Paul Hansford news.com.au

The internet is full of 'useful' travellers' tips.

Image: Sure, having your money on display is a bad, but don't use a money belt. Picture: Lonely Planet

I don’t think a day goes by without someone on Twitter or Facebook offering me advice on ‘The Five Best Way To Fold Your Underwear On The Road’ or ‘How To Eat Vegan For Under $10 In South-West Canadian Border Towns’.

All of these posts are designed to make your life easier, to take the strain out of the time-consuming, confusing or worrying aspects of travel by people who have been there and done that.

But who are these people and why should we take their word for things?

And, more importantly, is the advice any good?

The answer is no.

My theory is that while there is a lot of good advice out there, you’re actually better off doing the exact opposite to what to most travellers’ tips tell you to do.

I decided to take a look around the interwebs to find the most common tips or advice and tell you why you should completely ignore them. And yes, the below tips found on websites are real.

The traveller tip: Visit a ‘best seat on the plane’ website before you check in.

The better traveller tip: Three words for this one. Waste. Of. Time.

Here’s why. You’re not the only person who knows about these kinds of websites, so you are not going to be armed with any insider secrets when it comes time to choosing your seat.

If you’ve ever used a site like this before, you’ll know there are usually only three or four seats (over and above emergency exits) that they recommend as good. With up to 600 people flying on a 747 all trying to book those couple of seats, you’ve got more chance winning the lottery and buying your own jet.

The traveller tip: Store your valuables in a secret, flesh-coloured money belt

The better traveller tip: Nothing screams “I have all my valuables in one place” more than a flimsy money belt under a t-shirt.

Have you ever seen someone try and get something out of those belts? They awkwardly pull out documents and wads of cash to find what they’re looking for.

What’s wrong with the good, old-fashioned wallet, which you use to carry around cash, ID, etc, in your equally crime-ridden home town?

The best tip is to separate your cash and other documents into two different places, so if ‘trouser pocket A’ is picked, then you still have the essentials in ‘jacket pocket B’. Also put a rubber band around your wallet, which makes it a lot harder to get out of your pocket (for you and the thief).

The traveller tip: Pack light when on a long trip

The better traveller tip: This one is good in principle but pretty much impossible in practice. I’m a big believer in packing to the very edge of my weight restriction - if I’m just going to be taking my bag from hotel to hotel, why not take as much as I can with me?

If you are going to go big with weight, just make sure to take ‘disposable’ items - older books, clothes, beach towel - that you don’t mind discarding along the way to make space for the inevitable new purchases.

The traveller tip: Stick to the main roads and don’t venture down backstreets or poorly lit roads.

The better traveller tip: Erm, in my experience all the best stuff happens in backstreets and poorly lit roads.

The traveller tip: Take light, quick-drying travel clothes to help when laundry time comes around

The better traveller tip: Sure, do that if you want to look like Bear Grylls or an American couple in their 60s who like to hike and eat beans out of a tin.

It’s not a crime to look good while on your trip by wearing a good pair of jeans or a favourite t-shirt.

While it’s true some clothes aren’t the best for certain types of travel - it’s not the best to go on a walking tour in heels and denim - by planning ahead (wash your clothes on the first night of a multiple-day stopover to give them time to dry) you don’t have to look like a dork on the road.

The traveller tip: When it comes to tours, hotels, etc, it pays to shop around for the best bargains

The better traveller tip: This tip is only true if the ‘shopping around’ is done before you leave for your trip. By all means, spend days, weeks, even months beforehand trying to find the cheapest hotels and tours but as soon as you’re on the road, draw a line under the bargain hunting.

I’ve spent countless hours on my travels surfing for bargains at expensive internet cafes or walking between travel agents when I could’ve been discovering the city I was in. Get the bargain hunting in early so you can actually enjoy your trip when you’re on it.

YOUR SAY: What's the strangest travel advice you have been given?