From your grandma to your dog, everyone seems to have an opinion on the best way to travel. Should you plan your trip down to the day, or is it better to be spontaneous and let the wind blow you wherever you go.
There is a lot to be said for both attitudes. Both are entirely different ways of travelling and one way may be more attractive to you, while others like something different. But really, what is better?
Being a planner
Doing your research, making notes that turn into plans and creating an itinerary is a great way to really get to know the country you’re visiting. Through research, you’ll find out what to visit, when to visit, and will be able to see everything on your list. Think of it is a big to-do list. This is great for those who like to have some structure and some idea of what to do. It’s also a great way to make sure you see/do/eat/experience everything the country has to offer! Nothing is worse than going home and hearing about some epic place you had no idea existed!
For example, I quickly learnt that bus fares are the cheapest way to get around in Europe and if you book 30 days in advance the fares can be half price! I planned the first 4 months of my trip to take advantage of these savings. It also meant I knew what monuments I wanted to see and when to see them. In Paris, infamous for its hour long queues is the Louvre. By doing some research and planning when to visit, not only was there NO queue, but I got in for free!
So there is something to be said for planning! So where to start? Use google and look up everything you might want to know. Sticking with Paris, you might want to look up best times for visiting the Louvre/Eiffel Tower/hundred other important things to see, or the best croissants/crepes/macaroons. A must-see is the catacombs. This was such an incredible experience albeit a little creepy. And if you book in advance you skip the queue! Once you’ve done your research, get a note book and figure out how many days you want to spend in the city, then factor in everything you want to do and voila! You have an itinerary that will guarantee you an epic experience.
Being spontaneous
Maybe free styling and leavings things up to chance is more your style. Maybe you might miss out on something you wish you had seen, but maybe you will experience something no-one else has. Get off the beaten track and see non-touristy aspects of each city. Spontaneity opens up a whole world of adventure as you’re not stuck to one plan and have the freedom to chop and change as you please. Heard about something great? Easy, factor it in and go for it.
Having a rough outline of days and cities helps to keep you on track without the monotony of checking things off one by one. For the last part of my trip, there was no plans only endless days that promised adventure. While in Croatia we heard fantastic stories about Montenegro, so we up and left Croatia and headed there to spend an awesome 5 days. It is to date, one of the best experiences we had.
Having no plans leaves you free to take each day as it comes. While in Berlin, we had a huge list of places we wanted to go and experiences we wanted to have. At the end of our stay we had a day of no plans. We chose to wander around the city, just walking and taking everything in. We ended up a festival with live music, 2 euro beer and 2 euro sausages. It was a truly awesome day.
madeleinecurby 
There are so many advantages of both that it’s really tough to take a decision! As someone who travels regularly (here’s my blog btw: http://traveluxblog.com/) I’m taking some spontaneous decision, but I’m planning several trips, too. For the latter, I especially find the planning process to be somewhat tempting. While working at home, it always gives me a feeling of holidays when planning a trip 🙂
I completely agree! Thinking and planning your next trip while working just makes it so much more exciting! And gets you through the long tough days..
Absolultely! It’s such a relaxing feeling to think of holidays 🙂