Best travel tips from army veterans

How to travel smart, light and safe advice from the world's most experienced travelers, the military veterans

As military veterans are often the most experienced travelers when it comes to smart traveling, they seem the logical choice when asking for expert traveling advice and wanting to learn best options for a safe, light and successful trip. Yahoo Travel interviewed some of them, in honor of Veterans Day.

Neil Murphy, a retired lieutenant colonel with the U.S. Marine Corps states that “an open, communicative and curious mind” can lead you anywhere you want to go.

“Be smart and security-minded, but don’t let your concern with those items prevent you from ‘seeing’ the world. A smile opens doors everywhere”, he adds.

Kasey Jorgenson, U.S. Navy veteran with 11 countries honors list, advises to have fun, but “don’t get stupidly drunk. That’s how you get taken advantage of. If you are out in a new place, keep your wits and stay vigilant.

“Be polite, especially when eating out and when traveling via taxi. There is a good chance that these people don’t like you and that has to be okay”, he adds.

Iraq serving U.S. Army veteran Alex Horton explains about light traveling and permanent vigilance:

“I think the most important thing I learned, from my deployments and traveling around Latin America, is that everything you need can fit in two bags and if it can’t you’ve packed too much stuff.

“What I do if I’m anywhere, and I go to some shady parts (like Medellin, Colombia), I’ll do a series of things: I know where I’m going from point A to point B, I look behind me every 20 meters or so, if I need to pull out my phone to look at my map, I stop, get off the street and go into a doorway so I’m not just standing on the street corner with a big, full map.”

Kristen Rouse who served the Army National Guard for 7 years warns about trying the destination's local cuisine:

“You won’t see the food poisoning coming. When the locals offer you food or tea, accept their hospitality. I’ve eaten truly weird stuff with Afghan soldiers that never gave me so much as a queasy stomach. U.S. military dining facilities, however, got me a few times.

“Prioritize relationships and experiences when it comes to food. But keep a small stash of Pepto with you, too.”