Travel Blog Travel Guide - Beginners Guide to Independent Travel

Planning and Preparation

Preparation - Practical Aspects

Money

Where is your money going to come from on the road? Experienced travellers usually have a variety of sources. Hard currency - US Dollars, Euros, GBP ( Pounds Sterling) in that order are the most readily exchangeable (nearer Europe swap the Euro and dollars position) - it's recommended that you have about enough cash for a week of survival (lodgings, food) in your destination. Avoid using this money - you'll lose out on exchange rates trying to get it back later.

Next - your credit card and your ATM card - make sure that they don't expire mid trip! Get replacements if this is the case. Some people recommend splitting the locations of cards between your pack and your person - the logic being - if you are robbed and your stash is discovered, then at least you'll have some money/ATM card elsewhere. I keep my cards on my person and hide some of my cash in my pack My logic is "if I'm robbed - my pack is the most likely thing that would be taken, from the top of a bus or when sleeping on a train, so why lose something as important as an ATM card ?"

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