What’s one piece of travel advice you always follow?
When I arrive in a new place, there are two things I try to do.
The first is to take a walking tour, preferably on the first day. It helps me get my bearings, understand how the city fits together, and learn something of its history and character.
The second is to plan just one thing each day. Beyond that, I like to leave the day open.
Some of my most memorable travel experiences have been entirely unplanned. A conversation with the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires. A lunch enjoying ancestral Chilean food in Santiago. An unexpected side trip to the beautiful Lake Bohinj in Slovenia. Dinner on the Bund in Shanghai. A visit to Geoffrey Bawa’s remarkable estate in Bentota, Sri Lanka.
None of these were on the itinerary. Each happened because we had the freedom to follow an opportunity when it presented itself.
I’m a planner by nature but I also want to leave room for discovery. There is something exhausting about travelling with a list of attractions that must be ticked off before moving on to the next destination.
Walking helps with that. You notice things you would otherwise miss. You can follow your curiosity, change direction or stop for no particular reason.
And the unexpected doesn’t have to be spectacular. Sometimes it’s an encounter that changes your understanding of history. Sometimes it’s a meal that introduces you to another culture. Sometimes it’s simply the pleasure of discovering somewhere you hadn’t intended to go.
Of course, none of this happens without some planning. You need to know where you are and have some idea of where you’re going. But if every hour is accounted for, there’s little room for discovery.
Perhaps that’s not bad advice for life either. Know where you are, have some idea where you’re going, and leave room for the unexpected.
What’s one piece of travel advice you always follow?
View all responses
Leave a Reply