If you are completely new to the world of travel, then you are probably thinking that some tips on how to travel smarter and safer will help you immensely so that you can enjoy your trip much sooner. Listed below are some tips to get you started with your traveling plans.

When you arrive in a new hotel room, let the hot water run in the shower for a little while. Even the nicest of hotels can be somewhat dirty. Letting the hot water run will help kill spores that the regular cleaning might have missed. You aren’t paying for the water bill in the room anyway.

When traveling, even in developed nations, always assume your hands are contaminated. Don’t put your fingers in your mouth and avoid eating with your hands. Chances are good you’ve come into contact with hundreds of people and thousands of surfaces, any one of which could be carrying a disease that you aren’t prepared for.

If you are traveling in a poorer country, consider purchasing a large woven sack, like the type used to transport potatoes or other vegetables. Put your bag into this sack, and it is protected from dust, bugs, and moisture. It also nicely camouflages your possesions against thieves, as they will see a bag of farm goods instead of a tourist’s bag.

Before traveling to an area that is completely unfamiliar one should do some research to know what to expect. This research can be as simple as where to get good food, to as in depth as where to go for entertainment and pre-purchasing of tickets. Research of any kind can surely improve the quality of travel and the overall trip.

When traveling, the savvy tourist will always be on the lookout for local restaurants. A chain restaurant, even one belonging to a foreign chain the traveler does not know, will never be as colorful as an independently operated eatery. Not only are locally-owned restaurants more memorable, they are frequently cheaper than more generic options.

Use a few different merchants from the same niche, based on what you like. Offering your visitors three or four different banners to click on gives them options in potential destinations to select from. This can also provide you with valuable information as to which merchant performs the best against the others.

Read the fine print on all travel purchases you make. This ensures you will always get treated fairly. For example, sometimes airlines try to tell you they can not change your flight, but their contract often states that they can. Companies try to hide this information from you because they want more of your money. Be a prepared consumer so that businesses will not be able to take advantage of you.

As you can see from the above list of tips, traveling can be very memorable, informative and fun if you know what to do before going on your trip. After following these tips, you will no longer be new to the world of travel, but you will become an traveling expert.