Never let your taxi driver/tour guide/etc choose you. Never go with a shill. In Paris never sign a petition.

• No matter where do you go, no matter for how long, pack only enough to have your main hand free all the time.
• Learn basic icebreaker words. Never underestimate these.
• If the deal sounds too good to be true, then it is.
• Have a few polite explanations to skip going straight to the local den of thieves, rapists, abductors and organ dealers. “I am sorry, but I have a serious case of anal cancer”, “thanks, but I’m here with my 6 brothers and they don’t want me to go anywhere without them” - they come in handy.
• Treat small hardships as sources of fun, instead of deal breakers. “Oh look, no towels, probably the monkey stole them!”
• Unless there’s real reason for that (you’re named Joey L) aim at “good enough” but not “extraordinary and expensive” stuff. Clothes, equipment, anything. Be ready to lose, break, exchange it.
• Water is life.
• Always negotiate the price before, not after.
• Don’t stuff your e-readers/smartphones with 1000s of books, movies, music. Select only a handful and live with the choice you made.
• Save some money and personal trinkets for the last day and buy/exchange them for small trinkets on the last day of your visit. The “last chance deal” is often damn sweet cheery on top of the cake that was your whole trip.
• Pockets. Preferably hard to open. Non optional.
• Try exotic dishes you’re not accustomed to only if you’re open to the possibility of diarrhea. If you’re ok with that, go forth!
• If you catch local disease, then usually local medicine > your medicine.
• If possible, stop every now and then. Close your eyes and listen to the place. The streets of NYC may surprise you with sounds as exotic as Cambodian jungle makes.

The best travel tip there is.

I have a PacSafe backpack, and the thing is great for international travel. It’s slash proof with lockable zippers and a detachable strap, so I can feel far more comfortable in areas known for pickpockets and thieves. It’s also great as the only carry-on if you are checking luggage. A laptop fits in it, along with big noise canceling headphones and a jack and a book, plus the side pockets are good for a bottle to fill with water after security and a small umbrella. It has RFID blocking on it, too, which is good for digital thieves.

Don’t try to hit too many places on a single trip, unless you are backpacking. Lugging around heavy luggage from one hotel to the next to the next to the next, from train to taxi to cobble stones to stairs, gets really really tiring. Try to have a minimum 3 night stay at each location or have pre-sorted clothing stuff bags packed so you can keep the heavy luggage in a rental car and just grab a single stuff bag with 2 days worth of clothing.