Cruising

Take To The Ocean, Cruising Solo

Posted on March 10, 2016
MS Volendam at Anchor

When heading off to see the world, many solo travellers tend to ignore the idea of cruising. With the single supplement added to most cruising itineraries, it can make for an expensive trip. However, doing some research and planning can help to alleviate this a little. Combined with a travel agent who knows about the available deals can help to make this the perfect holiday for the solo traveller.

My Cruise Adventures

Cruising was an accidental discovery for me; I had expected a cruise would be too expensive and not overly exciting. Although, while putting together options for how to spend two months travelling around America, the idea of a cruise came up.

With a little research, I soon had found myself a cruise departing from San Deigo and arriving in Fort Lauderdale for a total of 14 days. However, the price of $3,800 had me seriously thinking again if this was the right idea. I decided to keep looking and see what other options there were. A couple of minutes later I found not only the same cruise but double the length, 28-days round-trip from San Diego. The price, $4200. I thought this cannot be right and soon was visiting a travel agent confirming the details and booked on the spot. You can read more about my first cruise here “28 Day Panama Canal Cruise summary”

First Cruise MS Statendam in San Diego

Since the first cruise, I have cruised two other times, once on a Transpacific cruise from Vancouver, Canada to Sydney, Australia, which was a 26-night cruise costing $5,200. With the second being a 29-night cruise from Fort Lauderdale, USA to Venice, Italy costing $5,800.

All three cruises I have taken have been in a cabin to myself, and the 29-night cruise was even in a Balcony Cabin. While these prices may sound a little expensive when you take a closer look and consider where you may get to visit, the inclusions and convenience of cruising can make a lot of sense.

 

Finding The Right Cruise

There are a couple of factors that come into play when looking for a more affordable cruise option. My experience in finding and booking cruises is in Australia, and I do understand that pricing can be very different in America and Europe. However, I believe some of the same factors still do play a part in finding a well-priced cruise.

1. Cruise Destination

In choosing my destination, I have found some of the better deals available on what are called Repositioning cruises. These occur at two times of year once around March/April and again around September/October. These are cruises where the cruise line needs to move a ship to another part of the world for a season. For example around September cruise ships will leave from North America and reposition to Australia, returning to North America around March.

2. Cruise Line

Each cruise line will take a different approach to people travelling solo. Some cruise lines on some ships will offer dedicated single cabins. However, this is far from the norm. In most cases, a solo cruiser will be booked into a regular cabin and pay a supplement above the per person price for a cabin. This supplement can vary from as little as 130% up to 200% depending on the time of booking. (Booking well in advance can be helpful in securing a lower supplement)

3. Cabin Category

The category of the cabin that you are booking will likely have the biggest impact on the cost of the cruise. Booking an interior cabin will often get you the lowest price to be onboard. However, you need to consider that you will have no window. While booking cabins in higher categories such as Ocean View, or Verandah will usually cost a lot more. This aspect will come down to what you want in a cabin and to be honest if you just want to get on the ship, an interior cabin will do this.

Ocean View Cabin

Combining The Above Considerations

When looking at the above points to some degree, you need to take into account that all three can play a different part. You cannot apply all three to every cruise.

When considering your cruise destination if you are heart set on a particular destination, there is a good chance that it will likely be more expensive. However, if the destination is not something that concerns you, then you may be able to change where you want to cruise to suit.

Picking your cruise line can be even more challenging. Each one does tend to position themselves in the market to a certain level. On occasion, you may be able to find a great deal for some of the more expensive cruise lines, but you will probably find that there will just be one or two options that fit within your budget.

Finally the cabin choice, the price you pay for a cabin is like paying rent for an apartment, the more appealing the location, the more you will pay. The more space in the cabin the more you will pay. So this can to some degree tie in with the cruise line and booking early to secure a lower single supplement hopefully.

Once On Board

So once the challenge of booking the cruise is done and that seemingly large chunk of money we have parted with, the onboard experience is what counts.

Extra Costs?

You can rest assured that if you approach things in the right way, there will only be two additional expenses. A daily gratuity and if you want to purchase drinks onboard. There are more than enough food and entertainment options included in what you have already paid to keep you satisfied for the whole cruise. When it comes to drinks, this can vary between cruise lines. However, most include free tap water, tea, and coffee, and you will pay for Barista made coffees, Softdrink and Alcoholic drinks.

I Don’t Know Anybody!

My greatest concern in heading off for my very first cruise, but it was a very unfounded concern. Once onboard there are so many opportunities to meet people, and most people are quite friendly. Often there is a single/solo cruiser gathering organised by the cruise ship early in the cruise. Eating is always a great place to meet other’s as well, whether intended or not. I never felt alone; there was always someone to talk to or quiet space if I needed space.

What To Do?

You might think that am I going to do with all the time that we are not visiting a port. On sea day’s there is something always happening, different activities all day long, every 30-60 minutes. Things like dance classes, trivia, movies, craft lessons, cooking demonstrations, games, and presentations.

On the Transatlantic cruise, I took, there was a period of 8 days after leaving Fort Lauderdale before we arrived at our first port. Most people question how you can get through that. To be honest, it goes past so quick, and when you start visiting ports you kind of wish that you could go back to time at sea.

Consider Cruising

So if you are a solo traveller, and you have been on the fence about trying a cruise, I would urge you to at least take a little look at what is on offer. You might need to spend a short time digging into what is available. However, you just never know the sort of places that you may get to visit. Plus another benefit of cruising is that you only have to unpack and pack up once.

If you have cruised solo before, why not let me know about your experience in the comments below. You can also connect with me on social media using the links below.

Cruising

4 Reasons To Love Cruising

Posted on February 9, 2016
4 Reasons To Love Cruising

Cruising as a way to travel has quickly become one of my favourite ways to travel. There are quite a lot of benefits to cruising and I just wanted to share a couple of these with you.

Unpack Once, Enjoy Multiple Stops

One of the worst parts of travelling is living out of a suitcase. Every time you move from one city to another, you are packing and repacking. You spend ages trying to pack everything in a logical order only to get to the first stop and need something from the bottom.

The problem of packing and unpacking just does not exist on a cruise ship. On day one you board the ship and unpack your luggage completely. Your suitcase gets hidden away under the bed. Then on the very last day of the cruise, you pull your suitcase out and pack everything.

Come to think of it, there is also no dragging luggage through the airport for every different city you visit.

Technology Disconnect

Today technology if a major part of our everyday lives. Through our multitude of devices, we are all but tethered to a world of connection. The connection between friends and family, the ability to find information on any topic you could imagine. Of course, at times this tends to lead to a frantic pace that we live life.

In many cases once you board a cruise ship a lot of this connection is gone. In some ways, it is available, but at a significant price. Internet access is available, via satellite at a high price for a low speed (think $80 for 100 minutes). Phone service is available, but you again will pay a rather high price (think $60 for 10 minutes).

The feeling of disconnection for some may be a little too much. However, I have found that it can be a great way to relax. It also gives you plenty of time to do things that you don’t normally do. Things like enjoying a meal without watching your phone. Meeting some new people and having a real conversation. So think of a cruise kind of like a digital detox.

Sample New Places When Cruising

Travelling is a great thing and different people are often drawn to different destinations and experiences. Likewise, there are some places that you just do not even consider as a holiday destination. A lot of these destinations are what make for great cruise itineraries.

My very first cruise was an experience just like this. Being a young solo traveller, I never thought about travelling through Central America. I liked the idea of seeing the area, but from a safety perspective, it was not at the top of the list. A cruise gave me the opportunity to visit five countries through this region. It helped to alleviate the safety concerns of travelling through these countries.

Another great example of this is the South Pacific Islands. Many people do fly to some of these islands and spend a week in a resort. However, if you are not the sort of person that wants to just be limited to one destination a cruise can help. There are many cruise options that leave from Australia, between 7 and 12 nights that visit four or five different islands.

All Inclusive (Almost) 

Choosing a cruise can give you an almost all inclusive holiday. Most of the time all of your essentials are included in the price. There are of course some things that may be an additional cost that you might see as essential but this is an individual thing. What is included,

  • Transport – Once you board the ship your transport from destination to destination.
  • Meals – You generally have access to as much food as you need from a number of different options.
  • Entertainment – There is something happening almost all the time when you are onboard. This can vary from ship to ship, but it can be difficult to get board.
  • Drinks – The drinks available will vary between the different cruise lines. Generally, basics such as water, tea and coffee, and juice are included. (Definitely, ask before assuming)

There are some things that you will need to pay for in addition to your cruise fare.

  • Tours – Tours are available in most ports and do cost money depending on the tour. Depending on where the ship docks, there is potential to walk and explore on your own. However, in some ports I would definitely not advise this.
  • Drinks – you will pay for alcoholic drinks, speciality coffees and soft drink. You can always ask the travel agent when booking as they will either be able to tell you or find out.
  • Speciality Dining – Most ships have restaurants which attract an additional cost. They do vary between ships and are usually a much more immersive dining experience.
  • Pampering – Things like massages and beauty treatments are often available. These will attract an additional cost as well.

You will find that you can often get away without paying any extra. However, you may just want to enjoy a drink one night or treat yourself to a special dining experience. While you do pay a little for these experiences it is entirely up to you.

Your Next Cruising Holiday

When you are considering your next holiday I would encourage you to consider cruising. The reasons I have mentioned above are just a few of the reasons why. So go on and make your next holiday a cruising holiday.

You can connect with me on social media with the links below.

Focus

2016 Focus Area For The Year Ahead

Posted on December 30, 2015
2016 Focus Area Review

With 2016 fast approaching, many people will be making new years resolutions. Things like I want to lose X kilos, or I want to exercise more often. All too often these resolutions turn out to be somewhat short lived as life gets in the way.

In the past, just like this new years, I take a little bit of a different approach. Instead of setting a resolution that I will likely forget about. The plan is to lay out the area’s which I intend to focus on within my life for the next 12 months. There is a big difference between a resolution and a range of ways to focus your energies.

It was around 5 or 6 years ago on another blog I used to write, I shared something similar. At the time by sharing my focus items in a public forum helped me to achieve more in the year ahead. As such I am going to be very interested to see how this works out over the coming year.

Wellness

Dictionary.com define Wellness as

The quality or state of being healthy in body and mind, especially as the result of deliberate effort.

For me, this is exactly what I want to pursue over the next year. By working on a number of different aspects which all contribute to my Wellness. This will include but may not be limited to,

  • The food that I eat
  • Physical exercise
  • Self education

In some ways I am already achieving in this area, but also some parts that require work. So the next year is going to be about focusing on these aspects that need work. Then sharing with you some of my results, tests, and outcomes.

Travel

Back in 2010, I took my very first overseas trip, which was soon followed by three more. However, since 2012, I have not undertaken much travel until the last couple of months. I would like to change this in 2016.

Presently I am considering a couple of different destinations to visit throughout 2016. While they are still very much in the early planning stages at the moment. They are something that I hope will fully develop and undertake through the year. As the details are not very solid yet, I will leave those for another post at a later date. But I will be quite surprised if I am not visiting another country before too long this year.

Collecting Experiences

Every day we move through life, experiencing many different things. But for the most part, they are experiences that are easily forgotten. What I am looking to do over the next twelve months is to collect twelve amazing experiences. Things that are a little more than the day to day things we easily forget.

I have some ideas for potential options, but there is nothing that I have fully committed to yet. These experiences could to a large degree depend on where I am at different times of year. For example, if I wanted to ski for the first time, I would need to be somewhere with snow. So it is just going to take a little time to see where I am and what I can find to amaze me. Either way keep a watch for 12 special posts which will cover these experiences.

So it is just going to take a little time to see where I am and what I can find to amaze me. Either way keep a watch for 12 special posts which will cover these experiences.

Geocaching

Geocaching is something that I have touched on briefly in this blog, and a hobby I have been pursuing since 2013. Moving into 2016 it is definitely a hobby that I will be continuing, and one that is great to pursue when travelling. At least around Australia geocaching has taken me to some amazing places that I would have never found otherwise.

For the coming year, I do also have a few goals that I am working towards here. However, that may be a little to much detail for this post.

Photography

Photography is an interest that I have held for a long time. However, it is also something that I have sort of let go a little of late. I really do want to get back to capturing photo’s, and sharing them with everyone. However, I need to get back to taking the photos I want to capture. Instead of trying to force something for other purposes.

At this stage, I think a lot of it comes down to motivation to get out there with the camera. So this is something that I will be exploring throughout 2016.

This Blog

I started this blog (www.joelbrown.com.au) back in 2010. The primary topic being travel to share with my friends and family where I was and what I was doing. This has somewhat led to a rather small number of updates over the past three years. It is difficult to update a travel blog if you are not travelling.

However, while I may not have been posting on this blog, I do have a number of other blogs. Each of which focuses on a different area of my interest. As such this creates a lot more work, and I think segregates things too much. In 2016 I am going to bring all my interests back to the one blog, right here. Most of the topics you will see are mentioned above in the focus areas. So I am really hoping that you will stay around and read a little more about my other areas of interest.

Enjoy The 2016 New Year Eve Festivities

I think this about sums up where I want to focus my energy and attention in 2016. There is really just the one thing left to do in 2015. That of course, is to enjoy the festivities of the New Years Eve celebrations. Before getting right into things and seeing just what can be made of the new year.

Travel Tips

3 Travel Tips To Prepare For Your Next Holiday

Posted on October 15, 2015
3 Travel Tips For Your Next Holiday

The time that we spend travelling is almost exceeded by the time that we spend planning the trip. There are quite a few aspects of planning and preparing for the actual holiday to keep in mind. Here are three travel tips to keep in mind when planning your next holiday.

1. Check your Travel Days

Check Your Travel Dates

When organising your travel, your dates can play a huge part in what your trip will cost. There are a couple of different things to keep in mind regarding dates.

Public Holidays

Everywhere has public holidays, and they all land at various times of the year. Things like labour day might occur in May in one country but October in another. Researching when these dates fall in the country you are visiting can help to avoid resulting problems.

I ran into this problem when I was travelling from Venice to Nice. The day that I flew into Nice was Labour day. As a result, the public bus from the airport to the city was not running. I needed to catch a taxi, so instead of costing €4 for the bus it cost me €40 for the taxi.

School Holidays

Just like public holidays, school holidays can land at differing times around the world. I separate the two because school holidays will have a greater impact than public holidays. School holidays often last for one to two weeks and will see a much higher level of travel by locals. Often this can result in high prices for accommodation and much lower availability at times.

Local Events

There are many different events that might be held throughout the year in different cities. The impact that these events have on other people travelling in the area can vary. But it is definitely worth knowing before booking if you could be impacted throughout your trip.

I ran into a problem with this when I first travelled to Melbourne, Australia. The week that I booked my flights for was the F1 Grand Prix. It meant that I got a relatively cheap flight home. But more than paid extra for the Thursday and Friday night due to such high demand for accommodation.

2. Packing Smart

Smart Packing For Travel

When it comes to packing for a trip there are two aspects that I focus on. The first is making a list, and the second is to remember the difficult to replace items. These two packing travel tips are definitely ones that I used every single trip I take now.

Making a List

A list can be a great way to remember everything that you need. As you can spend a couple of days or weeks thinking through what you will take based on what you regularly use. When you start writing your list it is better to include too many things, than not enough. Because once you start packing there will likely be things that you decide are not essential.

The list for my first overseas trip filled two sides of an A4 page. In this case, I was being a little bit excessive and had listed right down to very minute detail. Of course, you don’t need to go to this extent, but having a list is a very handy way to help not forget anything.

Important Things To Remember

I would hope that if you create a list there is nothing that you are going to forget to take. However, there are a lot of things if you forget don’t matter so much. Things like clothes and toiletries are somewhat easy to replace most places around the world.

What you don’t want to forget though are the things that either difficult to expensive to replace. Those things like chargers for cameras or laptops, batteries, and any specific personal devices. Although many of these things may be easy to replace, some are not. There is also the consideration that it could just be wasting money to go and buy another charger or something. Especially if it is only for a matter of a week or two.

3. Smart Bookings

One critical aspect of booking any trip is getting everything to come together nicely. For a longer trip, it might be nice to book bits and pieces as you see something that seems interesting. The reality is that piecemeal booking, has to get cohesive at some point in time. With my experience being that cohesive booking from the outset is much easier and less stressful.

The prices for hotels and flights can at times be quite volatile. Increasing and dropping depending on demand, availability and time of the week. What you research today may just not be available at the same price tomorrow.

Hotels And Flights Together

The first couple of overseas trips that I took, I approached in a particular way. I started by booking the flights to create a framework and then progressively work through the hotels. However, I quickly found this to be a very poor approach to the bookings.

All too often I would find the timing of my flights and such did not align very well with the cost of hotels. I would have fixed dates based on the flights and suddenly found the hotels were much more expensive. If I had done some research, I could have booked the flights and the hotels together. Leaving me the option to adjust the dates slightly to get the best combination of prices on both sides.

Test Your Bookings

When booking travel there is often a feeling of how much you are comfortable paying for a destination. So when it comes to a much different price to what you are expecting it can be good to test other options.

I discovered this when I was booking travel to New Zealand recently. The booking was going to see me flying home on the 1st of November. As part of the trip I would have booked a campervan for the whole two weeks, returning it on the 1st of November. I did a little test at returning it on the 31st of October and the price dropped in half. It turns out that if your booking goes into a peak period by one day, they charge the higher rate for the entire booking.

Your Travel Tips

I would love to hear some of your top travel tips. What are the things that you must remember or think that others often forget when travelling? Leave a comment below and I will include your travel tips in some future posts.

You can connect with me on social media with the links below.

Travel Tips

Packing For Two Weeks

Posted on October 13, 2015
Packing For Two Weeks In New Zealand

This Saturday I will be heading off for two short weeks in New Zealand. One thing that I have been working to avoid this trip is packing everything at the absolute last minute. The last overseas trip that I took, the packing started less than 24 hours before I left. Which of course makes things slightly more stressed then they need to be at times.

The Packing List

Although I tend to pack at the last minute a little too often, I do always create a packing list. Often I include a little more on this list, but my theory is better safe than sorry. But at the end of the day, the list helps me remember what to pack. It does not always mean it all gets packed. What I include on the list,

  • Clothes – I don’t get specific with which shirts I will take, but I do with how many of what type of things I will take.
  • Toiletries – To make sure I don’t miss anything I list each of the different items I need in this bag.
  • Electronics – I include everything related to the item in this section. If it is a camera I also include the battery, charger and memory cards. Likewise, for my laptop, I include the charger. It is the extra associated items that are often the things you want to remember.
  • Documents – Even though electronic is often the way to go these days, I tend to carry a printed hard copy of each booking I have, and keep this on the list as well.
  • Carry On – The little things you carry with you when travelling, also get a mention.

Having a list to work off can make things a little easier and save a little bit of the stress of packing even at the last minute. However, there can still always be that nagging feeling that maybe, just maybe you forget something.

Time Is Irrelevant

Possibly the biggest thing that I have found over the time when I am packing for a trip is that the length of the trip does not matter. Whether the trip is for one week or ten weeks, everything still fits into the same bag. Things which you may use up over time, you don’t take more, you buy more along the way.

Although packing for two weeks is quite nice, especially when you are mostly going to be all within roughly the same climate zone. One thing that can be a struggle is packing for both warm and cool climates, needing to take jackets and warmer clothes that you will only use for a small part of a trip.

Almost There

So with the packing out of the way, there are just a couple more days before leaving for New Zealand. I have travelled quite extensively, but this trip is a little daunting. With this the first trip away in over three years. I am sure it will all be fine, and it is going to be a lot of fun sharing some stuff from on the road with you.

Planning

New Zealand – Getting It Booked

Posted on October 1, 2015
Wellington New Zealand

Later this month I will be heading across the ditch to visit New Zealand. The trip has been on my mind for a few months. However, I just had not got around to doing anything about booking it. Since the time was fast approaching, I needed to get something sorted out and booked.

My greatest challenge has been getting back into the mindset of planning and booking travel. It has been over three years since my last overseas trip. Potentially longer since I did any of the planning and bookings for that trip. But with a little research, I soon enough had everything sorted.

New Zealand Trip Outline

When I first sat down for the planning, I knew I needed to be in Christchurch for a few specific days. The rest of the time was pretty much open to what I wanted to do. My original plan involved a campervan for two weeks tripping around, but the idea evolved.

For some reason, I kept procrastinating, and I soon was getting fairly close to the travel dates to be booking. In the end, everything came together nicely and below is the scheduled itinerary.

Brisbane > Auckland (staying 4 nights) > Christchurch (5 nights with a camper van) > Wellington (staying 4 nights) > Brisbane

Previous Problems

In the past, my travel planning has had some reasonable holes in it. One of the biggest problems is booking bits and pieces at different times, which has on occasion resulted in having to pay for expensive airfares or hotels to fill the gap.

I had already had a little bit of a scare like this when looking at prices for this trip. I had checked prices for camper vans and found roughly 14 days for around $1,100 at the time. Well, when I searched the next time I changed the date slightly with the last day on 1 November. The result was 14 days going to cost over $2,000.

With a little more searching around I soon realised that the single day of November put the whole booking into peak period pricing. Although I was relieved to find the pricing could still be the same as I originally found, I decided first time in a camper van for that many days may not be ideal just yet.

Planning Power Session

It was one evening that I had time at home, and the realisation was closing in that I needed to book this trip to New Zealand soon or risk paying a premium. So I started throwing together a few options. I checked some flights and found some decent prices. I checked some hotels and found a couple that seemed like reasonable prices for something suitable.

This session lasted maybe two hours and at the end of it I had what I thought was a good rough outline of the journey. But it was late, and I was ready for bed soI just left it at that. Still, nothing booked.

New Zealand Booked

With the outlined completed last night, I was all ready to get booking. The next morning I left to go to the coffee shop with the rough outline in hand. Two weeks in three different cities with two hotels, a campervan and four flights all booked in less than two hours. In total with research, I estimate around 4-6 hours.

Getting the booking done like this was purely a result of the planning that I had done the night before. I sat there and just followed the rough plan. Starting with booking the first flight, followed by a hotel in Auckland. Then the flight to Christchurch, followed by the camper van. Next up the flight to Wellington and the hotel there. Finally booking the flight home to Brisbane.

There is one big benefit that worked to make it a little easier in this process. When flying to and from New Zealand, there is minimal different between one way and return flights. It would have been a different story if I had to work around flying in and out of the same city.

Ready To Travel

With the booking out of the way, I am pretty much ready to head over to New Zealand. Just one last thing to organise which is the travel insurance, for me an essential.

I would love to hear about your travel booking adventures, so feel free to share in the comments below.

Geocaching

What Is Geocaching

Posted on September 1, 2015

For around two and half years I have been involved in a hobby that is shared by some 6 million others worldwide. That hobby is Geocaching.

At the time of writing this post, you can find around 2.7 million geocaches located all over the world. I would love to explain but I think the video they have created does a much better job. You can find the Geocaching Guide, on the Geocaching website. The video does a great job of giving you the basic idea of what Geocaching is in just over a minute.

My Geocaching Adventure

I joined the game on the 20th of February 2013. Since this date, I have found around 3700 geocaches. In some terms could put me in the class of just a little addicted to the hobby.

The majority of the geocaches that I have found are around the area of South East Queensland. However, I have travelled to Northern New South Wales and Melbourne.

The most enjoyable part of the experience of Geocaching is some of the places that the hunt can take you. From the quick urban finds around the suburbs, the tricky inner city hides and of course the bush hikes. There have been so many amazing places that I have discovered only as a result of hunting for a geocache.

Whats To Come

I do hope that I can start to share some more about my days out geocaching on this blog shortly. Putting together some of the photos that I take in the amazing locations that I get to visit. Telling the story of the journey to find some of the longer hikes. Either way, I know that the next time that I travel overseas there is a very good chance Geocaching will be a part of the trip.

Are you a Geocacher or have you had an experience with this fun outdoor hobby. I would love to hear about it, you can leave a comment below or connect with me on one of the social media networks listed below.

Travel Tips

Tips For Booking With A Travel Agent

Posted on October 12, 2012
Tips for Booking with a Travel Agent

When it comes to booking your holiday, booking with a travel agent is one of the better ways to go. Especially if you are not used to travelling. Many people believe that it can cost more booking with an agent. Taking the approach to avoid them for this reason. From my experience, I have not found this to be the case. As long as you find the right agent and do some of your own research first.

My Experience

In the past two years of travelling, I have come to find a balance between working with a travel agent and doing bookings my way. The first trip that I took overseas, I spent hours with a travel agent and booked all of the flights and accommodation with them. While this all worked out well for the trip, I found that it was a little bit inflexible in some ways.

On the other hand, my most recent trip was quite different, I booked some of the flights and a cruise with a travel agent. However, all of the accommodation, and some of the flights I booked myself online. Which was more flexible.

Having travelled on four reasonably decent overseas trips I have experienced both sides of booking with and without an agent and have worked out my balance. Neither one is specifically better than the other. However, it is the way I do it. If I were going back to booking my first trip again, I would visit a travel agent to book the flights and accommodation, just for that piece of mind that all the bookings are complete. Once I knew how to book with a travel agent I was more confident going on to book more myself.

Benefits Of Booking With A Travel Agent

There are quite some advantages to booking with a travel agent, especially if this is your first trip. Let’s have a look at a couple of the benefits; there is possibly even more that I may have missed.

  • While you may have an idea of what you want to do, maybe the order you have chosen is not ideal or maybe there is a better option for your itinerary. For my First Trip Overseas finding the right travel agent worked out great and saved me over $500 on airfares, and allowed me to see some additional places along the way.
  • If you choose to book everything with a travel agent, they will help to ensure that the dates all work for you. Especially useful, when a flight and time zone change may impact the accommodation night. For example, if you fly out of Brisbane on the 10th heading to Los Angeles you still need accommodation for the 10th in Los Angeles, due to the time change with the international date line.
  • You can combine everything on one invoice and in one payment. Rather than having to make payments to three different airlines, and four different hotels. You can do it all with just the one payment to your travel agent.
  • Some bookings are just easier to arrange with a travel agent. While it is possible to book things like Round The World (RTW) tickets online yourself, you have to do so within certain boundaries. A travel agent can provide some experience in getting these bookings sorted out with a minimum of problems or even suggest alternatives that could work out better.

The Cost Of A Travel Agent

The cost of dealing with a travel agent is not always that much different to doing everything yourself, and in some cases will possibly save you time and maybe even money.

  • Prices that are offered by travel agents in some (but not all) cases are very similar if not the same as making the same booking online. Sometimes even with the potential to save you money. Last year when I booked a return flight to the USA, if I had booked direct with the airline online, I would have paid a $25 credit card fee. However booking direct with the travel agent and paying cash got me the same price as the airfare was with the airline but without the fee.
  • While the prices that the travel agent advertise are not always the best prices available, many will offer a price match, for flights, accommodations and tours. While they will not always match on everything, it is always worth doing a little research and taking better prices to them. In saying this you need to make sure you are aware of the terms and conditions. These can vary between agents for price matching, and may not include everything.

Travel Fairs

Travel agents will organise travel fairs at various times to build attention for bookings. These may focus on a specific area for the following year or be more general in nature. While in some respects, they are a bit of a sales pitch, in some ways as well. If you know what you want to book, do some research before going. Knowing the current prices and options to avoid getting trapped in an average deal.

  • There will be representatives from different travel brands, but the bookings will go through one agent. Having many representatives from the various tour companies means that you can get some great specific details. Getting more information than just what is in the brochure.
  • Deals are the name of the game at a travel fair. Discounts and bonuses all to try and get you to book on the spot. Watch out for the hard sell with apparent good prices, which may not quite match the current market. It can be well worth knowing what regular prices are like on what you want to do before going along. Because some prices and specials are available one day only, but may not be the best price available. Worst case talk to an agent and express your interest but have them call you back in a few days. The price will often still be on offer in this case, and you have time to do a little research.

The Negatives

Although there are some positives and good reasons to consider using a travel agent, there are also some negatives.

  • Terms and Conditions are well worth reading when you are dealing with a travel agent. Depending on the terms of your booking you could end up paying more in change/cancellation fees if something changes. Fees can be compounded if the travel agent adds fees in addition to the travel provider.
  • Be sure you are aware of any potential fees and charges. Certain types of bookings can incur a fee, for example booking an airfare internally in Europe, from Australia. Additionally, there could be fees for changes, or cancellations, using a credit card or other services that they may provide.

Conclusion

For your first trip overseas booking with a travel agent can provide some real benefits. Also helping to consolidate the process into one package. On the other hand, if you are travelling internally in your country. I would recommend just doing a little research and booking things yourself.

Some bookings are much easier through a travel agent. Just because they will handle the booking and save you the hassle. There can be some variance from country to country. Such as booking a cruise in Australia is easier through a travel agent as you cannot always deal directly.

In the end, it comes down to what works for you, and what gives you the best outcome. If this information has helped you, why not let me know in the comments below. Also feel free to add any additional points that might be helpful to others making their bookings.

Travel Tips

The Good & Bad Of Travelling Alone

Posted on October 7, 2012
The Good & Bad Of Solo Travel

Never you ever travelled alone? Maybe you have thought about it but just not ready yet. Either way, you should know that solo travel can be a rewarding experience. Not just for the places that you will visit, the people you will meet or the challenges you may face. Mainly for the experiences that you will gain, from both the good and bad that comes with solo travel.

I have travelled alone on numerous overseas trips. Totally over 200 days abroad exploring hundreds of cities in 31 different countries. There have been good days and bad days. With many positive experiences and some negative experiences. But I would not change one day of the travel experiences I have had.

The Good Of Solo Travel

There are many benefits to travelling alone. The highest on the list is getting to be the one who chooses what to do and where to go. You get to decide how fast or how slow you go. While also, if you are open, meeting plenty of new and interesting people along the way.

You Make All The Decisions

When you travel alone, the decisions are all your own. You choose how to get from place to place train, plane, car, ship or something else. Do you stay in a hostel, hotel, or brave the elements and camp? Are you here to see the sights or experience the culture. There is no one to ask what to do next as there is also no one to argue with if it is not what you want to do.

Depending upon the sort of person you are this can be a gift or your greatest demise. You do not need to compromise to ensure someone else is having a good time. But at the same time if something is not right you have no one to blame but yourself.

You Go At Your Own Pace

One of the decisions I enjoy most is choosing the pace for the day. Some days I want just to take it nice and easy. With other days that I just want to get out and see as much as possible. Travelling alone definitely gives you this option, instead of trying to match pace with someone else. Or worse still trying to get them to match your pace.

What I find at my pace is perfect when I have little to no plans. Something might catch my eye that I want to spend more time on. I have the option to slow down and spend that extra time. Likewise, I can skip over something that is not so interesting. When travelling with someone, this might not be so easy. Of course depending on the type of person they are.

You Meet More People

Even though in general I am an introvert, when I travel I meet people. Often when you travel with friends or family, you will stick close together. On the other hand with solo travel, you will find many situations where you can strike up a conversation. You may have to sit next to a stranger on the tour bus. Or meet a stranger waiting in line.

One my favourite options when travelling is to attend local Couchsurfing events. Numerous cities have these events every week or so and mix both locals and travellers. I also meet a lot of new people on cruise ships when sharing tables for breakfast or dinner.

The Bad Of Solo Travel

Alas, everything that has a good side also seems to have a bad side. Solo travel is no different, and there are a few things that are often lacking. The main focus though lands on cost, companionship and figuring out challenges.

Expenses & Single Supplements

Solo travel is, unfortunately, a place that you bear all the costs of the trip. While there are some items, you could not split anyway, such as airfares and day tours. There are some costs that could be split if travelling with a friend, like hotels, car rental and the like.

The greatest challenge in solo travel comes when you are looking at multi-day tours and cruises. The additional single supplement you may need to pay (anywhere from 130-200% in some cases). It can take a reasonably priced trip and make it unreasonably expensive. Besides on the first encounter with the idea of a single supplement, it can be a little confusing.

It Can Get Lonely

No matter how many people you meet when travelling, they are most often transient. You might meet someone on one part of the trip, but when you or they move on you are alone again. As such you can find that solo travel can be a rather lonely experience at times.

To some extent, this can depend on what sort of person you are. If you do tend to enjoy your company you may not feel this is a problem. However, you will often find that you are separated not just from family and friends. But in some cases, you will be separate from everything familiar. You may find yourself in an area where you know nobody, and do not understand the language. But the best way to cope with this is to understand it is only temporary.

You Figure It All Out Yourself

When something goes wrong if you are travelling alone, there is only one person to help you figure it out. That is you, unfortunately, there is no one to bounce ideas off, to help you formulate a plan. You just have to get out of bed every morning and figure out the next day.

Some people will see this as a great part of the experience. While others will see this as being their worst nightmare. But it is the reality of solo travel. At times you may be able to reach out to family and friends back home. However, you may also be separated by time zones or any other ability to contact them at times.

It is the opposite of the point above. While you get to make all the decisions, you also get to solve all the problems.

My View On Solo Travel

For me, solo travel is all that I know. I may have travelled with family at times for short trips close to home. But overseas I have travelled exclusively alone.

There are times that I do wish I could have shared my experience with someone else. Even at times wish I had someone else just as a companion so as not to feel entirely alone. But at the same time, I know this would have altered my overall experience.

When I look back at the travel that I have done, would I change it? The short answer is no; ultimately my experience has been good. But everyone needs to remember that any experience is just that. An experience that shapes our perception or view of the world in some way. When I look forward to travelling again in the future, whether it is solo or with a friend I think I will take some of the invaluable lesson’s I have learnt from travelling alone with me.

Looking To The Future

When I look forward to my potential future travels, would I change anything? Well yes, there are some things that might be best done differently. That is not to say what has passed is wrong, just that changing course can be beneficial sometimes.

I would love to hear your experience of travelling solo, so why not leave a comment below.

Inspiration

Exploring Ideas About Future Travel Plans

Posted on October 4, 2012
Future Travel Planning

There is a certain feeling of excitement that comes with travelling the world. The feeling may seem like it disappears when you are not heading to an airport. But it is a feeling that can seem to resurface easily. Maybe when you see a plane fly overhead or even when walking past a travel agent.

What happens is once you have travelled once, it sort of reshapes your whole life. It may not always be entirely evident but travel changes you. It changes how you approach the world and approach life. Unfortunately not always for the better, depending upon your actual experience.

The greatest challenge to face though once you have sampled travel is where to go next. There are so many amazing destinations in this world and so little time to fully experience all of them. But if the problem is choice let’s explore the process.

Lessons You Learn Travelling The World

In the post “Lessons You Learn Travelling The World” I share some of the lessons you learn while travelling. However, there are also a couple of other lessons that I have discovered that can offer great benefit.

  • A great trip comes from great planning
  • Travel at a speed to allow for exploration
  • Deep research to plan and book great adventures
  • Cruise more. Need I say more

Better Planning

After numerous overseas and local trips, I can easily see the benefits of good planning. The trips where I have managed to get everything planned and booked before leaving home have been considerably more enjoyable. I can understand the appeal to some people jumping on a plane without a plan. However, that is just not me.

So no real surprise here that I want future travel plans to be well planned out. I have a good excel template that worked very well for planning the travel and accommodation on my last trip. In general leaving the tours and day to day activities until I arrive in a city is fine. But knowing how I am getting there and where I will be sleeping makes the trip much better.

Slow Down

When it comes to travelling and seeing a place in any depth, it is not a strong point for me. My longest stop in one city has been 10 days in Vancouver, Las Vegas and Vienna. However, looking at the rest of the time that I have spent travelling, I average around three nights per city. Add to this the ports I have visited for just one day on a cruise ship.

Short bursts or single days in a city can be an excellent way to get a taste of a city. However, it is a terrible way to explore and discover a city. The longer stays in cities I have visited the more I seem to have connected with the city. The more that I have become comfortable and enjoyed the city. On the other hand, a short stay I had less connection to the city. Almost like when I was leaving there was unfinished business.

Looking to the future when I plan my travel this is something that I would love to change. Although I do not see myself spending months in a single city. I feel that extended stays of maybe 7-10 days could be very beneficial.

Learn More

One aspect of travel that I want to dedicate more time is deep research. I spend a lot of time looking at flights, hotels and the business end of the trip. But I lack greatly in learning something from my experience.

At times I find the lack of research can work to be a benefit. Without prior research on a city, there are few preconceived ideas about the area. As a result, I have discovered some amazing places that I am very glad I visited.

The lack of research also does at times have the opposite effect. Where I have found myself arriving in a city, and just wondering why am I here? I often salvage these destinations to some degree. But better research and planning would have made a world of difference.

In future travel planning, I want to research the “why” I am visiting the city will be included. Whether it is the culture, the food, the history or an event. I want to travel to a city with a purpose in mind, not just because I can travel there.

Cruise More

Future Travel Planning

In every way possible cruising contradicts travelling slowly and exploring cities. However, balancing out slow deliberate travel with relaxed sampling doesn’t sound too bad to me.

There are some destinations that cruise ships can take you that you may not otherwise visit. One example comes from my first cruise which visited Central America. As a solo traveller, this is not somewhere that I would consider travelling by land. But by sea, it is much more feasible with some of the potential safety concerns negated. Similarly travelling multiple South Pacific island is also much easier by cruise ship.

The ability to sample different countries and cities by cruise ship is fantastic. My third cruise through the Mediterranean was proof of this. I got to experience 12 different cities in five different countries. There are some that I would return to and others I probably wouldn’t.

Cruising in the future for me will likely explore some of the areas I have already visited. Especially with the way some itineraries change there is always something new to discover. There will also be potential to explore new areas as well such as The Baltic, South America and Asia.

Future Travel Plans

I do have a few ideas in mind for next steps when it comes to future travel. There are many factors that come into play for when the next trip will be. Such as when I have the time and means to take the trip. Combined with taking the time to research and plan the trip properly.

Currently, I am very much looking at options for an extended trip. In my mind at the moment both Canada and Europe are options. While there is also a potential for another cruise, if I can find the right sailing for the right price. Price is a major consideration for me as I do often travel alone, and single supplements can quickly add up.

The only certainty that I can see at the moment is more travel is in my future. However, like most things it will be a matter of what comes up and when.

I would love to hear your thoughts on what your next trip might be. Would it be overseas or local, a short or longer trip. Why not leave a comment below.

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