Comments on: 6 Reasons to Travel Without a Plan

By: Matty

Matty — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 13:25:33 +0000

LOVED this post…

…it can be so easy to lose ourselves, our spirit in the mindless insanity of the mundane, and leave in search of greener pastures…

…only to find out that the grass is greener on the other side because the shit is deeper!

…then we set about busily rebuilding old patterns atop a new pile of shit – the same relationships with different names and faces; the same scared existence in a new town…

Surrendering to the open road and what lies around the next bend allows us to shed old skins and try out new ones, to see which fit we like best:

* * * * * * * * * * * *

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” -Anais Nin-

…enjoy your journey!

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By: Julia

Julia — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 09:02:07 +0000

This is so exciting for you. I’m on a no-plans trip myself right now, and the one plan I tried to make (booking accommodation in Shenzhen, China) even failed me. But the mix up that occurred has led me to this fantastic hotel which is probably better than the one I tried to book. Sure, no-plan travelling can get super stressful and pretty scary, but its incredibly rewarding and at least in the US you can speak your own language!

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By: Gemma

Gemma — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:58:51 +0000

Christine, I wish I was as brave as you. No doubt your trip will be a brilliant one, and it’ll all be down to unwavering confidence and belief in the kindness of fate!

Just as a precaution, should anything happen to your car, and you need to hire one, Auto Europe has just launched a new jargon-busting car hire guide (the Car Rental Roadmap). It’s worth checking out to make sure you don’t get any nasty surprises in the form of hidden costs: http://www.auto-europe.co.uk/pdf/Car-Hire-Made-Easy.pdf

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By: La Digue

La Digue — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 07:27:24 +0000

Embarking on an adventure without a plan….wow! This seems to be cool. Personally, I would have been too afraid to do that. By the way i hope that the timing belt in your Honda (my preferred car brand) didn’t let you down. Travelling all alone in a country as huge as USA demands experience and guts. It means that you must have faced your fears head on in the past. Precaucious by nature, i might never set out without a plan, but was really nice knowing about your point of views….

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By: Kevin Fairdosi

Kevin Fairdosi — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 09:03:21 +0000

This is the kind of mentality that I really admire, but haven’t completely adopted yet. Traveling without a plan can lead to some of the most memorable experiences. I think I’ll take the leap and not worry about plans when it comes time for my next trip

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By: brian from nodebtworldtravel.com

brian from nodebtworldtravel.com — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 15:52:12 +0000

No plan is a good thing. Sometimes you can feel like you are aimlessly wandering but usually life intervenes and shows you what you haven’t been looking for… if that make any sense.

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By: Byron

Byron — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:29:22 +0000

Yes, it is good to travel without having every second of every day planned out, but it is good to have some general plan. If you don’t have some kind of general plan or direction to go, you will feel like you are just wondering around and being unproductive.

I recently returned from a six month trip from the top of Mexico to Costa Rica, and I definitely felt at times like I was just wondering around aimlessly. Humans are made to be productive. Just try traveling for long-term and see what works for you.

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By: Cath Duncan

Cath Duncan — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:59:22 +0000

I just spent a weekend at an improv workshop, learning the ropes and I learned some powerful ideas that improv offers that could be used in life. In improv storytelling, you cooperate to create a story on the spot. Nobody knows what will happen next because you’re responding to each other, rather than pre-planning a script. And like in life, the risk is that you might “fail”, but doing improv, it becomes clear that the whole idea of failure is made up – what happens happens and we don’t have to judge it a success or a failure. We can instead be in the moment and enjoy it and be fully aware to responding to only the next thing, rather than planning everything in advance. I particularly like the idea of applying this to travel. I think not having a plan makes you so much more aware of the present and you take in so much more info, because you don’t have as many assumptions filtering the information to make it fit your plan.

Great post – thanks, Christine

Cath

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By: Travel-Writers-Exchange.com

Travel-Writers-Exchange.com — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:57:53 +0000

Have fun on your trip! Traveling without a plan can be exciting. You never know what you’ll discover. If you stick to your plan, you could miss out on great conversations and people. Maybe you wouldn’t discover that “gem” of a bookstore or restaurant. The possibilities are endless. Plus, you’ll have some great travel writing from your experience.

BTW: Can’t believe the “one-way” ticket story about Europe — bummer! Hopefully the UK will loosen up a bit :0)

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By: travis

travis — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 04:02:53 +0000

Good luck with your trip. I hope your honda holds up. Im actually leaving for my trip tomorow to north carolina. all i know is point a and point b (the beach at hatteras national park). I really believe that traveling without a plan opens that world up to you and that some unexpected yet hopefully things will happen. the best part about not having a plan is that if you see somewhere on your way that you like alot, you can stop check it without having to worry about messing up plans, like you said, you can travel at your own pace.

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