How to travel without a packed Itinerary
A change is as good as a holiday, as they say…but is it really? Taking a holiday, however long or short it may be, opens you up to all kinds of change: new places, new people and new experiences that can enrich your life in ways you never dreamed possible. Travel can be overwhelming, though, and letting that overwhelm take over is one of the fastest and simplest ways to ensure that you don’t get maximum enjoyment out of the experience. If you’re anything like me, you’re likely to create some sort of schedule (or Excel document, if you’re really hardcore) to ensure that you don’t get overwhelmed and that you make time for every possible museum, beach, restaurant, patisserie, boutique and sight that you can squeeze into your timeframe. This is the point at which I tell you not to be like me.
Itineraries can be incredibly helpful, yes, but they can also become more than a little binding if you let them take over the trip. What I’ve been trying recently is to avoid both the overwhelm of no structure and the overwhelm of too much structure by finding balance in the middle: really enjoying and experiencing your destinations without a strict schedule but also without flying entirely by the seat of your pants. These tips are ones I’m implementing in my own travels to allow for flow and being present in every moment, but still really getting to experience the best of wherever you are.
How To Experience Your Destinations Fully, Sans Schedule
Choose a Base Instead of Scheduling
Within your destination (and depending on how long you’ll be there), choose one or two base locations from which to explore. Instead of scheduling activities and experiences like most travellers would, strike out from your base in a convenient, central part of your town or city. Choosing one base per country (let’s say you visit Portugal and choose Lisbon as your base) to thoroughly explore in a relaxed manner, instead of trying to see all the country’s major cities in one trip, promotes calm instead of rush and quality over quantity.
Travel Smart
Don’t waste time on airport queues, waiting for your luggage with hundreds of other passengers, losing sleep in uncomfortable seats or waking up before dawn for a flight. Use your travel time wisely so that more of the time you have allocated for the holiday can actually be used on the holiday. How? Book a private jet. Fly according to your own schedule, enjoy your own space, take a long nap without being disturbed and arrive as close to your terminal destination as possible. Who could turn all that down?
List Possibilities Rather Than Musts
Take a look at all the entertainment, cultural experiences, sights, culinary destinations, day trips and the like within reasonably close proximity to your base. Now you get to create that Excel spreadsheet if you really, really want to, but you’ll fill it with possibilities rather than musts. Take Cape Town in South Africa, for example. If you’re staying in the city, you could list the brightly coloured homes of Bo-Kaap, a trip to the V and A Waterfront for a sunset cruise, taking a cable car up Table Mountain or going for a wine tasting at any of the lovely wineries in the nearby wine country. Now, most of these (sunset cruise aside) can be done at many times on many different days, so you get to choose what you feel like doing now based on what you actually feel like rather than a pre-determined schedule.
Only Book What You Need To Book
Only pre-book things that are necessary, such as accommodation and airport transfers. There are other exceptions to the booking rules, such as festivals or one-time events that you know you’ll want to attend while visiting. Other than that, lean into the Possibility List and take your chances. What is meant to be will be, and your holiday experience will feel natural and easy rather than forced.
Change Your “FOMO” Mindset
If you’re not booking things in advance but taking experiences as they come instead, there are going to be some things you’ll miss out on. While “missing out” is usually seen as negative, it’s important to adjust your mindset around this if you’re going to embrace less structured travel. Sure, you missed the last train up into the heights of the Alps for the day, but there will be more tomorrow. You missed those, too? Maybe there’s a cosy little tavern or a museum calling your name instead. Accept what’s in front of you and what is rather than what might have been, and you’ll have the time of your life.
Listen to the Locals
When you’re exploring your new surroundings, make it a point to ask any locals you meet what they think are some of the best places to go and things to do. The guy at the table next to you, drinking his afternoon espresso, might have the skinny on where to get the best authentic cuisine at local rather than tourist prices. The lady at the check-out counter in the supermarket may know how to get tickets to a “sold out” event you’re dying to attend. The locals know their town. They know it on an intuitive level because they live there all year. Take advantage (in a nice way) of their knowledge and understanding from a local point of view.
Go Slowly
My last piece of advice? Move slowly throughout your trip. Take in all this advice, and you’ll be able to enjoy travel at a new pace and with a new sense of freedom. Savour your morning coffee and stop to smell the roses. You won’t regret it.
Amélie is a health and wellness junky. Certified yoga instructor with Yoga Alliance in the Vinyasa and Ashtanga styles, she has a Yoga Instructor Certification – Level I (300 hours) and Yoga Instructor Certification – Level II (200 hours) under her belt. She also has a certified Open Water Diver certification with PADI and SSI Scuba Schools International Freediving Level I certification with SSI Scuba Schools International. She’s been vegan for over 15 years and is obsessed with anything wellness-related.