Don’t miss out on your own vacation

Has it even happened to you that when you came back for your travelling full of impressions, and thought about it, you actually had nothing to say? Showing your friends the photos you took and talking about it, you feel like there isn’t much to tell? Why does that happen? Because you remember what you saw but you never really did anything while you were there. You walked around, took some photos, forgot what the guide told you…and that’s it.

How to change that?…

First of all, whatever destination you choose, focus on your “to do list” more than on your “to see list”. Start by putting all your interests on a piece of paper. Research festivals, concerts, all happenings going on in the area at the time of your stay. Think about going to a play, try out a sport or taking a roadtrip outside the place you are staying. Whatever matches your interests.

Compromise. It’s always better to choose experience over longevity. Stay a day or to less but do something fun, something you would really like to do; or go somewhere. Experience the place in a different way. If you can, put more money into that “to do list”, I promise you, you will not regret it. Don’t chase every single old building in town or every museum…are you really interested in seeing “all that”? More than you are doing some of the things mentioned above?

Also, it’s very important to know what type of vacation is best for you. Is it one long you take every year or are a few shorter ones a better idea? I know that a lot of people can’t choose how will the use their vacation because their employer does it for them. But if you can, think about it…do you need 3-4 weeks to really rest and relax or you are as good as new after only a week. Do you like more active of passive vacations; are you more excited about exploring new places or trying out some extreme sports; would you put more money into a shorter but better trip, maybe somewhere further away from home or you want to spend all your days of somewhere else.

It’s all about you, not the history, not the streets or the plane that got you to your destination.

Stella – European Travelling Advisor

“Plan it yourself” vs. travel agents

What are the pros and cons of organizing a trip yourself or going to the travel agency and getting the already planned one?

What happens when you go to the travel agency? You pick your criteria, usually that is your destination, or you pick the type of vacation you want to go on based on your priorities; sightseeing, relaxation, or something more adventurous. Your travel agent will show you the programs they have that might meet your expectations. These programs are made in order to satisfy a large variety of people and so they are generally very plain. First hand it doesn’t look like it because you see a big list of places to see and a few things you might do as optional parts of the program. Most of us don’t really think about what exactly do we want from our vacation so we take the offer as it is. We travel like luggage and tend to have a great time anyway. Great benefits are that everything is taken care of and planned out for you, you get a guide on the spot and don’t have to worry about transportation if you travel from town to town.

If you decide to plan your vacation yourself, you can get as creative as you want. Then you really make yourself think what you want to see and do. Research the internet, read magazines and let other passionate travelers recommend you what they loved. You can mix visits to two or more countries, take it easy on sightseeing or spend as much time in museums as you want, you can take more time to get to know the people and customs or set out on a road trip. Every day is yours to find the best way to spend it.

You don’t have a guide that will tell you about the sights, but that is just a matter of choice, how is that important to you. For some, discovering the city on their own can be exciting and fun, others find it a waste of time. You can hire someone yourself to take you around, but I would suggest using travel guides and all the great technology you have at your disposal. You’ll usually find the type of information you are searching for and not get bored listening to the 10th long historical story or where ever you start drifting away… And you decide how much time you want to spend there.

Most of the travelers think that organizing your own vacation costs a lot more than when you go to the travel agency. That is not true. It is cheaper up to 50%! Yes, you heard it right, and I even did better than that. I will talk about my examples later on. Don’t limit yourself when it comes to creating your own itinerary. Make a list of everything and at the end narrow it down if you need to. You will be excited about the result!

Most of the people get to travel once or twice a year. Why not use your imagination, put some time into research and make the most of it?! That’s your time in a year to have even more fun and enjoy in the best way you can.

There are no limits to your imagination, only to your will.

Stella – European Travelling Advisor