How to Travel Like Abby Brock

So spring break is happening now or coming out for many people! After an extensive amount of research and controlled last minute planning, I am going to Clearwater Beach, Florida with my sister, Emily! I really enjoy traveling and even though I have not been to too many places, I have lived and learned throughout all the trips. I am going to share some of the lessons and tips I have learned about traveling and ways I find the best deals, restaurants, or Instagram worthy locations. I have been known to be a somewhat savvy shopper or traveller. I will not purchase anything unless I have found the best deal. My No. 1 tip for any trip would be to have a budget. Include everything in this budget from airfare to Uber rides. Having a budget can help you weave through all the flights and hotels you will come across. All of my tips for travel will be more geared towards those looking to save money. 

Flights/Hotels

So my first tip for getting flights or a hotel would be to do it at least 2 weeks from the travel date. My sister is on the women's basketball team at Northern so we were not able to start planning this trip until they lost. This hurt our chances of finding cheap hotels but we clearly made it work!

I have a whole group of apps on my phone dedicated to traveling. For the flights, I like to use two sites, Skyscanner and Kayak. These will gather all types of flights from either the airlines website or different channels offering cheaper airfare. Both will allow you to filter to given times, save trips to a watchlist and get notified when they increase or decrease in price and tell you if leaving a day earlier or later will save you significant amount of money. Definitely check these out for your next travel adventure. 

For the hotels, I use Expedia. I think opposing sites such as Tripadvisor or booking.com are just as good but in my experience I also use Expedia. Websites such as those listed will give you discounted prices and include customer reviews. This is crucial. I never book a hotel or vacation home until I read reviews. An important message for people my age looking to travel: Make sure the hotel is an minimum age of 18 for checking in. If not, you may be out of luck. These types of hotels are hard to come by but they are out there.  I also have never stayed in one, but Airbnb’s are becoming more and more popular. These are houses rented out for others to stay in. They have great deals and give you many options as opposed to a hotel. 

Transportation

Uber or Lyft is normally how I get around on trips. If someone in your group has never downloaded the Uber/Lyft app, there are normally coupons for first timers. I also recommend checking out public transportation. It is not ideal but it can be much cheaper than ordering an Uber everywhere. In Clearwater, a trolley drives around the entire strip of the island and the mainland. We plan to use this to get to certain locations too far of a walk or too short for an Uber. The trolley offers a discounted rate for students with a valid student ID so make sure you’re always looking for ways your college education can help!

Restaurants/Insta-worthy 

Food is a crucial part of any trip. I love visiting local restaurants when I am in a new city. One of the big rules I try to follow when on a trip is to not eat at any chains. I can eat Chipotle back in Ohio. To find those hole-in-the-wall, quaint locations I go to multiple locations. First, I’ll go to Yelp. I’ll type in restaurants in whichever city I am visiting. I can see pictures, reviews and menus through Yelp. Once I have found an interesting place through Yelp, I like to go onto Instagram and type in the location and search under the “places” tab on Instagram. This will show me everyone who posted a picture and used this place in the post. This will give me a new perspective on the restaurant. If you go somewhere and don't want to take a picture…. Is it really worth it? (Maybe this is just a me thing) So this is my way of finding the best places to eat with a cute, aesthetically pleasing feel to it. 

In addition to using Yelp and Instagram, I like to to go Odyssey Online to find things to do or places to eat. I cannot stand going to a new city and having no idea what to do or see. You have to do your research people. When in bigger cities, the locals love to write articles about the best things to do in their town. Or even googling or using Pinterest will tell you unique things to do in the new city. When I am looking for excursions, normally when I go to the beach, I like to use Tripadvisor as a verification of quality. Some places pride themselves on being “Voted No. 1 on Tripadvisor.” 

These are just a few of my tips for when I travel. I will be posting about my trip to Clearwater next week so be sure to watch for it! Let me know about any other travel tips you have!