The conventional wisdom is that the golden hours before sunset and after dawn are the best time to photograph, but the fact is that we spend most of our time while traveling dealing with whatever light happens to be present. In a two or three week visit, you can't be too picky about light or you'd come home with only a handful of images. Fact is, there can be interesting light at all times of the day, you just need to be sensitive to it.
Another bit of conventional wisdom is that the plastic-y zoom lens that came with your camera is a total piece of rubbish. Many folks sell them ASAP on the second hand market. Thanks to this particular bias among photographers, I picked up a pristine copy of a 24-105 mm zoom for a mere $200. It ended up being the perfect travel companion, a more than decent imager, feather light, and easily tucked away in my carry-on bag.
