Museums: yay or nay?

Also I completely agree that it is worth visiting places that are deemed “touristy”. As you said, these places are popular for a reason! No one would visit Sydney without seeing the Opera House, no one would visit Paris without seeing La Tour Eiffel, who would want to leave Cambodia without seeing Angkor Wat, etc etc. Allowing others to steer one away from “touristy locations” would mean missing out on huge pieces of culture, tradition, iconic landmarks etc. I completely agree! Amen sister .lol

I love traveling on off seasons. October is my favorite season to travel because with few exceptions it’s offseason for almost everywhere and better weather for many places not to mention much cheaper! Thanks for all the tips! 😊

As a long time follower, I’m glad this video popped up today. I’m going on my first international business trip. I’ve never gone through customs. I feel ashamed as I’m new to this and won’t ask coworkers for help, but enjoyed these tips.

#5 is so true! 🙌🏻 I finally realized I'm way more into visiting nature spots and natural locations than seeing the big tourist thing. I leave with beautiful memories and photos of nature and wildlife, which is way better than trying to squeeze in between other tourists to get a look.

I'm totally with you when it comes to nonstop flights. After experiencing a similar incident at London Heathrow. I now do non-stop flights only (when possible) and if its not possible, I make sure there is at least a 2 hr layover between flights and that's after looking at the airport map, etc. I only missed a connection once, but that was enough for me.

OMG, the Austin to Houston on is the most heartbreaking cause on that one you know you could have just driven to Houston by the time you added up TSA, checking in early, etc. And shhhh!!! Don't tell everyone how fantastic off season travel is, we'll have more people show up, LOL! My son adores museums. We have to compromise traveling together. He got a day of museums and I got to stand in the crowds for the coronation. He had earbuds in, jamming to the music.

I'm with you on #5 - I tell friends all the time, if you're not interested in doing things on the "must do" lists, don't do them - do what you want to do and enjoy, it's your vacation, not some list makers vacation....going because you somehow think you should isn't a reason, go because you want to go!!!

I went to Italy last summer (first Eurotrip!) for my best friend's wedding and now I'm SERIOUSLY considering my second trip to be in the offseason like you mentioned. I want to take my mom and neither of us are bothered by cold weather, so you may have just saved us a bunch of money, time, and energy not fighting the crowds I saw in Florence... yikes.

So much great advice! I love to travel off season 💕 I think one thing I suggest about traveling is not planning every detail, allow yourself a day in a location to just explore, the spontaneity often leads to some cool experiences.

My “mistake” that I no longer do.. is traveling with check-in luggage. I have such an easier time traveling with less, everything in a duffle or small carry-on.

I used those websites to search better prices and it worked for me until now. My lady trips were a nightmare starting with confirmation emails, charges to my card and trying to resolve it is even worse. Now I am trying to book the flights with the airlines directly and avoid connecting flights. Thank you for the alliance tip, I was not aware of this option.

Just thought I’d let you know that you are my absolute hero 😂 I am just about to graduate with a degree in film- I’ve always loved wildlife photography and videography and loved travelling. I found your channel at the end of 2021 and decided to copy your rough route around Germany in January 2022 on my own at age 20 (slightly more of a student budget but still amazing). This lit something up in me!! May 2022 I saved up enough money to go solo travelling around Belgium and Luxembourg for a week which was insane. In July I travelled around Italy from Naples up to Venice and in August I interrailed around the south of France for a week, staying in hostels and meeting other like-minded solo travellers. In December I last-minute decided to go to Iceland for just 2 days, i had issues with my airplanes too 😂 my flight got cancelled so I didn’t get home till Christmas Eve. I saw the northern lights 4 times during those 2 days and it really cured a lot of the depression even for just a few days. Travelling for me now has become a positive and negative, I haven’t been feeling the best mentally for the last year or so and my friends have been telling me that I have been ‘flying away from my problems’ hence why I haven’t gone anywhere this year. But…. I’ve just booked a one way ticket to Sydney for September, and I’ve obtained a one year working holiday visa for Australia. So… here I come!! Solo travelling is the best thing I’ve ever ever done and I would encourage anyone to do it. Stop sitting around waiting for someone to come with you!

Great advice all around! Thank you! Love your videos, as always!

Love this. Thank you so much for sharing.

I don't travel much, but I found this video very helpful, and reassuring! I visit my daughters in other states a couple times a year, and I have experienced some of the situations you described. I was so stressed out and frustrated. Your video showed me it's normal, and ways to improve my future trips. Thank you. I'll go check out more of your videos.

Always appreciate your viewpoint on your travels

I'm with you on direct flights. I always pay a little more money and book direct flights. A former adventure friend of mine booked a trip out of PDX to Zagreb and she missed a connecting flight in Atlanta with another airline. Long story short, her bags were lost. She got reimbursed by the airline but the value of her items far exceeded her reimbursement. It was a nightmare. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

I love this video!!! Especially your last thing about tourist spots. I know it crowded and touristy but it is worth having that experience once. I have regretted many times by ignoring the tourist stuff. It is worth it at least once.

Love off season travel for many reasons!! Just discovered your channel and we’re big fans, thanks for sharing 🤩

Totally agree with your feelings on museums. My boyfriend and I are currently traveling around Europe for the first time and we are both history teachers but agree that as much as we like history, we’d rather walk around and soak in the city culture.

Thanks for sharing these "mistakes" with us. Other people are telling us their wisdom all the time; either on KZfaq or in books. Mistakes can be good learning opportunities, but we don't need to make unnecessary ones when other people are telling us about their experiences.

I agree on the preference for direct flights, but depending on your destination you don’t always get that option. I visit my mom in Eugene, OR every year for Christmas, and there are no direct flights from where I live around NYC. I’ve since learned to avoid layovers in Chicago, though, as I missed my connecting flight going out the first time.

Yes, yes, yes to not letting other people shame you for wanting to do touristy things when you’re a tourist! I used to live in Paris and whenever people ask for advice about what to see when they visit for the first time, I always tell them to do the “touristy stuff” because…it’s their first time! Why wouldn’t you?! Love your videos and the evolution you’ve made over time (I’m an OG viewer). ❤

My most recent travel hiccup was last year when I was on a road trip from NC to MT. We booked an Airbnb for Boise while we were in Cheyenne not realizing that the interstate was closed due to the winter so we ended up not getting there that day & having to find a new accommodation for the night

Thank you for sharing

I loved this so much. It was so relatable ❤

I used to fly all of the time, but I have developed a fear of flying since the pandemic and not having flown for such a long time. I watch your videos to hopefully inspire me to get back on a plane. I was an anxious flyer before so now I am not sure I can do it at all.

Keep making videos for us love...keep rocking.... waiting for your next trip videos...love from india 😘❤️

Yes, yes, yes to #5. I'm having that experience now. Going to Europe for ~3 weeks next month. Told/seen that when you go to the Balkans, you should find a quaint city on the Adriatic, walk along seawalls, pretend you're in the Med, etc. And yet when I saw a site talking about traversing an unknown-to-me mountain range, my ♥ sang!

Enjoyed these tips

Your creativity knows no bounds. Inspiring!

This was awesome!

Thank you for this video!!!

2 videos in one week! how exciting, loving the new content thank you Allison ❤I feel you about the direct flights, I'll go out of my way to get direct these days. Layovers may be cheaper but it's also so much more of a hassle, more can go wrong, and it's a time waster! I wanted to fly from Edinburgh to Iceland on my upcoming Europe trip and they only do 1 direct flight a week, so I'm staying in Edinburgh longer waiting for that direct flight as otherwise, it would take me like 18 hours to get there with a 12hour layover in Finland. Ridiculous!

Enjoy watching your videos so very much, I being a living room traveller. Feel like I've done those travels myself. Thanks for the marvelous coverage where you deal with all the aspects. & hey, has anyone pointed out that you resemble Kate Winslet, because you do 👍

I would generally agree with your tips on sticking to an airline alliance and getting direct flights but the 3 major airline alliances are in competition with each other and so direct flights are limited depending on your route you'd want to take. Just know that airline hubs are where the airline bases their flight crews, maintenance, and airplanes at so typically the schedules reflect planes flying to/from a hub. If you're concerned about getting to the destination - I'd prefer to fly to a major hub if a connection is required because your options for the airline to getting you to your destination is much higher than if you're in a spoke city. Sometimes a route will have a direct flight from a competing airline alliance so you'd have to do the calculation of being loyal vs. direct flights. Thing to know is to know the hubs for your specific airline/alliance because the airlines in the alliances will structure their schedule to fly to/from the same hubs (i.e. if you fly a SkyTeam airline - chances are they will connect in one of Delta's hubs around the US)

Nice and informative video ❤

5 and 6 are what I argue all the time. You're the one spending the money going there, do what you like and what naturally appeals to you. Usually when someone tells me a city or attraction is overrated, when you dig into it, the issue is it wasn't their kind of thing to begin with but all their colleagues and social media made them feel it was a "must see." The one mistake I learned is not looking into the business patterns of the region. I would research so much about the sites, trains, food, etc. but not take into account things like "Am I going to a natural wonder on a national holiday so everyone in the country is there too" or "Is my day planned for museums the day they are all closed", etc.

Yes! Great tips here! Off-season travel? ✅ Carry-on only? ✅ Direct flights only? ✅ Love your channel!🥰

Soo we pretty much learned all these things in trial and error. Our friends think we’re bougie when we travel, but it’s just less stress overall. One note though, when we flew from Portugal to the U.S, we booked with delta, but we flew KLM and Delta. Since we linked our reservation with the KLM members club to change seats on that leg, they slit our miles between that membership and the skymiles one.

I love these tips I use to always wantto travel in April May or September early Oct definitely much less people in the off seasons which is definitely a perk. I always try to book international flight directly through the airline to many connections definitely easier if handling a problem.

Thank you, love it

Early december is great time to travel here in Brazil too.

Agree about “tourist traps” - still cool to see in person at least once.

Venice was somewhere I had dreamed of going that so many people told me I'd be disappointed in and NOPE - Venice was amazing. We went in the off season and there was no one there. But yeah, I completely agree with that tip not to listen to what others say. You have to see something for yourself before you know how you'll feel about it.

There are museums in certain locations that I’ve enjoyed but overall I can take them or leave them ☺️ However, incredibly scenic locations involving nature are a non-negotiable for me and I’ll gravitate to them every time 🙃

This is so helpful! I'm planning to go to Colorado for the first time next year (I'm from California) and Then Scotland and Ireland in 2025. Will keep these things in mind!

Love the video ❤

I learned when my kids were younger to book the direct flight! I so regretted getting a cheaper flight for our family but spending the WHOLE first day of vacation traveling when I could have been there in 3 hours for the extra few bucks! 2nd, I often try to plan a vacation around good weather but years are flying by so if I want to see Ireland and Scotland and Alaska, I just need to go, no matter the weather!

thanks for sharing! you are a good influencer

It actually bothers me when people wont go somewhere because theres too many people there. Like you said, its busy for a reason. I just visit off season if thats a big concern and last time I was in Paris, there was no crowd at all. People dont realize how much theyre missing out on because theyre view of travel is so rigid.

great video !!

Yes, the point about booking on third party websites is so true, they mix and match airlines that aren't part of the same alliance on the same itinerary, I am always panicking about losing my suitcase. I remember once having to get my suitcase myself, checking them in because the airlines don't work together, which was stressful enough. I wish I had the nonstop flight option, because that's the best, unfortunately from my country there aren't many direct flights, so if you must again do a layover do it with airlines in the same alliance, it's easier if you must do it, but yeah.

Watching your videos, inspire me to try traveling. I haven’t try one tho. Manifesting one day I can travel on my own. Waving from Philippines 🇵🇭

I like to travel during the shoulder seasons. But, these days even the shoulder seasons are busy and expensive. I wouldn't even consider traveling during the peak seasons. I used to use the cheapest provider like Expedia or whatever. But, these days I book direct with airlines, hotels, etc. Easier to resolve any conflicts. I try to leave a little wiggle room to my schedule. I won't book flights if the connections are less than an hour. But, sometimes you have to go with what's available and hope for the best. And, lastly, realize the unexpected can and does happen. So, go with the flow.

Totally agree! I can add that I no longer book onto the last flight of the day. It will be the most likely delayed or cancelled.

I found that alliance or partner airlines don’t work well together if there is a hiccup. KLM and Delta systems don’t “talk” to each other well. So when my Delta flight (Feb 2023) from San Francisco to Seattle was cancelled, making me miss my connecting KLM flight it took 2 hours to get re-ticketed to Detroit and then on to Amsterdam. The issue was Delta said I booked through KLM (which was true) so they had the “money” and only their (KLM) system could change the flights. KLM said Delta held the ticket for the cancelled flight so they couldn’t re-book me. There is so much more to this crazy story but in the end I made it to Nairobi through patients and persistence. Delta did say that flight disruption is at it’s worst this year and it’s best to fly the day before you actually need to be somewhere so you can adjust for cancellations and delays.

It’s so funny because my brother had that exact same experience in phoenix. His trip was London->phoenix-> San Diego.

The airlines things is interesting. On one hand you can probably save money mixing airlines, but ultimately as we get older we appreciate the benefits of sticking to an alliance or at least i have. As for stopovers vs direct.... From Australia, direct flights are somewhat more limited than indirect.... but I know we are getting direct flights like sydney to New york in the next few years as new long range aircraft become available, but not sure i can sit in economy for 20 hours. So i'll prob still fly indirect, i just make sure i have buffer time before anything important. I flew to South America 5 days before my Antarctica cruise. everything went fine and so all my buffer days were filled with exploring, but i also knew if i missed the flight i'd not be as worried. But thats on the extreme end, usually i just make sure a 2 day delay wouldn't ruin anything too much.

I'm so glad you posted this and I just saw it. I was about to book 2 connecting flights. To and from. Yikes lol

Totally get you. Museums can be great but going to a city just to see museums and galleries is not our thing either 😬 The not mixing airlines tip is great, never thought of that! No one will pay you for the time you lost so it's worth to spend a bit more and have some peace of mind!

You are always my favourite traveler ❤❤❤

Allison I love your videos and all your info! I have followed you for years and I’m a big fan! I will say I’m a little disappointed to see you promoting better help after all the controversy that has come out about them recently. Many many people have been scammed. I encourage you to consider the information before continuing to recommend them ❤

So many people always say to me, "Why are you going there? Its a tourist trap." HELLOO? I am a tourist! I also always say the Times Square thing. I've been to Times Square countless times. I still love it. And if you haven't been to NYC before, you HAVE to see times square. You will be missing out if you don't, it's just part of the experience.

Agree completely on all of them except that I do love museums but only if they actually interest me and there is nothing else I would rather be doing. Also helps if they're free like in London :)

Yea i avoid peak period because its less crowded so its easier for me to walkabout and not peak period means its cheaper too. I try to take direct instead of transit and connecting. This way i reach another side faster. Yes the ticket might be more costly alittle but think of the time you save and possible lesser risk you may face during transit. Transit means more time waste and possible delays along the way and the money you save you likely spend some during your transit. So in the end you dont really save any money too.

Totally with you on nonstop and the activities! I will try and do nonstop (when applicable) as long as the price difference isn't crazy and there's tiiime between the layovers. I went to France and I have a pic of outside the Louve but not inside. Seeing the Mona Lisa would have been nice, but then I would just leave and that's not worth the price for me lol going into the Eiffel tower and having a drink at the top was worth it.

God the Austin --> Houston flight delay KILLS ME! Especially knowing it's just a 2 hour drive... sheesh! Great video!

I recently got a chase sapphire card because I was so worried about only flying one airline, but I had never heard of the alliances!

I relate to you so much on the museum take. But honestly I thought it was just me, and once I heard u say that I laughed quite a bit.. 😂

Please come to pakistan it’s totally safe northern areas and it’s natural scenic beauty is overwhelming please come soon in November or winters

Yes, i totally agree that if there is a direct flight and the price isn’t insane, BOOK it ! It happens me so many times that the first flight delayed for departure, and I have to be mentally and physically tortured to catch the second flight at the connecting stop

I love your clothes. Could you tell us the main brands/stores you get them at?

Holy crap!!! I literally just flew for the first time since we’ve had kids (16 years ago) and flew on Frontier to save money. I WILL NEVER FLY on Frontier again! They canceled our flight after 4 hours of delays at 10:32pm. Now it was me, my husband and 2 kids and again (my first flight in years). We had ZERO idea of what to do and we’re frantically trying to figure it out. All hotels were booked so we rented a car the next day after spending the night in the airport and spent $1000 to fly home at 4pm next day… NIGHTMARE!!! Frontier had NO CUSTOMER SERVICE live, all via social media…. like WHAT??? If that doesn’t tell you something, right? Do NOT fly Frontier, they won’t refund me our money over a mistake we made while rebooking another flight that night to get home. Thank you Allison for this video, I’m learning a whole heck of a lot now that I’ve been through it! ❤❤

I also rather go in off season and visit certain places on a weekday vs the weekend! About the layover/connection, I also rather book direct but I have a recent flight to cabo and United changed my return flight to connect in Tx.. No alternative flight offers direct not even on another airline 😡 that’s very frustrating but 💁🏻‍♀️ Also people discouraging me from going to Paris cause it’s too touristy and because of the protests but they didn’t affect me, I had a good time regardless! Everyone has different travel tastes, if you really want to go somewhere, go! Make it your own experience and opinion!!

allinson have u ever come to indonesia? you should come there!

Another mistake to avoid: Booking through third party companies. Issue is if you come across a problem with a hotel/resort or car rental, it’s going to be very difficult to get a resolution. Their systems may not be completely synced with the third party company and that’ll leave you stuck. Worst part is you have to work with the third party company over the phone because you paid them and there’s nothing the car rental or hotel/resort can do.

Which visa am i going to use when i want to travel... Also on your videos please make recommendations for best hotels please

So at the end, how did you get the ticket you needed to get to Seattle (was it an AA issue or Alaska airlines issue)?

I don’t fly often but when I do it’s direct flights only for me. The last thing I want to do is waste my travel/vacation time on a long layover or possibly risk missing a connecting flight. I’m not wealthy by any means, hence the fact that I rarely fly (I legit went 11 years between flights), but I have never seen a “deal” that has made a layover worth it to me.

had me laughing out loud when you walked up to the mona lisa and said "this can't be it"

Another, thinking you need to do it all and packing in too much. You’ll be exhausted! Pick and choose and either extend your trip or plan to return somehow.

If someone gave me a bag of their money and told me I had to do what they think I should do, I probably would. Since that is not the case and it is MY money that I spend for my trip I will do what I WANT! If someone else poo poos my itinerary or what I did or did not do in country then that is their problem. Rant over. Also we have found connections between flights very tight. We fly from east to west and often the connections are less than 45 minutes and with air travel it is rare that flights are on time. So we make it an adventure and do a stay over in the connecting city and just budget that into our trip. Safe travels everyone!

Very interesting.

Super video.

Agree re peoples opinions- some of my favourite things I’ve ever done travelling have been “overhyped” e.g chureito pagoda in Japan The reality is most people who say things are overhyped have already done them more than once, and can’t put themselves in the shoes of someone going for the first time

I only travel in the off season

Tight connections are generally a bad idea

Yes!! 👏Direct 👏Flights 👏Only👏

Love from Bangladesh 🎉

So when are we traveling together? I’m 23 and from Seattle!

I love ur travel content from Pakistan

Love from India ....❤

And you really have an amazing smile

I love ur videos ...........😊

Please come to Bangladesh 🇧🇩

If you mix different airlines and your luggage is lost, it becomes a nightmare to figure it out how and where to claim it as the airlines point to each other and nobody wants to deal with it up to the point one airline can deny you boarding to your next leg if you dont present them the lost luggage claim. Just dont do it, dont mix the airlines, better to pay more and avoid all that headache

Try andaman and nicobar islands

I was going to a place known as Chennai ( India) from Kolkata (India) but unfortunately I miss the train I booked, due to some problem and the next day when I opened my tv, I saw the train met an huge accident almost 250+ people died in the accident ....😶😶😶