I came up with this short guide to independent travel because a good friend asked me what kind of traveller I am and whether I plan my travel or prefer to improvise. I think the correct answer is that I plan as much as possible and feel free to improvise once I’m travelling.
I travel solo. I always have because I need to feel free when I’m travelling: silence, last-second new plans, meeting other travellers on the way, not having to find compromises, doing nothing when I feel like… Solo trips allow me to be myself and feel good, but as a female solo traveller with a medium budget, I need to plan the travel.
So, in this post, I’m telling you how it all starts:
- how do I pick the next trip
- how I plan it
- how I get ready
Where do my independent travel plans come from
Until a few years ago, I was always away on business trips in my previous life, and everything was always well organised and quite long in advance. Opera houses and festivals’ planning (but Italian, alas) are always decided years in advance, as are auditions for singers and competitions, and so were my travels… dates of performances, flights, taxis, hotels, meetings, dinners and free time moments detailed, fixed and annotated—perfectly planned trips.
I changed my life a few years ago: I moved back to Italy and changed my job, rhythms, and context. Now, I only travel because I love it, and it is a beautiful thing. I indeed travel less, so less, but the time is mine! Apart from a few free days during my Levanto hotel opening period, I allow myself a few weeks away between November and December and a long journey of five or six weeks between January and March.
My travels almost always arise from meetings with other travellers or books. A novel, a short story by another traveller, or sometimes an article makes me fall in love with a destination and feel nostalgic even before I get there, so I can only start planning for it.
From this love-at-first-sight moment, I began to look for information on the chosen country. I looked for it online, reading other bloggers’ experiences and official sites. I looked for novels set in the country and started to live the journey, carefully avoiding watching photos and videos because they might disappoint me, just like it can be disappointing to watch a movie based on a book.
My short guide to planning an independent travel
My falling in love with remote destinations means that I can often not afford the actual trip for years, and perhaps some travels will never happen, but planning them is a way of living them… I know, it’s pathological 😀
I create a file on Numbers on my computer and start planning my ideal itinerary by entering dates, milestones, flights, extraordinary things not to miss in a particular location as recommended by those who were there before, the accommodation I prefer, and related costs. I need to figure out whether I can afford the trip and how much I should save to enjoy it fully.
This file also allows me to see if my itinerary is possible with the available days I have or not because once there, I only move taking public buses, trains, etc… so it’s all relatively slow 🙂
After reviewing the trip, I evaluate whether I can afford it. If the answer is painfully negative, I put it aside for the future. If I can go without distorting my plans, I immediately book the flight to avoid seeing its price increase as time passes.
* I look for flights on Opodo, E-dreams, and Skyscanner, and once I find the right one, I book it directly with the airline company as the rate is always a bit cheaper or even when it’s the same as the customer care in case of a problem is much better!
If some accommodations are truly experiences by themselves, I book them too to ensure a room for the needed dates. Still, it happened only two or three times, for instance, with the Casa Panq’Arani in Puno, the Patios the Cafayate in Argentina, or the Naga Hill in Chiang Rai.
*I look for hotels on TripAdvisor (I don’t read reviews written by someone who only wrote one or two because they generally are awful or excellent, and I, therefore, don’t trust them, or those written by families, as I usually have different needs and priorities), and then I check their website and book directly to get an immediate idea of their hospitality. For more details, please see my complete hotel booking guide.
Another detail I plan, book, and pay for in advance is an eventual expensive visit, such as the Orient Express I wanted to take to go from Cuzco to Aguas Calientes in Peru. This is to reduce the last-minute expenses once on site. Budget distribution oblige…
My independent solo travel
The day before the trip, I make a list of things to put in my backpack, and I pack the night before the departure (always during the night to have something to do as I can’t sleep due to the excitement).
Once my backpack is closed, I fill out the Italian Government’s online travellers’ security form and send a copy to my parents. I will only contact them by e-mail if I change my plans and, above all, to inquire about my sweet Atena. I lock the door, put my iPhone on aeroplane mode, and leave!
Once I land, I start discovering, talking to people, letting them advise me, and letting my mood and feelings guide me. I begin to improvise, extend, shorten, delete, or add stages, sometimes only to share moments with other travellers I meet. Nothing is as remarkable as travelling and learning!
And you? How do you plan your independent travel?
