Everyone treat traveling differently. For some, this is a way to spend a vacation, while for others it is a waste of money, and for some, it is a real passion. Often you can hear the opinion that travel is not essential, and yet it is expensive and scary. For all those who doubt whether to travel or not, we give potent arguments in favor of the first and dispel stereotypes.
-
A diagram worths many words
It would seem that the 21st century anything can be found on the Internet without getting up off the couch. There is no need to go to the other end of the world – you can turn on the TV or surf the Internet. Still. Nothing beats personal experiences and emotions. You can flip through an album of paintings, or you can look at pictures in the Prado Museum. You can watch the Discovery Channel,
or you can sail in a boat next to the whales. You can flip Instagram photos of balloons in Cappadocia, or you can meet the dawn, standing in a basket high above the ground. What about visiting places from your favorite books and movies. Notre Dame, Carrie Bradshaw’s house, Hobbiton, Rio beaches, hot Rome, Harry Potter places – everyone will probably find a list of sacred places. Books, films, stories of friends – all these are other people’s experiences and impressions, it is better to see with your own eyes and form your personal opinion.
-
Get new knowledge
Traveling is one of the ways of self-education; it is impossible to leave without further experience. Get to know the history of the city, look at museums: history, painting, sculpture, and archeology – a list for every taste. Are you learning a foreign language? Practice it. If you are shy, start small: communication with shop assistants in stores, waiters in cafes, etc. If you stay through couchserfing or live in a shared room at the hostel, communication is inevitable. A couple of weeks of active practice will give better results than months alone with the textbook.
Try to spy on how your professional field works in other countries. A fresh look and new ideas will undoubtedly be useful in your work – take inspiration from all possible sources. A change of scenery helps to reboot, clear your head of unnecessary thoughts and look at familiar things from a new angle.
-
Improve the quality of life
When traveling, we get the opportunity to learn how people live in other countries and learn from the positive experience. Starting from trivial things like flowers on the windows or sorting garbage and ending with a lifestyle. Not all that is seen passes without a trace – we absorb the best and bring it into our lives. You might start jogging in the park, you will enjoy surfing, or you will find yourself skiing. Who knows, what if the interior of the hotel tells you the idea of arranging your home? The quality of life is made up of little things, adding new elements, you only win.
Perhaps one day you will like a country so much that you will change your place of residence – even such a big and severe step starts with traveling.
-
Broaden your horizons
In a new environment, do not cling to old habits. In the direction of prejudice and stereotypes – be open to the new and unknown. Perhaps you love Mexican food, and the pizza from your favorite cafe is half as tasty as in Italy. One thing is sure – until you try, you do not know. Communicate more with people and push your boundaries.
If you have children, travel with them – they are curious and open to everything new. From childhood, they will know how vast the world is and how many opportunities it has. It will be easier for them to find a common language with people and merge into new circumstances.
-
Lifetime memories
Framed photographs, memorabilia from around the world, and most importantly – thousands of stories that you will never be tired of sharing. It is unlikely that you will be telling with your eyes burning how you bought a car 10 years ago, but the stories of how you met dawn in the mountains, saw wild animals in the savannah, conquered the volcano, hunted for the northern lights or got lost in the maze of streets of the ancient city, never fade. When traveling, you get a personal time machine and teleport in one bottle. It is worth closing your eyes – and you are anywhere in the world. Things break, get lost, and become unnecessary – memories will warm you all your life.
TRAVELING IS NOT EXPENSIVE
One of the main arguments for refusing travel is price. Many are sure that traveling is expensive, and therefore, do not go anywhere. The cost of the trip consists of two main components: the road to the destination and expenses on the spot. You can always find options to reduce your travel budget, and in some cases, you can even travel for free.
-
Tickets
There are many ways to find cheap flights. Starting from a new search (a few months before the trip) and the selection of low-cost airlines, ending with compound routes with arrival in a neighboring city. Flights with transfers are often cheaper than direct flights, and with a long connection, you can see the city.
Keep track of ticket sales – if you act quickly, you can catch excellent offers.
Often, buying a package tour is cheaper than planning your trip.
Do not forget about the train: tickets for it are often cheaper than an airplane. Thus, you can get, for example, to Vilnius or Riga, and from there use other modes of transport.
Another option is the bus. Over long distances, of course, not a very convenient way to travel, but the price covers all the disadvantages.
If you have a car and time, consider it as an option for movement. Gas costs are often lower than buying tickets, especially when traveling with a company.
-
Accommodation
Choose your accommodation in advance – good options diverge quickly. Find out about booking.com reservation features. Hostels instead of hotels will help to save money; also, they have separate rooms for 2-4 people.
Often renting a room or apartment on Airbnb is cheaper than a hotel. This is especially true for companies.
Couchsurfing is free.
In summer, camping will be the right solution, which is related to traveling by car.
-
Inland transport
It is most convenient to live in the city center and not use public transport. However, this option is not always the most profitable. When choosing a home away from the center, try to figure out in advance how much money you will spend on transport.
When traveling between cities, buy tickets in advance online – this is a great way to save money. Group tickets are also often more profitable (for example, in Germany).
Car rent. Book a car in advance, travel in a company of four and look for accommodation with free parking.
-
Food
In tourist places, prices are always overpriced, and the quality is poor. Do not go to lunch in the first cafe you find – ask for local advice (in a hotel or hostel), read reviews on TripAdvisor (often post photos of checks there). On weekdays, you can order a business lunch and thereby save.
Choose a house with a kitchen. By buying products at the supermarket and cooking by ourselves, you can significantly reduce your travel budget.
-
Direction selection
There is an opinion that traveling abroad is expensive. This is only partially true – it depends on what to compare with. Tickets from Moscow to Kamchatka are comparable in price to tickets to the United States, and relaxing at sea in Sochi will come out almost more expensive, for example, in Croatia. There are different examples: the mountains of the Caucasus are not inferior in beauty to the Alps, but they will be cheaper, and the nature of Karelia does not differ from Finland.
A weekend trip is also a trip. Find out what sights there are near you: cities, nature parks, estates, museums, etc. First, a change of scenery is necessary. A beautiful place, a cheerful company, a tent and gatherings by the fire – why not travel?
TRAVELING IS NOT SCARY
You are alone in an unfamiliar city, do not understand the local language, and do not know where to go. Sounds like a nightmare. Let us calm down and deal with the situation in order.
The fear of the unknown is understandable – it is much calmer in the familiar environment, where everything is familiar. However, this fear should not become an obstacle to travel; on the contrary – it should transform into a passion for learning new things. If you have never traveled on your own, you do not need to go to the wilds of Asia or Africa on your first trip. Act from simple to complex.
-
Where to start
To begin with, try to buy a ready-made tour, not just to Turkey for “all-inclusive,” but also to Europe, for example, the Czech Republic, Italy or Spain. You will be taken to the hotel, given the necessary information – and already on the spot, you can explore the surroundings yourself. You will understand that public transport is well developed, museums have audio guides, and the cafe has a menu in English.
Do not know foreign languages? Start from places where you will be understood in Russian. In Tallinn, Riga, or Montenegro resorts, you can communicate in your native language, while gaining the skills of independent travel. Alternatively, the options are even more straightforward – Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan.
-
What is next?
The next step will be an independent purchase ticket and search for hotels. Do not try to take into account all the tricks of saving the first time – it is easy to get confused in the abundance of new information. Choose one or two large cities, find housing in the center, and learn how to move between cities. The most important thing at this stage is to understand that you can plan your trip yourself and do not get confused, being in a new place. The whole experience accumulates gradually, not one of the most active traveler was born that way – these are years of trial and error. 9 seater tempo traveller
Over time, you will learn how to look for cheap tickets and hotels, learn the tricks of booking a car, and at a glance, you can understand the public transport schemes of Paris or New York. You only need time, desire, and patience.
-
Preparation
Do not neglect the preparation for the trip. Learn in advance how to get to the hotel, where and at what rate to change the currency, mark the points of interest on the map, and install useful mobile applications. Read travel guides and travel reports – then, once in place, you will already be well oriented and spend time getting to know the country, rather than studying maps.
Many are afraid of getting a visa. There is nothing complicated and scary about this. You need to study the list of documents on the official website of the embassy or visa center carefully and prepare everything in strict accordance.
-
Security
Remember safety and minimum precautionary measures, and even if you were left in a foreign country without money and documents, there is always a way out.
P.S. Everyone can travel on one`s own. Do not be afraid to take the first steps – the result is worth all the effort.
About the author
Melisa Marzett is a freelance writer who was a journalist and a translator formerly and is currently writing for proofreaders Among her hobbies are going to the beach, swimming, scuba diving, snorkeling, traveling, fitness and reading books on psychology.
