Our best travel tip to make your trip more memorable: Don’t waste your precious vacation time. Great vacation memories are our most important possession.
Vacation time is held dear but many travelers are guilty of squandering it.
For most of us, a visit to a new place is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We believe you should make the most of every one.
In recent years, we have become fans of paying a bit more for tours and opportunities to avoid long lines. In some cases, these are “front of the line tours” with a guide; others are tours that allow you to visit in a small group before or after the museum or venue closes.
This tip does not always mean you must spend more money. It can be as simple as arriving early when the venue first opens.
Consider the cost of losing hours per day fighting traffic between your outskirts hotel and the city center where the attractions are. That is time that could be spent building great vacation memories!
Do you want this?
Or do you want this?
Here's How We Made a Trip More Memorable with Our Best Travel Tip
Pre-pandemic, we were visiting Museo del Prado in Madrid.
When we arrived, the line was so long it was clear the wait would be hours. We got out a phone and bought “Bypass the lines” tickets for the next day.
We then went on to the next attraction on our list and enjoyed more of Madrid. It cost about $20 per person but the value of having several hours of vacation time for touring seemed well worth it.
In fact, the tour guide the next day not only got us into del Prado quickly but the two hour tour of the highlights was excellent. We learned things we would not have had we self-toured. We counted it money well spent.
How Would Rather Remember Your Trip to the Vatican?
Visiting the Vatican, which is an amazing experience, can make you feel like a very small snail in a very large ocean of sightseers.
We loved the art and beauty, but the intense crowd size made the experience difficult,
The next time we go, we will go for an after hours tours. To experience the Vatican in relative solitude seems worth it to us. Stonehenge is another example where it may well be worth it.
Our new mantra is–what is the value of your vacation time? We can stand in long hot lines for hours or we can relax in a piazza sipping cappuccino. We believe our best travel tip can make your next vacation much more memorable!
Our Best Tip Worked at the Acropolis
Similarly, our visit to the Acropolis and Acropolis Museum was made far more pleasant by arriving at the 8 a.m. opening, then spending a leisurely two hours climbing to the top and enjoying the antiquities and the view. Once the tour groups began arriving around 10 or so, we walked down and enjoyed the incredible museum.
