I tend to book my big travel itineraries at the oddest times. My first time going to Europe… booked it at midnight while half asleep in bed. Paris… while driving (don’t worry, I pulled over first). My most recent trip to Scotland…my lunch hour. My upcoming trip to Paris… after opening my eyes from a deep sleep at 4am. Alaska… while searching for Europe vacations, I happened to check NCL.com “just to see” and booked the trip I’ve been wanting to do for years, in a matter of minutes. And most recently Ireland… booked on my lunch hour.
If I could only make other decisions in my life as easily as I make my travel plans!
I believe that my ability to book random trips quickly and without much thought is because:
- I have nobody to check schedules with (except for work).
- I have no doubt that wherever I go, it will be a wonderful experience.
- If I think about something too much, I can create conflicting ideas, and could possibly talk myself out of going.
Obviously if you have a partner, family, or you’re a caregiver, you are most likely not going to have the same freedom of booking a trip on a whim. BUT if you do have the option, even for a short weekend or day trip, make the decision and move forward. Embrace your desires to see or do what your heart is telling you to do.
And you do not need to go to Europe for a week to experience this feeling of absolute excitement (and maybe just a tiny bit of fear of the unknown) but oooh does it feel exhilarating!
Some suggestions if you do have a family/spouse/someone to take care of:
- Pick a weekend/day where you plan to be away.
- Sit and think for a day of where you’d really like to go or do.
- You’ll know in your gut when the right place/experience comes to mind, and as soon as you feel it… make the reservation!
- Once you commit to going/doing what you desire, then you can begin to look at other options available nearby that you might also enjoy. Or you can simply go and see what other opportunities pop up along the way.
As an example of my trip to Ireland and Paris later this year, my planning process went like this:
- Decide I was going to go back to Paris.
- Randomly purchase Jimmy Buffett tickets at 4am in Paris.
- Decide I wanted to visit somewhere in Europe I have never been to, before I go to Paris.
- Research a few countries… got overwhelmed…randomly booked a cruise to Alaska instead.
- Realized Jimmy Buffett was also playing in Ireland. Said to self “Hey, I’ve never been to Ireland!”
- Bought a sold-out Jimmy Buffett ticket from a fellow Parrothead.
- Immediately booked my flight to Dublin and home from Paris.
As you can see, my planning was not very traditional. I had three concert tickets for two different countries before I even booked my flight. BUT… those tickets were me making my decision of the destinations I wanted to go. Now is the fun part of filling those days with exploring, events, dinner reservations, hotels (I should really figure that part out soon), and transportation from Dublin to Paris (again, I need to work on that next).
So, if you have a concert you want to see, a hike you want to take, or a restaurant you want to check out… MAKE THE DECISION TO GO! Just do it, seriously… you won’t regret it. Start with the day trip, move onto a weekend, and then go travel the world my friends!
I can’t wait to share more about my upcoming trips to Alaska, Ireland and Paris. If you have any recommendations (especially for Ireland) I would love to hear them!
Have you ever booked a random trip? Please tell me about it so I can tell you how proud of you I am! Seriously, you’re a bad-ass and I am so proud of you for making the decision to live the life you desire.
Happy Travels!
Awesome advice!