What's your travel persona?

Freakishly organized or carefree and footloose – what’s your travel style? I am more of the organized type. I feel comfortable when i have a clear picture from A to B down to the last detail. For me the fun of a trip starts with planning. I research months ahead, read up everything i can about the place on the Internet, visit travel sites and post questions in the online travel forums. By the time I reach my destination, I usually have a good idea of what I want to visit and when and how. Doesn’t sound much fun, does it? As if I am preparing for an official tour and have detail itinerary prepared. Isn’t the whole idea of vacation is to get away from schedules and routines? aren't holidays supposed to be blissful days when the alarm isn't permitted to disrupt my precious sleep?

I don't think there's one perfect travel style that fits everyone and there's no need to look for it either. Whatever makes you happy, whatever works for you - is the best one. Most important is to know what you want. Are you the tourist type and like seeing famous landmarks and maximizing your time in a place? Or are you happy to take it slow, get a feel for the culture and ambiance and content to just walk around without a definite aim? Know your travel persona and go ahead ...i am about to write plan :-)...can't get away from my organized type so easily, can i?

This is what i do: i do a google and read up on the place, see what lonely plant has to say, visit Virtual Tourist which has an excellent travel forum where real travelers answer your queries. i make a list of things i want to do and places i want to see. Frommer's is an excellent resource and give suggested itineraries for 1/2/3 day's travel. This works well for me when i have no more than 2/3 days in a place. This way, i can get going the moment i arrive and don't have to scramble around for information.

The most important decisions during a travel are usually where you'll stay and how to get from once place to another. I do my travel planning on my own. Internet is a great savior for lone travelers. You can read reviews, get directions and exactly know how much time and money it will cost you to get there. Throw a question in the travel forums and know from people who have actually stayed in the hotel you are eyeing for.


Based on my budget, i search on Trip Advisor or Hostel World and try to make a short list of suitable places to stay. in Europe, it's usually handy to stay near the Central Train Station, firstly because it cuts down travel time and secondly, it's easier to carry the luggage if the hotel is just around the corner. It's also safer if you arrive from a tour late night and are traveling alone.

Now for transport. It's much cheaper if you can book ahead and online. But if you have online transaction restrictions as we do in Bangladesh, at least have an idea of which train or plane to take. In Europe, it's often cheaper to travel by budget airlines than by train. See if your point of origin is the base for any low cost airline. This website gives a list of low cost airlines operating in europe.

Train has its advantage though.It travels from point to point and you don't need to worry about airport transfer and getting to the city, as the Central Stations in Europe would mostly be inside or within walking distance to the city centre.   

European cities have day passes for unlimited travel in tram/bus/metro. Again i take help from the travel forums and ask people for the best way to get around. The subway system can be confusing and complicated for first time visitors. In London and Paris, the city authorities have wonderful websites that give you exact directions of which train to take to reach your destination. Check out these websites: Paris Metro and Train Route Planner and London Journey Planner. Before i visited Paris, i downloaded the Paris Metro Map and noted down the name of the metro stations near places i wanted to see. It's useful to know the zone you are staying and the zones you will be visiting, as the ticket prices would depend on that.

Just realized i have digressed from the topic i was discussing and have gone into how to organize a tour :-) So coming back to different travel personas....when i look back at the trips i have been on, i realize my  most memorable moments are not from visiting the famous sites, but from simple pleasures...a leisurely walk, taking pictures, an idle lunch at a cafe, reading a book sitting beside a lake, striking up conversation with a local for fellow tourists...moments when i stopped looking at the watch and took time for myself were the most enjoyable and fulfilling.

During my Europe tour that covered Rome, Venice, Vienna, Slovenia...all these big names bowed down to Villach, a small village in Austria-Italy border, where i had the most wonderful time. Villach was a surprise find and not on my original agenda. I stopped at Villach on my way to Slovenia, took a walk around and decided to spend the night. Similarly in Paris, it's not visiting the Eiffel tower that I fondly look back, my precious memories are from the four hour walk around the Eiffel Tower, the parks, the Seine river, taking photographs- when i took time to sip in the aura of Paris.

It's important to remember you are not traveling for anyone else, but for yourself! doing things just to put a tick mark, looking for only  the mandatory photo opportunity with the landmarks and visiting places which people consider as 'must sees' might end up boring you. make your own list. don't visit a museum if you aren't really an art buff. don't have to see the monalisa for ten seconds just to answer yes to the obligatory questions from people who've heard you've been to Paris and the Louvre. why visit Stratford-upon-Avon in England or the Anne Frank's house in Amsterdam if Shakespeare, literature or history don't attract you much? I have learnt my lessons. I visited the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam, but being an art ignorant, it really didn't mean much to me and I probably should have done something i enjoy. Similarly the Porsche museum in Stuttgart, Germany was completely wasted on me. So go through the 'must see' list but treat it as a buffet and pick and choose as per your own liking and travel style.