One of the first things I learned after joining a travel company and searching out ideas to blog about, and tips to share on facebook, was this: Slow down.

I’m obsessed with the concept actually, because I think it’s the best way to actually take in our surroundings, our life even. The other day I drove by a photographer not three blocks from my house. And she was snapping an old white building. If I’d seen only the photograph, I’m not sure I could have told you the building sat so near my house. Almost every week I drive by it, but I’d never really seen it. It’s just one of the many moments in life when I realized I wanted to slow down.

Another came in the days preceding and during my first-time trip to New York City. You see, I’ve written about many attractions there, the ones we commonly use for New York City educational tours, and I’d seen the attractions over and over in film as well. I couldn’t wait to be there myself. And I was determined to stop long enough, and breathe slowly enough, that I could truly take them in. Still, if the seize-the-day argument doesn’t convince you to slow down, maybe these tips will do it.

The slower you travel, the more money you save. (This tip courtesy of the Traveler’s Notebook). Just think how much cheaper it would be to walk or ride a bike on your tour than to pay for buses, trains, and cabs. Like most last-minute decisions, the faster we need to get somewhere, the more we end up paying.

Slowing down leads to better familiarity. Another benefit of slower travel is that you have a better chance at understanding the culture in which you are a visitor. Too often we visit a city only to race from one popular sight to the next, completely missing the little wonders hidden between the time slots on our itinerary. Walk on the sidewalk once in a while. Take a ferry or ride the city bus. Take the time to actually meet the locals and better understand how they live day to day and what they consider important and worth your time.

Plus, consider the attractions themselves. Museums, famous skyscrapers, beautiful parks and beaches – how much more can we appreciate them if we slow down? There is usually far more to see than we actually notice. My travel wish is more than a map with countless colored pins declaring where I’ve been. I’d rather have fewer pins but through pictures, stories and understanding, truly be able to say, “I’ve been there.”

Consider this when you’re planning educational student tours and other educational travel, including that which is only personally educational for you: Once you get there, have you built in time to really understand where you’ve been?

Well, our team is back from the big cities, Washington D.C. and Manhattan. We have toured until our feet hurt, thrilled to the amazing sights and sounds, and cried at the inspiration surrounding historical sites, at the beauty of D.C., the dream come true of seeing New York City for ourselves, and the powerful tribute given by our guide at the World Trade Center construction site. We’re spent.

But we have a boatload of info and tips to help us serve our groups better. And I’m starting with this one: Public Transportation Rocks.

Often for student tours, it’s customary to rent a motorcoach to reach the destination. And we’d recommend hanging onto that convenience for Washington D.C., especially if you stay at a hotel a little outside the city. The attractions are sometimes a good distance from each other in this area, and it helps to have transportation between them that keeps the group together.

However, after about five minutes in New York City, as our bus sat trapped between double-parked vehicles on either side and a kind passerby attempted to wave us through one half-inch forward and one inch back at a time, we knew motorcoach simply isn’t the way to go in Manhattan. Shortly after checking into our hotel, we walked one block to a subway station, made it onto the train and to our destination with zero hassle and a grateful heart for the wonderful inventors of the metro.

Our expert guides agreed that Metro is the way to go for group travel tours. As the seven of us and our guide squished onto a crowded subway car one afternoon, I wasn’t so sure about the merit of the metro for very large groups. But our guide disagreed. It’s still the way to go. As long as you organize, have enough chaperones, and communicate clearly about the each stop, groups can navigate the subway system just as easily as an individual.

So that’s my first tip. Grab yourself an any-time metro pass, learn the trick of not pulling the wrong side of the entry gate, and take full advantage of this amazingly cost-effective and convenient mode of transportation in the amazing city of New York.

I’d love to be somewhere someday when a flash mob happened. It cheers me up just watching some of those on You Tube, so I’m pretty sure the real thing would thrill me right to my toes.

In a few weeks I’m hoping to discover firsthand what it’s like to travel in a mob. I thought the idea of a mob dance would inspire you while I offer some of my own ideas on how to make it work. And once I get back, I’ll try and let you know if I managed to follow my advice. We specialize in group travel tours around here, so I’m thinking my firsthand advice could be useful.

GO WITH THE FLOW

This is definitely my first order of business. I discovered it long ago but wasn’t really able to put it into practice without lots of trying. Being hungry, cold, too hot, tired, or tired of walking – any of these used to throw me into the depths of despair. I’d need relief immediately or prepare for the black cloud of my emotions to eat alive anyone within arm’s length. This kind of personality will not work in a large group. Period. If this is you, I’m not saying you have to change who you are. I AM saying you have to change who you are for this trip.

Learn to keep moving while you’re tired; maybe just talk a little less. Trust that food and drink are always just around the corner. Just because it takes longer in a large group to decide on specifics and therefore longer to get things accomplished, doesn’t mean you’ll never find nourishment again. Hang in there. Meal times will find you.

Be a Decision-Maker

Mostly, you probably just need to go with the flow, as above. But every now and then large groups find themselves without a prominent decision-maker. This Is Trouble. If your group tour is customized by a professional, a brilliant itinerary will hopefully make all the decisions for you. But every now and then, it rains. Things get cancelled. Buses are late. Etcetera. And when it’s pushing an hour or so past lunchtime, and what stands between you and food is just for one person to name the place already, then name it. Be willing to put yourself out there as the person who suggested that little hole-in-the-wall diner, because at least it was close by. Sometimes the holes in the wall turn out to be delightful finds.

Lower your expectations

Listen, we all have plans and dreams. We all picture how we want a thing to go, the attractions we most want to see and how long we want to take at each one. Let go of that. Consider Flash Mob Travel your chance to get an overview of places you’d like to explore on your own in the future. Don’t expect to stand several hours in front of one gorgeous painting at the Met. Don’t plan on half a day to meditate at the Lincoln Memorial or a quiet, leisurely stroll through Central Park. Get excited simply that you’re seeing these things at all. Go along for the ride, so to speak. When the group needs to move on, don’t fret.

One thing I plan to do is take a journal and a pen. I’m going to jot down my first impressions or the things I’d like to explore at another time. I won’t stress when I’m inspired but the group needs to move on, because at least I was there to capture a first impression. Without this opportunity, I wouldn’t have even had that.

Traveling in a group can be a challenge, and it requires compromise – like being in a family only magnified. Choose to go with the flow, make decisions when you need to, and be grateful for small opportunities, and group travel can be an experience almost as perfect as getting everything your own way.

Photo by leuan Jenkins on Flickr.

Have I mentioned I’m going to New York City for the first time in June? I’m looking forward to the movie tour in Central Park and to Fifth Avenue, Rockefeller Center, the Statue of Liberty, the Met, and so much more. I’m also thrilled beyond measure that we’ll be seeing a performance every night that we are there. Which has led to a mad search online for the last several days and to the title of this post. WHAT should I wear?

In one sense, it doesn’t matter what I should wear. Our days are going to be packed from morning to evening with as many exciting attractions as we can handle (and then some). We’ll probably be stumbling into each night’s show with an extremely worn version of whatever we put on in the morning which will inevitably have been chosen for its comfort factor.

Still, I’ve searched for the answer anyway, hoping I wouldn’t learn that you get turned away from the shows if you’re underdressed on the casual/dressy meter. The answer was completely satisfying, and I’ve come up with a few tips for making it possible.

The short version is: You Can Wear Whatever You Want. People at a Broadway performance are likely to be found in anything from jeans and a t-shirt to the rare but occasional tuxedo. The generally accepted dress code is somewhere in between. Sort of dress-casual with men in slacks and sport coats, women in a dressed up version of work suits or skirts, summer dresses, etc.

The travel company I write for designs a lot of New York City educational student tours, and though the itineraries usually include a show, rarely do they include a block of primping time pre-performance. If you’re headed to a show after the sightseeing, consider these tips.

1. Consider your evening plans when you dress. Lots of casual clothes will look fine in a Broadway theater while some won’t. For instance – yes to khaki capri pants and a twin set, maybe no to the sweat pants. Yes to dark, classy jeans. No to faded jeans shredded by holes. Flats are good, flip-flops not so much. And don’t choose anything that at the end of the day will look like it’s been crumpled in the bottom of a suitcase.

2. Carry a dressier pair of shoes and accessories in your bag while you walk. Instant day-to-evening wear.

3. Don’t forget blush and lip gloss to freshen up after dinner. Or if you’re not the lip gloss type (guys for instance?), a small packet of facial wipes could go a long away toward cleansing the touring grime away and will give you just the right pick-me-up for the evening.

4. My coworker has perhaps the best and most thorough solution. Pack a summer dress in your purse or bag, one with a nice wrinkle-free blend, that you can actually change into for the show. Or, a similar fabric in a light jacket could almost accomplish the same thing with less changing hassle.

Follow these tips if you can, but remember the short answer most of all. If you’re fully clothed, you’re perfectly fine. After all, it’s not about what you wear in the seats, the Broadway experience is on stage. And you’re sure to enjoy that no matter what you’re wearing.

Photo by Dom Dada on Flickr.