I mostly travel alone, so it's key to have a real agenda laid out to occupy your time so that you aren't wandering aimlessly. Know what's worth seeing/doing in the city you're going to, and have a general idea of what you want to do and see so that you aren't spending a lot of time figuring things out just in case your contacts there are otherwise occupied. Hopefully, they can provide you with a place to stay to save on lodging. Definitely try to make that work. Hopefully you'll have some kind of privacy where you can bring back a chick without her feeling weird about it.
I'm big on flying to wherever I go because I don't want to lose valuable time in transit. I also try to travel during times when I'd normally be sleeping (very early morning or night), so that when I hit my destination I'm not exhausted and can pretty much hit the ground running and sleep at my normal time that first day in town.
I generally take a week to 10 day trips, so I carry no more than a backpack (for laptop and various chargers/gadgets, and other accessories), and a carry-on roller suitcase because I don't like checking bags if I can avoid it. You should have one of those too - or some other kind of travel bag that you can carry on. The backpack alone simply won't carry enough for a week.
It's always smart to try to pipeline and see what you can come up with. I've never tried to come up with an alternative to just telling them I'm on vacation, but depending on where you're going and what you're doing, it might be necessary.
I'm big on flying to wherever I go because I don't want to lose valuable time in transit. I also try to travel during times when I'd normally be sleeping (very early morning or night), so that when I hit my destination I'm not exhausted and can pretty much hit the ground running and sleep at my normal time that first day in town.
I generally take a week to 10 day trips, so I carry no more than a backpack (for laptop and various chargers/gadgets, and other accessories), and a carry-on roller suitcase because I don't like checking bags if I can avoid it. You should have one of those too - or some other kind of travel bag that you can carry on. The backpack alone simply won't carry enough for a week.
It's always smart to try to pipeline and see what you can come up with. I've never tried to come up with an alternative to just telling them I'm on vacation, but depending on where you're going and what you're doing, it might be necessary.
"The best kind of pride is that which compels a man to do his best when no one is watching."