Taking a holiday is taking seen a taking a journey of discovery and enjoyment; to be in awe of the amazing attractions that a country has to offer. However, there are different ways, per se, of taking a holiday. Many people choose to plan every single meticulous detail down to the minute. Others, prefer to take a more relaxed approach, to roll with the punches and discover something new. How do you prefer to take your holidays? Do you like having impromptu trips for far slung lands? To discover something you'd never of found otherwise? Or, do you prefer the security that comes with being in a tour group? Does that reassurance that everything will go to plan comfort you?
We tend to plan our trips but things don't always go as planned. Sometimes we will change our minds and visit a different tourist site because someone suggests it while we are there. I like talking to the people working at the hotel to see if there is something that we shouldn't miss when we are on our vacation.
Experience has taught me that the best holidays are the ones without pre-trip itinerary. Thoroughly pre-planned trips are not only confining but expensive too. As a photographer, I prefer having a planned itinerary for just a few days then letting everything go spontaneously. After you get a feel of the place you can always go on random explorations without necessarily following any confining pre-planned schedule.
I don't really do tour groups any more, unless there is a specific sight I want to see that's very off the beaten path and hard to get to without something like a tour bus driving you there. Otherwise, I prefer to do my own thing. Often times I meet like minded individuals whenever I am seeing things that I'm interested in, so I've made fun friends along the way on trips I have taken! I try to have some idea of the structure I want my trips to take, but I don't like planning every single minor detail because I find that to be rather stressful.
I plan to a certain extent, but I don't go crazy with it. I like to make sure I have reservations in advance for snorkeling trips and private fishing charters. It can be upsetting if you don't have the big things reserved and they're all booked up when you get there.
I think that I am a lot like the other users here in that I like it planned out and clear and expectations set. I am just one of those people who needs to feel as comfortable as possible and uncertainty really gets me uneasy. Luckily it is a lot easier these days to plan ahead and organize your plans, so it makes planning holidays a lot easier.
I am mostly in the middle; I do try to plan certain things which I want to do/visit while on a holiday, but I flexible enough to change plans after reaching there. Sometimes you do not visit a place during the best time of the year, so your plans will go awry. For me a holiday is a time to relax without having to take any decisions every time.
I usually do a very broad itinerary, like for example I will book 3-4 days in each city and follow that plan, but what I see when I am there is pretty much decided on the moment and whether I'm in the mood to wander a bit or if I prefer to have a tour guide for example on that specific day. It has happened that I fall in love with a city and I end up staying there for over a week though
I like taking short trips on the weekend. I'll probably go to the beach or visit a museum. I guess the point is to relax and be inspired again-- to live and to live and what not. Bring your family and friends for a fun weekend!
How do you prefer to take your holidays? Hmm... As much as I can, I plan things out. I'm not that detailed but I try to find out if a particular place has must-see destinations. I try to research which restaurants are worth trying as well. But with regards to visiting places, I just list out the must-see destinations and try to go from there. Do you like having impromptu trips for far slung lands? To be honest, we don't make too much impromptu trips to distant places. It's far too risky especially since we always take our son with us on trips. To discover something you'd never of found otherwise? If it's only me or my husband, why not? But taking into account that we have a son, we just cannot be that adventurous with our trips. Or, do you prefer the security that comes with being in a tour group? I don't like tour groups much. We like exploring places on our own, my husband, me and my son. That way, we can go at our own pace and not be restricted with our actions. Does that reassurance that everything will go to plan comfort you? In a way, yes... But sometimes, we can go off-track, like go swimming in a different resort. Or eat in an unknown restaurant. Or go to parks that we don't have in our list.
