Travel is a privilege, but it does not confer special importance upon the traveller. A gentleman who visits another city or country takes his curiosity with him and leaves his sense of entitlement at home. He prepares properly, observes the rules of the place and treats the people who live and work there with the same courtesy he expects in his own town. The object is not to perform sophistication. It is to enjoy the journey without making it unnecessarily difficult for others, and to return with more understanding than he had when he left.
Learn something before you leave
Look beyond the booking confirmation. Check the practical requirements of the destination, including entry documents, local transport, customary dress and the rules at places you intend to visit. Learn how to greet and thank somebody in the local language. You need not speak it fluently to show that you have made an effort.
Be alert to differences between places within the same country. A resort, a family neighbourhood and a place of worship may call for very different behaviour. When the custom is unclear, ask a knowledgeable local source rather than assuming that the way things are done at home must be universal.
Be considerate while getting there
At a station or airport, have documents ready when they are required and keep the movement of the queue in mind. Do not block a passage while searching for a ticket or leave bags where other travellers need to walk. Follow the directions of the staff, who are trying to move many people through the same space.
On a train or other shared transport, moderate your voice and the sound from your devices. Take the space you have paid for, not the space somebody else is trying to use. When delays occur, clear questions help more than a public performance of indignation. A courteous traveller can be firm about a legitimate problem without being discourteous to the person at the desk.
Dress and behave for the place you are visiting
A visitor should be willing to observe a local custom even when it differs from his usual routine. Some sacred and historic sites expect covered shoulders or particular footwear arrangements. Some formal restaurants ask for a jacket. Read the rules, ask when in doubt and comply without treating the request as a personal insult.
Respect the rhythm of neighbourhood life. Residential streets are not film sets, and early-morning departures or late-night returns should not wake the people who live there. A little awareness of the hour, the noise you make and the space you occupy helps preserve the welcome that travellers depend upon.
Remember that people are not scenery
A market trader, porter, guide or person sitting outside his home is not an automatic subject for your camera. Ask before making a close photograph of somebody, and accept refusal without argument. Observe any restrictions in museums, places of worship and other sites. Put the device away when being present matters more than collecting a record of the visit.
Speak to local people as individuals rather than asking them to account for an entire nation or culture. Listen to what they tell you and avoid turning a difference in manners into a joke. Interest is welcome. Intrusive questioning seldom is. The finest travel stories often begin with a conversation entered into without presumption.
Spend and explore with some judgement
Choose local businesses when it suits your needs, treat workers fairly and pay the stated price unless bargaining is an established part of the transaction. Do not demand exceptions to restrictions protecting buildings, wildlife or private property merely because you have travelled a long way. Stay on designated paths where that is required and leave places as you found them.
Not every part of a destination exists to entertain a visitor. A shopkeeper may be busy, a service may close at its customary hour and a resident may prefer to be left alone. These are not failures of hospitality. They are reminders that the place continues to belong to its people after the visitors have gone.
Handle mistakes with dignity
You may misunderstand a sign, mispronounce a word or arrive at a doorway intended for another entrance. When corrected, thank the person who helped and adjust. An unfamiliar system can be frustrating, but embarrassment is rarely improved by anger. Ask one clear question and listen to the reply.
On returning home, be modest about what a short journey has taught you. A fortnight away does not make anyone an authority on another country. Speak accurately about what you saw, distinguish your impressions from established facts and acknowledge what you did not understand. A travelled man should become more curious, not more certain that he has every answer.
Go as a guest, return with understanding.
Prepare, observe, behave courteously and treat local people and places with respect. Travel is richer when the visitor remembers that the world was there before he arrived.