It all starts with an idea. Maybe a picture or a movie you saw or perhaps a comment from a friend that makes you think: “I’d love to go there one day” This is the first step and actually the genesis of your trip, here’s where it begins.
The Tourist
Once you’ve made the decision to take that trip, you have a couple of options. On the one hand, you can hire a packaged guided tour, where you and 30 other people are taken on a trip, like cattle, following a tour guide holding a flag or an umbrella with a fixed itinerary and specific schedules without options or changes. True, these tours tend to be cheaper because they’re mass produced but they don’t leave any room for spontaneity, rushing you from one place to the other, to have a superficial look at as many destinations possible in the shortest amount of time. In the end, you get home exhausted and confused to where you have been, with only a few picture to show for.
This is the definition of a tourist, someone who just wants to go there, take the picture, and move on to the next landmark for the next picture, with little interest to know the local people, their culture, history or idiosyncrasies.
The Traveler
On the other hand, there’s the option I always choose and recommend, which is to get involved in the trip, be curious and do a little research about the places you’ll visit, its people and food, how they live and the best places to see and those which might not be worth your time. Now, there are thousands of Travel sites online with tons of info and tips. This can be overwhelming, especially when you find conflicting results, this is where a Trip Designer comes in handy. A Trip Designer is a Travel pro who knows first-hand all the ins and outs of your destination of choice and can figure out exactly the type of trip that’s perfect for you and help you discover wonderful sites, unique places and one-of-a-kind activities that a guided tour will never provide.
These kinds of trips are Journeys of discovery, of getting lost in the narrow streets of quaint towns only to find a hidden little restaurant with the best food you´ve ever tasted. These are Trips for you to sit in a café and enjoy people watching without worrying that the crowded bus will leave you behind if you take too long. In Adventures like these, you can take your time to really know the culture, visit the sites at your own pace or simply skip a visit, because you just felt like it.
These are the most gratifying and enriching Trips. Trips you learn the most from and where you come out from being a better person, more open minded, with respect for the odd, the diverse the unusual. This, is what I call being a “Traveler”.