Introduction
When it comes to travel, my wife and I aren’t explorers, back-packers, or rugged outdoors types. On the other hand, we’re not monster cruise ship or tour group types, either. We’re somewhere in-between.
We make most of our travel plans ourselves and pretty much do our own thing. We’re happy to take advantage of local guides and tours, though. We value our independence, but we don’t want to work too hard. Here’s the travel strategy that works for us.
Travel Strategy
Our travel strategy, in a nutshell, is to always operate from a home base. Our ideal home base has the following attributes:
- It’s a city, town, or perhaps a neighborhood, (as in the case of Montorgueil), that’s interesting on it’s own.
- It’s large enough to provide a good selection of restaurants and cafés.
- It’s located near places we’d like to visit on day trips.
We’ll usually stay at a home base for three or four days. Shorter stays require more packing and unpacking. But after three or four days somewhere, we’re usually ready to see someplace new.
Our home base will be near at least one place we’d like to see that’s accessible in a day. Ideally, we’ll spend a day or two on day trips and a day or two and evenings exploring our home base.
Accommodations
Our favorite hotels are on the smaller side. It’s a plus if some sort of breakfast is included, no matter how simple. We’ve also had good experiences renting apartments. It just depends on what’s available and what looks like the best option when you’re doing your research.
We might be missing out on something good, but we haven’t done the AirB&B thing. We’ve had some good and some not-so-good experiences staying at Bed & Breakfasts. These days we tend to play it safe, opting for a hotel or apartment, but that’s just us.
Dining Out
One of our favorite things to do while on vacation, especially in Europe, is dining out. They do it better than we do. That’s all there is to it.
We like to find smallish, neighborhood restaurants that have a good reputation. These places often have only one seating per night. Once you’re in, you’re at your table for the night. You relax. Maybe drink a bottle of wine. You have an incredible eating experience.
These places tend to fill up fast, so reservations are usually required. The good news is that you can usually make a reservation the same day or maybe a day in advance. If you’re in the neighborhood anyway, make the reservation in person.
Travel Prep
Being somewhat independent requires some preparation. There’s no way around that. These days, though, almost every hotel, no matter how small, has a website. Almost any type of reservation can be arranged in advance, starting on-line and perhaps requiring an e-mail or two.
We always spend time learning a thing or two about where we’re headed before the trip. It’s too late after you’re there. You’re busy. You’re on the move. The days fly by, and before you know it you’re off to the next stop on the schedule.
We’re big Rick Steves fans. He’s pointed us in a good direction many times. There’s a ton of information on-line, of course. Maybe I’m old-school, but I’ve found that buying a book or two packed with information about where you’re traveling to really pays off.
When preparing for a trip abroad, I probably do as much research about where to eat as I do about anything. Maybe I’m a borderline foodie. By the time we’re ready to depart, I usually have a short list of restaurants I’d like to try in each of our destinations.
On Language
Foreign languages aren’t for everyone. That being said, knowing just the basics of say, french or italian, can make a big positive impact on your trip through France or Italy. People love to hear their own language, it seems. If you give it a try, but botch it up, nine times out of ten your victim will help you out. And just like that, your relationship jumps to a new level. At least give it some thought. Pensez-y! Dare qualche pensiero!
Summary
As noted above, these are just a few things we do that work for us. Everyone’s different, but if you’re a traveler, maybe there’s something here that might work for you.
