While of the tips below might be difficult, these five tips will help you you to achieve the best travel experience anywhere you go.

1.  Do as the locals do.

When traveling, it is recommended that you create opportunities to spend time with the locals.  While it is easy to get information from your computer, nothing beats the knowledge that the locals have.

As soon as you have gathered a few tips about the area, you can now proceed to MySpace or Facebook and hunt some locals down.  Ask them what they would suggest and try to have some local fun with them.  Most locals will be open to this opportunity.  And the experience you will gain from this will be priceless.

A friend who visited Brazil and heeded this advise ended up in some tribe in the Amazon being taught Capawara by a Capawara Master.  It was one of the best experiences he had.  He admits that he could have never planned that from a desktop.

2.  Immerse yourself in the culture.

When traveling, do not create a home away from home.  Step out of your comfort zone and allow yourself to experience everything that you possibly can.  Be adventurous and always try something new.  Remember that experiences are directly related to your personality and the quality of life you are going to have is a result of these experiences.

When you are out of your comfort zone, you fall into what is called as the state of dissonance.  When this happens, the body and the mind works to become comfortable again.  It starts to eliminate the state of dissonance and creates comfort again.  This process allows the body and mind to expand.  Your personality grows, lessons are learned and you become more skilled at handling your life situations better.

3.  Chose your travel companions wisely.

Keep in mind that our happiness and fulfillment is greatly affected by the people around us.  A lot of people often make the mistake of traveling with someone who shares the dream of visiting a country or place without realizing that they have different lifestyles.  This eventually ruins the trip for them.

When choosing a travel companion, always look out for people who not only want to go to the same places as you do but also share the same lifestyle.  This is an all encompassing principle in life.

The truth is, not everyone will be a good travel companion for you.  However, when you do travel with the right person, your traveling experiences are going to be 100 times better.

4.  Be here and now.

Most people cannot go more than three days without checking email or their personal site nor can they go five minutes without responding to a text message and a few days without checking in with their staff.  Do not let technology control you. Tie up any loose ends that you have and try to disconnect from your life at home.

Wherever you are physically at in life is your reality.  Anything that’s not in the present is only a memory and a thought.  As Jan Glidewell used to say,”You can clutch the past so tightly to your chest that it leaves your arms too full to embrace the present.”

This is a very important principle not only in traveling but also in your life.  Keep in mind that you only have a certain amount of energy a day.  You can either opt to place that energy on a thought in your head or you can place it on the experiences in the present.  How much fulfillment you get out of life will depend on where you consistently place your energy.

5.  Focus more on the experience than on the photos.

Pictures are great for reflection and to keep your memories and good moments captured.  However, they are not meant to be your trophy to show back home.  When taking photos distracts you from the present, then it depives you of fully enjoying your travel experience.

Bonus Travel Tip – Travel Lightly

Bringing everything you could possibly need is unnecessary.  It is a hassle and keeps you from enjoying your trip.

Always pack lightly and keep a list of the top ten things that you consider to be the most important things when traveling.  Once you have this list, stick to it and let go of the rest.  This will make you more mobile and will free you from lugging around all your things.