Venturing around a new city is an exciting experience and as much as you may want to “wing it” and find everything yourself, it sadly doesn’t work out for the best most of the time. Planning your journey doesn’t have to be for the super organised, and if you’re in an unfamiliar country its best to plan to avoid getting lost. Here’s a look at some tips for navigating around a new city.
Destinations
The first step to visiting a new city is mapping out all the destinations you want to visit. If you are on a weekend break in a new city, time is a factor to consider when deciding what you want to see, and with a time constraint means that planning the day becomes even more critical. Dividing the locations by how close they are to one another and splitting your interests up over your time there will guarantee you see everything you have planned and avoid any disappointment of missing some sights.
Local Transportation
Cities tend to be big places, and the majority don’t have their tourist attractions all bundled up in one place. Googling the best forms of transport and speaking to the hosts of your accommodation will likely give you an idea of whether you need to be getting the metro link for ease, the bus for its lower price or a train to save time.
Thorough Research
Finding the best tourist attractions is one part of your journey, the other is the time needed during the activity. Some of the biggest tourist attractions may be located outside the city and having you travel accessories to hand and enough time to visit the location should be taken into consideration. Deciding the time you’ll need to explore the area is also something worth looking into as you might find you’re walking out of queues due to unexpected popularity and lack of time. Some of the more savvy websites may even tell you the best times to go to certain areas of the city to avoid waiting around for half the day.
Data
We live in a time where our phones work as the best guide around a continuously changing city. If you are in a foreign country, it’s best to confirm that you have data included in your plan before you start overusing it. If it isn’t included in your phone plan, you can screenshot areas of interest on your phone while you have WiFi, or if you do feel like you are about to become lost while roaming around, a quick stop for a drink (and WiFi) will help you find your bearings.