Whether you’re going on a road trip or a cruise, admiring fall foliage is a great way to spend your autumn vacation.
As the first autumn leaves begin to yellow, you start dreaming of hot apple cider and pumpkin lattes enjoyed on a crisp afternoon.
If you’ve decided to stop dreaming and go admire nature’s changes first hand, here are some autumn vacation tips to help you enjoy your trip:
1. Get ready for sweater weather!
While autumn days can still be sunny, its evenings are getting chilly. So before you leave on your autumn vacation, pack a comfortable sweater. Make sure that you can wear it both outdoors, under a rain jacket, and indoors when you’re warming by the fire. The rain jacket can also be a waterproof windbreaker, which is lighter to pack.
To keep your feet warm, pack a few pairs of colorful socks. Add an extra woolen one to wear indoors and avoid the terrible feeling of cold floors on even colder days.
2. Pack a small folding umbrella
Even though you’ll be wearing a raincoat, it’s good to also have a small folding umbrella in your bag. Unless you’re also wearing waterproof pants, you’ll get your legs and shoes wet faster without using an umbrella. There’s nothing worse than spending the whole day with damp clothes and shoes, trembling as the evening temperatures start to bite.
3. Bring a hat, a scarf, and a pair of gloves
I hope you know that you’re not really losing most of your body heat if your head remains uncovered. However, wearing a warm hat, a soft scarf, and a pair of gloves can increase comfort, especially on wet days and chilly evenings. So bring them along and you’ll be able to stay longer outside.
4. Prepare your camera gear
No matter the season, it’s always good to check your camera gear before you leave on holiday. On a trip where you’re going specifically to admire the fall foliage and capture it in photos, it’s paramount to check that your camera is working properly. If you have a new camera, test it in a park at home before taking it on an autumn vacation. Get used to it in advance to take the best photos when you’re on your autumn vacation.
Cold weather can affect the life of your rechargeable batteries, so bring some extra ones. Depending on how many photos you usually take, maybe add a couple of extra memory cards, too. Pack everything in a moisture-proof camera bag.
5. Remember to pack light
You’ll probably want to see a lot of places during your autumn vacation. This means that you will be spending many hours outdoors to see the fall foliage. So remember to pack light in order to have more freedom and flexibility. Put everything in one bag, which you can easily carry.
For day hikes in nature, use a comfortable backpack, and don’t forget to take a bottle of water with you. Make sure you bring along an extra layer of clothes that you think you’ll need. You’ll feel warm as long as you keep moving, but you’ll get cold pretty fast when you stop.
You could also bring your binoculars to watch migrating birds and wildlife from a distance. However, to avoid carrying two items instead of one, you could use your camera’s zoom instead.
It’s good to keep in mind that it’s never too cold as long as we are wearing adequate clothes for the season. I hope the travel tips above will help you feel warm enough to enjoy your coming autumn vacation.
