I’ve made plenty of travel mistakes – ending up in the wrong place, packing too much/too little, choosing the wrong travel companions, acting on fear, under-budgeting and on and on… But each mistake taught me something, and I grew through my travels.

I love the diversity of being on the road – meeting different people, experiencing different things – wouldn’t a travel course take some of this away? So I’m not sure what I think – only that I think it is definitely odd…

My best school for finding out about travel? Just do it! Hit the road.

I do think, though, that you can overplan (itinerary-wise), and that it’s one of the bigger mistakes you can make while travelling.

Having been to Sri Lanka with people who had stayed there for 3 months I learned the basics quickly and have a better understanding of India (where I am now) and hopefully don’t ask too many stupid questions! One shouldn’t be too afraid to ask them, though.

But paying for a seminar like the one you mention? I think I’d only do it if the speaker was a celebrity (like Ian Wright from Globe Trekker!! He’s awesome) or someone who’d have really interesting stories to tell, not to learn how to travel.

…or not. I mean, there’s the Internet to answer every question so maybe it is a scam.

Actually one of my recent posts was on “un-planning” your travels, so I guess that shows my feelings pretty clearly.

When I was younger, I traveled carrying a lot of crap that I didn’t need. It took me years to really strip things down. I probably traveled a little heavier when I was younger because I wanted to keep expenses down. I still keep expenses down, but now I buy almost everything as I need it and treat everything as expendable except for a few things like possibly laptop and personal notes or mementos. Even the laptop is expendable if push comes to shove. It’s the data I worry about. If I’m in one place for a while, I may stock up on some creature comforts that may include cookware, bedding, electronics, clothes, books maybe even a blender for getting the party started with the right kind of tropical drinks. I know from the start that I’m leaving all this behind, so I make sure it all goes to people who need it or people following in my footsteps. Depending on where you are, you can even buy a car for a few hundred bucks and just leave it to someone else ( I once considered letting a car roll off a cliff into the sea, but didn’t think that was a very responsible thing to do – I had to suppress my inner 12 year old).

As far as travel prep goes. I do research at the book store. Mainly to find the places really want to go. I may have a travel guide, but more likely my books will be on the local language. I don’t have any hard time frames or reservations beyond where I stay when I first get there. The exception would be enrolling in a language school for an extended period (by far the easiest way to get traction in a foreign land). In fact if you go to a language school, it’s like hitting an easy button.

The only reason I buy a return ticket is because they are usually cheaper than one-way fares. They also give you and easy return if absolute disaster strikes, but I generally write off the thought of using my return fare from the get go. However, I generally put the return date way out like 9 months or so to keep it alive as long as possible. It’s just a little asset to keep in the back of your head that can be rejiggered if the need arises.

Once I’ve arrived at my initial destination, my subsequent excursions and even loner term plans will pretty much be determined by the lay of the land. For instance I may hear about something or someplace that I never known of before, and it ends up being one of the best parts of the trip. Maybe I find a cheap an interesting way of spending some time in an adjacent country which I never had an intention of visiting, but if your plans are loose and you haven’t committed to other things then you can go there.

The big problem with too much planning that I’ve seen is with people I come across along the way. I’ve often crossed paths with other travelers in a small town, for example. It may be a place they want to hang out for weeks or months, but they have to move on because they’ve already paid for reservations on the next leg of their trip and they are forced to move on even though they aren’t ready to.

I think my basic strategy is to keep things loose and commitment to timetables and specifics low. Making the most of opportunities as they present themselves is my preference.

The only thing I would recommend though, is to travel without preconceptions and go with flow. I never build pictures in my mind of what to expect. I’m not saying to do foolhardy things, but rather be game for all the things you never expected. A rule of thumb is: no plan ever survives contact with reality.

Finally, I have nothing against sites like Travel Trainers because some people like to have these services. Most people don’t have experience with foreign travel so are somewhat apprehensive. If they have a day job, 2 weeks of vacation a year and travel is something they think about on rare occasions then it comes with the territory. By the way, if they have an affiliate program, they are another good resource for the nomads who make their living online.

And just to be a bit non PR I can think of a few Asian travelers who could sit a class or two about how to travel. e.g. taking photographs by the volcano you did not climb is not the same as climbing it.

Nice post.

I seriously doubt this idea of classes on “How to Travel” will actually catch on. Sure, there’ll always be folks willing to pony up to take a class on anything, but I don’t see this idea going “mainstream”.

This was before the Internet of cause – mid-90′s – but here was quite strong demaned – although they had the obvious questions – I actually answered them all on my first website – but what the really wanted was to meet other people that wouldn’t tell them they were insane heading off to Europe or Asia solo!

Yes you can do far too much planning IMHO – I think alot of it is nervousness – that’s why travel insurance sells so well!

It goes to show that you can sell almost anything online. A little online research can answer virtually any question you may have, so I don’t really see the value in this or a lot of training programs out there.

However, some people really need their hands held through the entire process. It is not for me, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that had a fair number of customers.