Plan a Trip : One word, many meanings… indeed I would dare to say infinite meanings, infinite destinations and infinite typologies.
Eh, yes, we are far from the years when mass tourism brought tourists into a single holiday mode that developed in the classic period of July and August.
For some time, tourists have changed their mentality and have become travelers, each driven by different desires and interests.
In the journey everyone sees something different and looks for something different from the others ...
It is a difficult question to which paradoxically a relatively simple answer corresponds: let yourself be carried away by your emotions , the journey must be, in fact, a search for emotions. They range from the classic search for relaxation only to itinerant trips where the main objective is to immerse yourself in the local culture.
Since we are all different and everyone has their own interests, let's not dwell on the typology, rather let's focus on helping those who dedicate themselves for the first time to organizing a trip completely on their own.
First of all, if you are reading these lines, it means that you are interested in taking on the responsibility of the organization.
This is precisely the first point: be aware that everything you do will be your work, the classic " flour of your sack ".
And the first thing is to plan a trip , first evaluate the type:
You need relaxation after months of hard work, well, know that you will not be able to choose a "backpacker" trip, otherwise you would go home destroyed as if you had never made a day off.
You have an interest in moving a lot, discovering new places, new peoples, you want to get involved, well, discard "all things equal" all those pro-relax travel formulas.
To tell the truth, they are very banal arguments, let's see what are the other aspects that you must take into account at this stage.
At this stage it is necessary to understand how much you are willing to spend "roughly" . The budget must always be taken into consideration because it affects all choices relating to the other factors. Each trip has its fixed costs and its variable costs.
The fixed costs are those that can not be changed directly and often are the ones with the greatest impact. You can limit them, but they don't break down much.
I'll explain. Everything related to transport, such as air travel (no low cost), represents a particularly important cost that erodes a good part of the budget. You have to keep this in mind. But this doesn't just happen for air travel. Even if you only need to travel with your car from home, the cost of moving (fuel, any tolls) is a cost that you can have little impact on.
The case of variable costs is quite different .
Food, hotel reservations, on-site activities are all factors on which the traveler can choose more easily and adapt to his budget.
In any case, the preparation of the provisional budget must also incorporate a percentage of tolerance .
Another fundamental point : you must plan a trip by choosing the amount you want to spend, keeping in mind also the possible difference in purchasing power due to the currency exchange. A country with a currency lower than yours will allow you to stay within the budget much more easily. To tell the truth, it is also possible to choose a trip and then create a budget, but it will be much more complicated and you will risk spending much more.
By continuing to organize your trip you will be forced to "work" a lot on the various components to be able to stay within the budget.
* Everything I tell you take a little with the pliers because it is all very rational, the budget must represent the goal on which you plan the trip, but, be careful, it is still a holiday, so a little bit of can you also enjoy it or not?
Even in travel, experience matters ! And certain trips need a lot of experience to be made!
If you are reading this "guide" and you are already accustomed to making trips on your own, probably what I am saying will be trivial for you, but if you are a "newbie" instead, be careful to choose a trip consciously.
As I wrote in this article , if your travel so far has been going to "all inclusive" villages, surely the choice to do a "do it yourself" tour in full Africa could be a risky choice.
Weather
If you have holidays at a certain time of the year and are not movable, you must be aware of the fact that in the place of destination the season may be different and therefore subject to rains or bad weather in general.
Sociopolitical problems in progress
Right now we need to be very careful! You have to check if the places you are going to visit are affected by events that could put you in deep difficulty. For example, on the date I write (July 2015), unpleasant episodes linked to extremist factions of Islam continue to occur in North Africa rather than Kenya: I would certainly avoid these destinations. It is necessary to have a little conscience and not to underestimate these situations.
Planning a trip also means looking at the health aspects, if there are epidemics in progress or if you need to provide some specific vaccination.
I invite you to take a look at these foreign ministry websites:
For information on the situations in the various countries: Click here
For information on the health situation and any vaccinations: Click here
The opposite case is to travel to a country with a stronger currency, everything will cost more than the standard and therefore for the same budget you can afford less.
Of course, in planning a trip you must not rely solely on this discriminant, the fact is that it represents a fundamental point to which you must pay attention.
There can be 4 cases :
You will have to try to move far in advance , book as much as possible tending to "plaster" your trip, this is because many people will potentially move to the same place which, by the way, is also found in the high season. It is the worst situation from an economic point of view while it is excellent as regards probably the climatic period in the place of destination. The budget will be affected however because all the services departing to that particular place and on site itself will cost a lot and will be subject to limited availability of places.
From a climatic point of view, we must hope for good, from all other points of view, however, everything is much more livable. The low season at the place of destination allows you a milder, less schematic, less plastered organization and also leaves room for improvisation.
In a nutshell. you could go to the destination and choose everything at the moment, benefiting from the great availability of accommodation and the low costs due to the low season. You may only find some problems during the round trip journey. Many people may travel to your place of destination enticed by more affordable costs.
In this case, on the spot you get the same problems as the first option, with the difference that you can benefit from greater availability of seats for the round trip.
From an economic point of view we are in the TOP situation. Relatively cheap outward and return journey, facilities with a lot of availability and with very affordable prices, little crowding. You can also move to the last one without booking anything; the only drawback could be an uncertainty from a climatic point of view.
Eh, yes, we are far from the years when mass tourism brought tourists into a single holiday mode that developed in the classic period of July and August.
For some time, tourists have changed their mentality and have become travelers, each driven by different desires and interests.
In the journey everyone sees something different and looks for something different from the others ...
How to plan a trip?
It is a difficult question to which paradoxically a relatively simple answer corresponds: let yourself be carried away by your emotions , the journey must be, in fact, a search for emotions. They range from the classic search for relaxation only to itinerant trips where the main objective is to immerse yourself in the local culture.
Since we are all different and everyone has their own interests, let's not dwell on the typology, rather let's focus on helping those who dedicate themselves for the first time to organizing a trip completely on their own.
First of all, if you are reading these lines, it means that you are interested in taking on the responsibility of the organization.
This is precisely the first point: be aware that everything you do will be your work, the classic " flour of your sack ".
And the first thing is to plan a trip , first evaluate the type:
You need relaxation after months of hard work, well, know that you will not be able to choose a "backpacker" trip, otherwise you would go home destroyed as if you had never made a day off.
You have an interest in moving a lot, discovering new places, new peoples, you want to get involved, well, discard "all things equal" all those pro-relax travel formulas.
To tell the truth, they are very banal arguments, let's see what are the other aspects that you must take into account at this stage.
Planning a trip: the fundamental factors
Travel budget
It is certainly the most important element, it must be defined in a "range" , it will be impossible to establish immediately how much you will actually spend. As you get closer to the start you will be more precise.At this stage it is necessary to understand how much you are willing to spend "roughly" . The budget must always be taken into consideration because it affects all choices relating to the other factors. Each trip has its fixed costs and its variable costs.
The fixed costs are those that can not be changed directly and often are the ones with the greatest impact. You can limit them, but they don't break down much.
I'll explain. Everything related to transport, such as air travel (no low cost), represents a particularly important cost that erodes a good part of the budget. You have to keep this in mind. But this doesn't just happen for air travel. Even if you only need to travel with your car from home, the cost of moving (fuel, any tolls) is a cost that you can have little impact on.
The case of variable costs is quite different .
Food, hotel reservations, on-site activities are all factors on which the traveler can choose more easily and adapt to his budget.
In any case, the preparation of the provisional budget must also incorporate a percentage of tolerance .
Another fundamental point : you must plan a trip by choosing the amount you want to spend, keeping in mind also the possible difference in purchasing power due to the currency exchange. A country with a currency lower than yours will allow you to stay within the budget much more easily. To tell the truth, it is also possible to choose a trip and then create a budget, but it will be much more complicated and you will risk spending much more.
By continuing to organize your trip you will be forced to "work" a lot on the various components to be able to stay within the budget.
* Everything I tell you take a little with the pliers because it is all very rational, the budget must represent the goal on which you plan the trip, but, be careful, it is still a holiday, so a little bit of can you also enjoy it or not?
Previous experience
This is a very important factor that affects the outcome of the trip, when planning a trip it is also necessary to "look in the mirror" and say: "am I already able to have this type of experience?". There is a need for awareness of one's abilities and attitudes.Even in travel, experience matters ! And certain trips need a lot of experience to be made!
If you are reading this "guide" and you are already accustomed to making trips on your own, probably what I am saying will be trivial for you, but if you are a "newbie" instead, be careful to choose a trip consciously.
As I wrote in this article , if your travel so far has been going to "all inclusive" villages, surely the choice to do a "do it yourself" tour in full Africa could be a risky choice.
Duration
The duration represents a factor that goes hand in hand with the budget, the longer the duration and the more it will affect the budget, but this is quite clear.Weather
If you have holidays at a certain time of the year and are not movable, you must be aware of the fact that in the place of destination the season may be different and therefore subject to rains or bad weather in general.
Sociopolitical problems in progress
Right now we need to be very careful! You have to check if the places you are going to visit are affected by events that could put you in deep difficulty. For example, on the date I write (July 2015), unpleasant episodes linked to extremist factions of Islam continue to occur in North Africa rather than Kenya: I would certainly avoid these destinations. It is necessary to have a little conscience and not to underestimate these situations.
Planning a trip also means looking at the health aspects, if there are epidemics in progress or if you need to provide some specific vaccination.
I invite you to take a look at these foreign ministry websites:
For information on the situations in the various countries: Click here
For information on the health situation and any vaccinations: Click here
Purchasing power in local currency
This too is a fundamental aspect and to be kept in mind in the planning phase, indeed it sometimes constitutes one of the fundamental variables. If you come from a strong currency and travel in a country with a lower currency, it is as if you were, pass me the term, "rich" people in that particular place. For the same cost, that is, for the same amount of currency used, you can enjoy extra luxuries . You can extend the duration of your stay and use more qualitative services. (better accommodations, transport and upper class restaurants).The opposite case is to travel to a country with a stronger currency, everything will cost more than the standard and therefore for the same budget you can afford less.
Of course, in planning a trip you must not rely solely on this discriminant, the fact is that it represents a fundamental point to which you must pay attention.
Seasonal period
The seasonal period must be assessed in both places, both the departure and the arrival.There can be 4 cases :
1 - Start from a place where it is HIGH SEASON and go to a place where it is HIGH SEASON :
You will have to try to move far in advance , book as much as possible tending to "plaster" your trip, this is because many people will potentially move to the same place which, by the way, is also found in the high season. It is the worst situation from an economic point of view while it is excellent as regards probably the climatic period in the place of destination. The budget will be affected however because all the services departing to that particular place and on site itself will cost a lot and will be subject to limited availability of places.
2 - Start from a place where it is HIGH SEASON and go to a place where it is LOW SEASON :
From a climatic point of view, we must hope for good, from all other points of view, however, everything is much more livable. The low season at the place of destination allows you a milder, less schematic, less plastered organization and also leaves room for improvisation.
In a nutshell. you could go to the destination and choose everything at the moment, benefiting from the great availability of accommodation and the low costs due to the low season. You may only find some problems during the round trip journey. Many people may travel to your place of destination enticed by more affordable costs.
3 - Start from a place where it is LOW SEASON and go to a place where it is HIGH SEASON :
In this case, on the spot you get the same problems as the first option, with the difference that you can benefit from greater availability of seats for the round trip.
4 - Start from a place where it is LOW SEASON and you go to a place where there is LOW SEASON :
From an economic point of view we are in the TOP situation. Relatively cheap outward and return journey, facilities with a lot of availability and with very affordable prices, little crowding. You can also move to the last one without booking anything; the only drawback could be an uncertainty from a climatic point of view.
