7 must have things when you go on holiday

It’s been a long time since my last post, but I am back here and I’m going to tell you 7 must have things you need when you go on holiday.
Mainly, this is a list of things I think about and I always take with me when I go somewhere, and maybe you should too! Enjoy! 🙂

Don’t leave with big expectations

This is one of the typical mistakes everyone does. You decide to spend your holiday somewhere, let’s say London, and you have so many expectations because you’ve heard so many good things about London. And that’s a very bad thing, because you might find out that the place didn’t live to the expectations.

Let’s take my example. About three years ago, I spent one week in Athens, Greece. Because I’ve heard so many great things about how nice and impressive were the ruins on the Acropolis of Athens, my expectations were rather high. Even now, I really don’t know what I expected to see back then (unicorns, maybe?). I’m not going to say they are not impressive, because they are, especially if you think that they were build in a time when they didn’t have the technology we have today. But I expected, probably, something more than ruins and I only saw the remains of once beautiful temples.

Don’t tire yourself very much

Don’t tire yourself very much, especially in the first couple of days. I know, being in a new city makes you want to go to so many places in the same time and you end up squeezing in so many things in a daily schedule. My advice is to try and visit the city step by step. If you’re tired, then you won’t be able to enjoy what you’re seeing and it would be a waste of time. Made daily schedules, but not too busy and if you get tired before doing it all, then take a break. You can see that thing later, it won’t disappear!

Don’t visit places just for the sake of visiting them

One of the things I hear from different people is that: “I went to that museum/landmark/place just because I know it’s a must see”. You’re not passioned about history museums? You’d rather not visit the Science Museum in that city? The car museum everyone’s talking about doesn’t really interest you? Then don’t go there! It’s just as simple as that! If you’re not interested in a tourist attraction, then don’t visit it even if some people say it’s worth it. You shouldn’t go to places if you don’t really want to, just for the sake of saying, “I went to The Acropolis” and for a check in.
After all, you can visit the whole city, but not see anything.

Take a photo camera

When I leave the city I live in for a holiday, no matter how short or long, I always take my photo camera. Besides the fact that I’m passionate about photography, I think the photo camera is one of the things everyone should carry. With it, you can photograph so many beautiful parts of different cities, you can take group photos and the photos are a great way for you to never forget that awesome holiday.
I, for example, use a Nikon D5100 DSLR and a GoPro Hero 4 Silver. Recently, I’ve come to love the GoPro because it’s easier to carry in the bag due to its small size and takes really good photos. You can’t compare the GoPro photos to the DSLR ones, but they have good quality and I love the fish-eye effect.

Pack a small notebook&pen

It’s no mystery that I love notebooks, but I think they are really important on a holiday. You can draw in them (if you’re into drawing), or you can take notes, or you can write down things like what you want to visit, opening and closing hours of attractions, details about your flight, things you want to remember about that place. There are so many uses for a notebook that, in my opinion, it’s vital!

Don’t forget the travel guide&map

The travel guide and the map are really important. The travel guide is good for informing yourself about the main attractions in the city and you can decide what you want to see and what you don’t want to see. Apart from that, it is good to know a little about what city you’re going to visit. And it’s really good if you’re bored in the plane and you don’t have anything else to read!
What can I say about the map? It’s really useful, especially in cities that have many narrow streets that give you the impression that you’re walking north when you’re actually going south. I know that now you can use a GPS and get out of that dire situation, but what if the GPS doesn’t work anymore? Better be prepared!

Don’t forget to enjoy your holiday!

It happened to me to be so concentred on seeing everything that there is to see somewhere, that I really didn’t have time to enjoy the holiday. Don’t do that. Do everything with measure, enjoy everything you do (if you don’t, then it’s a waste of your time), have fun and remember it’s a vacation YOU should like.
When I was in Rome, I remember that I did so many things that in the end I realised I haven’t enjoyed all of them due to being tired. For example, I remember clearly that I didn’t enjoy the Vatican Museum because I was extremely tired, my back and feet hurt and I just wanted to get out of there. So don’t do that!

So these are one of the things I take and think about before I leave on holiday and I thought it would be best if I shared my experiences with you.

What do you think about before visiting a city? And what do you take with you every time you go somewhere? I’d be really happy to read your answers! 🙂

And don’t forget! Enjoy your holiday and make the most of it! 🙂