No one likes to feel like they HAVE to check in with a minder on vacation, but consider it part of your good sense travel experience. It can be as simple as a quick text, a chat or an email. Especially, if you are going solo, it makes sense to let someone know where you are going be it your travel buddy, the hotel, the tour guide or your relative or friend back home.
Give a copy of your itinerary to someone stateside and check in once a day at a designated time if possible. If you are going out at night, let someone at your hotel know where you are going.
We like to pick up a card from our hotel and carry it with us in case we get lost or can’t remember the street address when calling a cab or uber. When you are nervous because you aren’t where you think you are, a card from the hotel can help you get your bearings.
Download a maps app on your phone so you can see where you are going at all times. We like to go for breakfast in the morning and discuss our schedule for the day, giving me time to pull up the relevant map on my phone and memorize the route to the first stop. Most map apps have a mode for walking that will direct you as you go. Avoid holding your phone constantly or consulting a large map frequently while walking to attract unwanted attention.
If it is available, we like to use Uber when we travel. It is available in an amazing selection of cities and will allow you to summon a driver at pretty much any location. I like to use it because the app will tell you the name of the driver and his star rating, his car make/model and license plate number and the exact amount you will be charged. Also, once you start on your way you can follow along on a map on the app and see where you are going at all times. If Uber or another ridesharing app is not available, ask the concierge to call a taxi for you and arrange pick up. I have also found that in some cases there are fixed prices for cabs for specific routes to avoid price gouging that ride sharing does not have. Also, don’t forget to arrange for a pickup, especially if it is in the evening.
If you plan your time and your route in advance you will be confident and will not need to look like a lost tourist. Note that some foreigners will have pity on you and help you if you are indeed lost, but a lot will not. Also, there may well be a language barrier. Please do not run up to helpless locals and stick your map in their face and freak out. If you are lost, go into the next shop you see and ask for help there. Most of all, don’t worry and stay calm. Sometimes it’s nice to get lost in a foreign city and see what you find!
