Cosmos Tours - Travel Tips

I have just completed my first coach tour with Cosmos. Upon some reflection, these are some things I would recommend for any future travelers.

1. Take 2 cameras. You have traveled too far and too long to be disappointed by your camera.

2. Consider your style of photography before you begin clicking. In my opinion, there are two types of photographers - landscapers and sentimentalists.

If you are the first, keep your camera on and ready to click all times. As the bus is always moving, sometimes quite rapidly, reaching for your camera and aiming as you see a sight usually means a picture taken too late!!

Sentimentalists are those who enjoy looking at pictures with people in them. If you fall in this category, don't be shy to ask someone to take your picture and more importantly, pose! I am of this category and I was shy. Looking back at the pictures now, I am already in regret mode.

3. DOCUMENT! DOCUMEMT! DOCUMEMT!
As you will be seeing a lot in a day and snapping a lot of pictures, keep a journal. Write in it everyday! It is easy to miss a day and catch up is too hard! If you own a digital camera, screen your pictures each night and title them. After seeing 10 palaces, 5 madinas and several squares, they all start to look the same.

4. Take ear plugs (ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE SHARING)
With wake up calls as early as 6:00am, you want to have had enough sleep. If you are sharing, it is sometimes hard to turn your roommate to the side when the snores are heightened. Also, if your tour director is annoying, ear plugs work wonders - TRUST ME!!

5. Sleep on the coach.
Traveling on a coach from city to city for 14 days can be exhausting. People put a lot of pressure on themselves to stay awake on the coach. You need to remember it is better to stay awake and active once you have stepped off the bus. There is no point in traveling for 12 hours on a bus - only to sleep in the hotel once you arrive to your destination. Really, watching acres and acres of Olive Gardens will put you to sleep!

6. Budget.
There is not shame in sneaking food from breakfast in your bag for lunch. It will save you at least 5 euros a day!

7. Travel light
Just because you are allowed to take 20 kilos with you on the plane does not mean you have to take 20 kilos! I did and I was unable to do any shopping in Spain, Portugal and Morocco because of the airplane weight restrictions!

8. Smile
Traveling with a bus full of strangers can be intimidating but a simple smile can change a lonely trip to a fun and fulfilling trip.

9. Take risks but be cautious.
If it is unsafe for you to do something in your own country, then it is unsafe to do it in a foreign country! That said, take risks to come out of your comfort zone. Take public transportation, eat squid, jump on the parallel tour bus, and go swimming at 5 in the morning! These memories will continue to bring a smile on your face for years after the trip.

10. Opt out of the day excursions and always go for the night ones.
This will give you a chance to explore the city in the day time on your own and a chance to get dressed and have a lovely dinner at night.

11. Talk to everyone - there is something to learn from everyone!