It's been way too hot to think here in Seattle, so instead of something new, I'll share with you one of my favorites from the past.
Are you a traveler who likes to make your itinerary nice and tidy, completely booked from start to finish? Does the thought of something unexpected happening, or something changing, freak you out a little? If so, you might just be missing out on some of the best parts of traveling: the spontaneity of changing your mind, your plans, and your direction, for whatever reason.
After all, you could meet some new traveling buddies and want to join them on the next leg of their trip. Or, you could discover some unexpected place, food, art, or whatever, and really want to see it. Without leaving yourself some unplanned time, you're essentially shutting yourself out from these unforgettable experiences. So, on your next trip, free yourself from the bondage of over-planning and leave something to chance. Give yourself the opportunity to enjoy the unexpected joys of the road, even if it's just for a day or two.
I love this post! I have traveled with people who want everything buttoned up, and it's fine, but you do miss those quirky moments when you find something really cool! Great insight!
I used to be a planner and then I did the whole fly by the seat by my pants kind of trip. The challenge I face now is a happy medium, planning without over planning and allowing for these happy moments of spontaneity. It all depends on your personality I guess. I'm a planner who has to fight the urge to not schedule away my days.
Rick Steves wrote about this recently and his take is to plan to be spontaneous. I agree with it somewhat, but I don't agree that traveling without any itinerary will ultimately become a ball and chain. If you're educated about where you are traveling too, you can still prevent headaches without having everything laid out in advance.
It's kind of like life, eh? Balance is the key!
I like to travel with a few things scheduled plus a few options along the way. I'm always flexible, so if I wake up to rainy weather when I had a hike planned, I can pull out my backup plans or just figure out what the day is saying to me.
I would think that the seat-of-your-pants trips work when there's plenty of options right where you are. If you're in some wide open spaces and have to travel to get to the attractions, etc., that kind of trip is just logistically more difficult to create those memorable experiences that spontaneity brings.
We make really intense itineraries as far as where we'll stay, what kind of distance we need to cover, that kind of thing, using that intense planning just to scope out how much time we think we have (not enough) and if we're somewhere we absolutely must have reservations.
But we chuck everything right out the window when we hit the road, always allowing ourselves to get off track in how we actually spend our time. Because it's about the unplanned discoveries, right?
I like your approach Pam. You are super prepared, yet not encumbered by your plans. The best of both worlds.
One of Eisenhower's quotes sums it up our approach quite nicely: “In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”
We find it useful to have a general plan and to have researched an area, but the more important thing is to be open to straying from that plan. I have to admit that Dan is better at this than I am. It's OK if you never arrive at the final destination - temple, church, museum, etc. - if you've had another adventure along the way.
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