking tours by locals that will give you lessons in history, culture, and all of the to-dos in the region. This can also be an opportunity to meet people! Whether you’re chatting with other travelers or locals running the shops around the tour, strike up a conversation and maybe you’ll end up with some new friends.
10. Opt for public transportation
Although it may seem less convenient at times, opting for public transportation gives you closer access to the local ways of living, seeing your host community from different perspectives, and, possibly, lessening your carbon footprint. It may even be a penny saver in the long run.
Pro-tip for being a good traveler: Learning the public transportation systems in new places can be incredibly empowering. You will feel more confident and capable of navigating any new place.
11. Do as the locals do
When thinking about how to be a good traveler, an easy way to integrate yourself into the local community is to do as the locals do. Learn the customs and traditions, and experience the richness of life in this new (to you) place.
Let your life be different here than it is at home. Read that again—life does not need to be the same here as it is at home. It’s okay if that’s uncomfortable, it’s okay if that looks different each day, and it’s okay if this experience changes the way you live your life once you return home, too.
12. Learn the language
¿Habla usted Inglés? Tu parles francés? Unaongea Kiswahili?
Even if you don’t speak the local language fluently before you arrive, it is a pro-traveler tip to at least learn some basic phrases—getting lost and finding yourself unable to ask where the bathroom or the closest train station is may leave you in some tricky situations…
You can save yourself from some awkward (and stressful) situations by learning key phrases in the local language.
Put in the good effort, even if you don’t speak the language perfectly. Remind yourself that making mistakes is part of learning a language. By stepping into a new language, in a new location, you have the opportunity to step into a new version of yourself—which is pretty cool when you think about it.
READ MORE: 10 Best Ways to Learn a New Language
13. Practice humility and reflection
Continue the reflection practice you began before departing throughout your time abroad. How does the way you think about your power, privilege, and positionality change in this new context? How does it stay the same? What do you notice about the way others around you receive you?
Traveling to a new place is an interesting opportunity to observe the space that you take up and the ways others take up space. You have an impact as a traveler, and in order to be a better traveler, you should become aware of this impact and be willing to repair harm when it happens. Accountability, gratitude, humility, and reflection go a long way.
14. Take part in experiential learning
By doing research and establishing a reflection practice before you travel abroad, you will be setting yourself up for some incredible experiential learning opportunities. There is an abundance of opportunities for you to learn when you travel, and this only increases as you reflect on what you’ve learned—no matter how big or small the interaction—and then integrate those new learnings as you move forward.
Everyone you meet has knowledge and lived experience that you can learn from. Everything you do or encounter is an opportunity to learn and grow. Keep your mind, heart, and eyes open for new opportunities.
15. Don't be flashy
As a visitor in a community, it is important to be aware of your surroundings and how you may be attracting unwanted attention to yourself, even unintentionally. It can be tempting to utilize technology—namely phones and laptops—in the same ways you use them at home.
Pay attention to how (and where/when) other people use their devices and adapt accordingly. You may bring unwanted attention by having your phone out while you are on the bus, or trying to navigate the winding streets of a new city—keeping your head down in Google maps screams “I’m not from here!”
Pro-tip for being a good traveler: Keep your valuables and copies of important documents—like your passport, visas, and credit/debit cards—in a safe place.
16. Frame social media as a tool for connection and inspiration
Instead of using social media as an escape, let it work as a tool for further connection.
Social media has the potential of being a very helpful tool while you’re abroad. However, it can be tempting to use social media as a crutch or an escape that keeps you connected to home.
So, when considering how to be a good traveler, you can reframe social media as a tool rather than a form of connection back home. Social media can help you find cool new places to visit and it can help you meet locals and other travelers.
Pro-tip for being a good traveler: Ask yourself, would you take this trip if you couldn’t share it on social media? Take a moment to reflect on what comes up for you and use that information to shape your experience.
Returning home
17. Leave the names, share the stories
You will return home carrying new stories and experiences—many that aren’t fully yours—in a similar way that a book expands the more its pages absorb the experience (i.e. notes and highlights) of the reader.
Share the stories of those you meet, but be careful about perpetuating the dangers of a single story. The human experience is nuanced and complicated, no matter where you are in the world. Be mindful of not simplifying or reducing the experience of others.
You should protect the intimate and personal details of stories that you heard from others, while still sharing the lessons.
18. Allow your travels to change the way you live
Did you love siesta culture in Spain? Using forks and spoons with each meal in the Philippines? Walking for miles and miles rather than driving around urban cities? Longer meals centered around conversation and community?
Those routines don’t have to stop once you return home. You can shape your life based on the experiences, routines, and practices that resonated with you most. Life is not meant to be lived in one way.
19. Be an active citizen in your home community
Let your time abroad expand your awareness of the world and your place within it. Let these experiences activate you and motive you to contribute to change, to community, to liberation.
Maybe your travels highlighted the impact of climate change, the prevalence of global anti-Blackness, or the importance of decoloniality—let those experiences shape your politics and the way you show up for your global/local community.
20. Understand the returnee experience
In the same ways you may have experienced the culture shock cycle, there is also a returnee experience cycle that may be helpful to be aware of. Talk with other people who have traveled, find ways to bring your global experiences home, and don’t hesitate to utilize the resources out there to support your integration back home.
Coming back home can be hard. Processing your feelings and reflecting on your experience can help you work through those feelings rather than getting stuck in them. Let yourself experience what comes up, and then let those feelings go.
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Be a better traveler this year and beyond!
Reflect, be humble and intentional, and stay open to the wonderful and life-changing experiences traveling offers.
Traveling is an incredibly wondrous and challenging and enlightening and life-changing experience. By approaching your travels with intention, humility, reflection, and gratitude, you’ll be able to elevate your meaningful travel experiences for everyone involved.
Mutually beneficial experiences can create bonds and relationships that surpass time. Reciprocity and community building can help you grow roots in new places around the world. It is okay to redefine your understanding of home—and self—through your travels. In fact, we encourage it!
The more you practice traveling with intention, the more easeful each trip will become. Let your goals guide you, your reflections ground you, and your experiences expand you beyond what you thought was possible. This is only the beginning of the journey!
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