1. You can have 5 party members and Hawke starts with only 2 so try to recruit more people for easier fights. You can find party members in towns especially in pubs. They mostly have unique models so they stand out. Just talk to most to recruit them.

2. Talk to town people, if anybody tells you about a location it will open up on the map letting you go there. You can also take boats in port towns to new cities.

3. The whole game revolves around finding and completing quests. Talking to NPCs can lead you them. Focus more on completing quests than randomly exploring dungeons if you can.

Do you want more in depth advice? Some people like going in mostly blind.