Do you have what it takes to travel independently?

First off, lets get the definition right. Independent travel does not mean solo travel, it can, but it is not exclusive. You can travel with your family, your friends or your partner, but the term independent travel means taking control of your trip to plan and customize it to exactly what you want to experience. You are not joining a cruise, or an organized tour the whole time you are away…these certainly are elements that you can add into your independent travels, but it is not exclusively that. You also don’t have to do all the planning and booking yourself, but I do encourage you to take some of the control.

I totally understand that when you start thinking about taking one of these types of trips, it can become overwhelming and the fears start to creep in, especially when you haven’t done something like this before. The thing is though, you more than likely have done an independent trip already. When you take a weekend getaway or explore your own backyard of where you are from, or head somewhere somewhat close to where you live, these are all versions of independent travel. You may not realize this if you are staying with friends, visiting family or are just keeping it local, but it all counts.

Yes, planning a trip that is outside of where you know the area or someone is more daunting, but you still use the same principles. When you do some more prep work, it will ease your fears and let you experience a new place with excitement. One of the best unexpected side effects of independent travel is seeing exactly how capable you are and that shooting your confidence through the roof.  You start to walk a little taller and make decisions a little easier.

There are a lot of tools now that makes travelling independently a whole lot easier. Things like really knowing how to use Google Maps, using apps to keep all your reservations in one area and learning exactly what you should be looking for or asking.  

Another thing that most people don’t realize is how much more inexpensive it can be than taking a cruise or tour. You get to decide where you spend your money, what you would like to splurge on and where you can save some. There is a lot of power in taking control of the reigns.

Independent travel allows you to set the pace of your trip. If you wake up and don’t feel like getting up early, you can lie in bed and just soak up the atmosphere, have a lazy morning down in a café while watching the world go by. When you don’t want to plan and think, you can join a day tour and let someone else worry about that, and if you just want to wander around and take photographs of the day you don’t have to have any time restrictions. 

I truly think everyone has it in them to be able to travel independently, but sometimes you need some guidance and confidence boosting. I am so passionate about people independently travelling that I created this business exactly for this. I have online programs that show you how to plan and create each stage of your independent travels. I also include services that allow you to hand over the reigns of parts of your trip you don’t want to do yourself.  

I realize that you don’t necessarily want to travel independently for every trip, but I really really think you should try it at least once to see what you think…you never know, you might just get hooked.