Guest post courtesy of Liza Cornfield:

Like any millennial, I’m fairly attached to my phone. So I naturally noticed pretty quickly that it had gone missing. After searching all over the hotel, I decided to try the Find my iPhone app only to discover it was in Bethlehem, about 30-45 minutes away. At first I thought it must be a mistake. I wrote a message through the app in several languages and then pressed for the sound to go off over 25 times. After a little while, I was notified that the phone had been found and would be returned to me. When we met up with the culprit and her tour guide, she told me (in Portuguese) that I shouldn’t be putting my phone in other peoples bags and then walked off. Because millennials are clearly known best for stashing their phones in strangers’ bags, especially while traveling in a foreign country.

Pro-tip: The Find my iPhone app is incredibly useful if you ever find yourself without your lifeline.

Guest post courtesy of Emily McDermott:

For our trip to the Black Hills, my family and I packed and checked our bags as usual. However due to weather, our connecting flight from Chicago to Rapid City was cancelled. And since it was a small jumper plane to a small airport, there were no additional flights. So, when we got a different flight to another airport we thought all was well, even if we did have to drive 8 hours across the state to Rapid City. However, the universe had other plans for my parents’ luggage. Unfortunately, it never changed flights and was still in Chicago when we landed in South Dakota. Three days and many trips to Walmart later, we were ready to leave South Dakota for Colorado, just in time for their luggage to arrive.

Pro-tip: If you are taking small jumper planes or going to remote airports, have a carry on with essentials with you just in case. Those airports don’t have the frequent flights or the resources to accommodate mishaps like main hubs do. Better to carry on than to shop at Walmart for three days to buy all new clothes.

The strongest memories that we retain from childhood are usually the traumatic ones. I’ve been told that I had a good time in California my first time there. Unfortunately, I have no recollection of that. What I do remember is that we were visiting a friend’s house and they happened to have a pet parrot. Having never seen such a colorful animal before, I got a little closer and the parrot promptly bit my finger. And while I’m sure the rest of the trip was perfectly lovely, my six year old brain decided to only store that feeling of sheer terror. Luckily, I got a chance to go back to San Francisco later on in life and create new memories.

Pro-tip: Taking young children on vacation is fairly useless. They’ll only remember the bad stuff. But that’s just my pessimistic point of view.

The beginning of a trip is always filled with excitement for the potential things you will see, places you will visit, people you will meet, etc. Unfortunately, there is also the potential to get lost. That is what happened at the very beginning of our journey in Costa Rica. We arrived at the airport, rented a car and got on the road, filled with the excitement that every new journey brings. That excitement quickly turned to panic once we realized that the main highway was closed down. The only way to get to our hotel was through the mountains. This also happened before the era of smartphones, Google Maps, and Waze. So instead, we had to rely on outdated maps and broken translations in Spanish to guide us to our destination. After nearly 3 hours, we finally made it, although to be honest, the only direction that I properly understood from a local was “make a left at the church.” Needless to say, the lemon infused water provided at the lobby upon arrival never tasted sweeter.

Pro-tip: Navigation is very important while traveling. Don’t just expect to figure things out when you get there, make sure that you pack the proper tools to help you troubleshoot.

One of the first things that is sacrificed while traveling is sleep. While adjusting to a different time zone, acclimating to an unfamiliar environment, and trying to soak up as much as possible in a limited amount of time, sleep becomes a lesser priority. Unfortunately, my body barely rises to the occasion when it isn’t properly rested. We had decided to wake up early to take a train to Giverny so that we could get there before the crowds hit. What I didn’t account for was the fact that I wouldn’t be able to sleep at all the night before and therefore needed to make it through the day on three hours of sleep. Giverny was one of the things I was looking forward to the most on the trip, so there was no way I was missing out. Made it to Giverny but definitely passed out on the train on the way back. I was informed I sleep with my eyes open, so that’s a new fun fact I guess.

Pro-tip: If you know that your body has difficulty adjusting to sleep in new environments, bring along melatonin to help ease you into it.

Guest post courtesy of Ruthi Pratt and Hamer Farag of @twogetoutside:

We were so excited for our visit to China. Unfortunately, bureaucracy got in the way and our visa was denied. So instead, we had to get a little bit creative and spent 7 extra days exploring Japan.

Pro-Tip: Always remain flexible while traveling. You never know what can pop up, especially when dealing with a foreign government. Make the most of your experiences, despite the unforeseen challenges.

Sometimes you travel somewhere because you’ve got an entire itinerary of activities that you want to do. And sometimes, you just have one place you want to visit really badly, even if it’s the middle of nowhere. So you go, and you have a great time for like, half a day. And then you quickly realize that you’ve got another day and a half to kill and there’s nothing else to do for hundreds of miles. Such was the case with San Simeon and Hearst Castle. Hearst Castle is a definite recommendation of mine – it’s unlike anything else I’ve seen in the US. It’s got history, it’s got art, it’s got eccentric billionaires and old-school Hollywood scandals, with gardens and scenic views that are unparalleled. And then San Simeon itself has….sand, motels, and a couple restaurants.

Pro-tip: My advice is to get there the night before, stay in a hotel, visit the castle in the morning, and get out of dodge by late afternoon. Trust me, you’re not missing anything.

As a seasoned traveller, I’ve got my methods for overcoming jet lag. Catch a red-eye, sleep through the flight, plan light activities for the first day, and then go to sleep early that first night. Unfortunately, with travel, as I have learned many times before, things don’t always go according to plan. Sometimes, when my body is thrust out of its normal routine, it completely messes with my system. So for the first 3 days in Paris I had no appetite, I had constant headaches and nausea, and most importantly, I was unable to go to sleep. I tried to ensure that sleep deprivation didn’t affect my itinerary, but it eventually caught up with me. And by the time I had finally adjusted, it was time to go home.

Pro-tip: If you have trouble sleeping at night, try to plan little pockets of rest during the daytime.

As an anxious person, I’ve always got an emergency supply of Xanax on me at all times, just in case a situation arises. And the time leading up to a trip is always anxiety producing. This particular trip had me feeling especially anxious so I did something I don’t normally do – I started to rely on the Xanax and took it for 3 days straight. As someone who has a very sensitive system and who usually only takes it every couple of months, this was pretty out of character. So it didn’t occur to me once I finally arrived in Chicago that I shouldn’t partake at the tiki bar. I only had one drink, but that was enough. I was fine that night, but the following morning, I was walking around Chicago and didn’t feel right. I was feeling dizzy, extremely nauseous, and light-headed. I was afraid I would pass out on the street, so I wound up lying down on a bench and googling my symptoms. It occurred to me that the mixing of Xanax and alcohol might have something to do with it. Word to the wise: don’t google “what happens if I mix alcohol and Xanax”. Because the internet will tell you that you’re going to die. Which was pretty disconcerting considering how I was already feeling. After resting and hydrating for several hours, I finally started to feel better, but feeling that vulnerable while in an unfamiliar city was pretty nerve-wracking.

Pro-Tip: Don’t take Xanax and alcohol in the same day. This should be self explanatory but some people (ahem ahem me) need a reminder sometimes. And when in doubt, hydrate.

Guest post courtesy of Amy Rothschild:

In Yiddish, there are similar terms: shlemiel and shlimazel. A shlemiel is clumsy or inept and a shlimazel is someone who is plagued with constant bad luck. In other words, a schlemiel is somebody who often spills his soup and a schlimazel is the person it lands on. In this particular case, I think I might have actually qualified as both. While visiting Israel for the first time ever, I was excited to explore a land that I had been learning about for my entire life. I might have been a little too excited, because I wound up crashing into street stanchions everywhere I went. It became a running joke in my family and to this day, they feel the need to alert me every time a stanchion is in my path.

Pro-tip: Always be aware of your surroundings, especially if you’re in unfamiliar territory or if you’re traveling with people who will ridicule you for the rest of your life.