Traveling on your own terms means getting the holiday or travel experience that you want. Lots of people like to travel on their own terms, organising their own accommodation, transport and activities. Many people want to have everything organised for them, and this is quite fine as well. There are people however who do not have the confidence to do it their own way and sometimes end up settling for less than what they want. There is no necessity to settle for less, and these are some simple hints to take that first step.

1. Don’t eschew all orthodox methods

We went to the travel agent yesterday to pick up our tickets for an upcoming trip. Unusually for us, we did utilise these services. The nature of the trip required flights from different places and ended up being a much more efficient use of our time to get them to do it for us. So we do use travel agents where necessary. If it was a quick and easy flight we would have done it ourselves online. We were not selling out, just making the best use of available resources.

Travelling on your own terms means using all of the options that are available to you.

2. Have confidence

While sitting at the travel agents, I listened to a couple next to me. They wanted to see this and that, but this and that were not included in their packaged tour. They compromised and booked it anyhow. Did I wonder, why? I guess many people lack this confidence to do some research, talk to people who know how to do it and can help them, and to take some risks.

This will possibly always be the way, but more and more people are saying no, I work hard, and I want my travels to be my way. This is how we can help by showing you that it works for us, and we can show you not only how, but give you the resources to try it yourself. We are not the only ones by any stretch of the imagination. You will find so many helpful articles that can give you the information that you need.

3. Booking accommodation your way

There are so many options to choose from to get exactly what you want. This is such a personal thing, so you need to work out what your criteria are and then find what suits you best. This is one of the hardest parts.

Do you want a 5-star hotel with all of the bells and whistles?
Do you want something more bespoke?
Do you just want a bed for the night to lie your tired head on?
Establish that first and foremost and you are nearly there. The internet is one of your best friends in not only finding information but also in reading about others experiences to know what has worked and what hasn’t. There are some big name accommodation players around that are very reputable as well as some lesser-known ones that are certainly worth looking at.

When in doubt do a few things:

• Check a variety of reviews on the company and indeed the accommodation choice.
• Look at the middle of the road comments to see if what they are saying is consistent.
• Have a quick look at our article on trusting reviews just to let you know that there are some unscrupulous people adding comments to either credit or discredit a place. It is not the sites faults in my opinion.

Also, I will often type in, “Is this booking company/hotel/ whatever legit?” You will find this information very quickly trust me.

Be Careful of the web browser you use. Read

Traveler Alert: Which Web Browser Should you Use to Save Money?

Read:

Should we believe travel reviews?

4. Figuring out transportation within destinations.

This again takes some research but is not at all difficult to find. If you are using trains or buses, you will find that most timetables are available online and most, though not all, are in English. Sometimes you need to get the language app out to help you to figure it out but then again, asking someone is a great source of information for you too.

It does not hurt to shout out to friends, or forums or twitterers or any other social media group for assistance. You will find the information very quickly, and it will be very sound and often first-hand information. Remember it is called social for a reason and most people are seriously helpful and generous. We call it insider trading information and nearly all sites you look at, will have someone to help you. It is pretty obvious to identify the pure scam merchant who is solely bent on telling you about how fabulous they are. Double check them.

Read:

Self drive vs. Train Travel in Europe

5. Activities

You may well have some must see things and must do things, and that is great. We all do. I had to see the Coliseum, Forum, Catacombs and Pompeii because I was an ancient history teacher, and these are my fields and my interests. Iconic things are iconic for a reason.

I think, however, that it is not worth over planning. Don’t try and do everything, as you will end up exhausted and having only cursorily seen things. If we had tried to do all of the galleries and museums in Florence in the week we were there I wouldn’t have got lost. I wouldn’t have found a great gelato place nor met some great local people when I ordered a latte and got hot milk .. just what I had ordered. Take your time. Meet the locals and talk to them about their lives. Get a real feel of a place.

Read:

OMG – you didn’t see the Mona Lisa, what were you thinking? …#FridayTip

See less and you will experience more.

6. Time

Yes, it does take time to do the research but inevitably it is totally worth it to get exactly what you want and not what some else thinks you want. Let others help you. There is so much information out there that it can become overwhelming. So many people travel and write about travel you will find someone that you feel knows what they are talking about who will help you.

Read:

7 Killer Reasons to Slow Down when you Travel

7. Will things go wrong if I organise it myself?

Yes, they probably will. Will they go wrong if someone else organises it for you? Yes, they could well do. I went on an organised trip to Vietnam a while ago, and it was brilliant but because one couple were perpetually late every day, we missed out on something that I wanted to see. Did that matter? Well, I was a bit put out but we did something that I wasn’t expecting, and it was great. Does it matter if things go wrong, you get on a wrong train, take a wrong turn? Well, you try not to, but if it happens, it happens? Remember, travelling your way is all about doing it your way. Use the myriad of tools that are at hand and get what you want. Don’t forget that:

“It’s all about serendipity”