Travel planning hack # 5

Anyone can travel, anytime.

As travel planners, we have come across situations where we've worked closely with our client to craft a personalised itinerary. Everyone's full of excitement and anticipation, but in the end, something came up.

It is disappointing indeed, but by having an itinerary handy means that you have the blueprint for your next trip. Paris, Rome, Tokyo, Havana....Wherever it might be, will always be there waiting for you.

For the time being, let's get creative and make the most of it!

Remember those lockdown days, how we used our imagination and creativity to entertain ourselves, despite our freedom was limited to the neighbourhood or sometimes only within our own home?

If you've been meaning to go on a trip, but something had come up, budget doesn't allow, or other life commitment has taken priority, don't feel too bad about it because there are ways you could travel without spending much time nor money.

Here's how.

Have a think about your priority and travel objectives that you had in mind after reading Hack #1. a few days ago.

If your travel goal is to discover a different culture, you could join an expat community like checking out events on Internations, or do a language exchange class and make new friends while learning a new skill.

Think about what are the key attractions of your ideal destination. Maybe it's tasting different cuisines, or perhaps it's to see a museum.

Before you can make that trip happen physically, how about finding similar activities and like-minded friends through platforms like EventBrite or MeetUp?

"It's Not What You Look At That Matters,

It's What You See"

You can create a journey as near or far as you'd like.

Travelling could be going to a concert or an exhibition with international artist who will showcase the diverse cultures and histories.

Travelling could be a morning spent in the farmer's market, picking and sampling seasonal produce that brings flavours from the countryside.

It could be finding a whisky or wine tasting, or a gourmet cooking class, where you'll savour cuisines and tastes from different corners of the world.

How about putting on a wine tasting fair in your own home? We've done a few of those during lockdown when travelling was a dream. It was almost as good, except, we didn't even need to drive for hours to get to the wine regions nor book a flight to France!

It could be simply putting on some music in different language that will take your mind to places afar.

When I moved back from London to Sydney, I missed my nomad life travelling almost every weekend around UK and Europe. A good friend suggested that I 'create a little bit of Europe in Sydney'.

I thought about how I could do that, and joined an expat's networking event. Little did I know that I would meet my French partner-in-crime for life (and getting my doze of French language every time someone drives badly in front of us!).

You never know what could happen when you get out of your comfort zone!

Get in touch if you need a hand plan your next trip, or just chit-chat about your travels!

Author: Founder, Should Have Asked - Your Bespoke Travel.

Michelle is an experienced researcher, design-thinker and in former life, government policy maker. Most days she’s an addicted traveller, a shower-soprano and mom of 30+ avocado trees.

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