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Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Have you done Solo Travel? Would you recommend it/Where would you or wouldn't you recommend?
A: I have done some Solo! Traveling solo isn't for everyone, and honestly, it's not something I enjoy personally. I like having someone with me - especially if there is any issues BUT there have been times where no one would go with me, and I said screw it! I'm going! I have been to South Africa alone, England alone many times, and Amsterdam alone. In each place however, I met amazing people.
You have to be really comfortable to travel alone. But honestly, travelling alone is a wonderful feeling. You really bring yourself out of your comfort zone and really find yourself. I would recommend that everyone does a solo trip at least once in their life time - even if it's a province or state over from you! I wouldn't recommend going to really busy places by yourself (as a female!). So places I don't think I could do by myself would be anywhere in the Middle east or Africa. Places I would recommend are anywhere in Europe and Australia. As a female, its a lot different (sadly) but I do know a lot of very brave women who have been to some very questionable countries on their own with no issue! I couldn't do it with my mental health, but they slayed!
Q: If you found out you were dying and could only go to one more country what would it be?
A: This question is an exceptionally hard question. My first country I thought of was England. But not for tourism purposes. After living there, I created some amazing friendships and I think if I knew I was dying I would give up seeing a new place if it meant seeing them before I would die.
Now if I was talking for tourism... I honestly can't choose. A part of me knows if I was told i'm dying I would leave and I would use all my money to see as many more places I could before I passed. If I had to choose ONE... I think I would choose and island. I love water. So I think I would choose maybe Bora Bora? But another part of me wants to say Egypt since I love the history of Egyptians. But honestly, I don't think I could choose...
Q: When you travel, where do you stay to avoid the cost of expensive hotels?
A: When it comes to booking a place to stay I have specific criteria. The first thing I do is decide if I can do a hostel or if I would prefer a hotel. In most cases I do a hotel. When I do hostels I always select a private room (solely because I have really bad anxiety attacks when I sleep in unfamiliar places and aren't comfortable with my sleeping arrangement). I find a private room is usually about double the cost of an open room, but its worth it for me.
Secondly, once I decide, I look at prices for the downtown core (close to all attractions). If I find they're too much (my max I like to spend on a hotel is 70-80$ a night) then I start a whole different process and look at the following things:
1. The distance from airport to downtown. Reason? Most airports cost a LOT of money to get from downtown to the airport. So if I stay AT the airport I can save the cost - I then go to step 2.
2. Look and see what hotels offer free airport transportation and if there's a metro system from airport to downtown. (If I can get a hotel with free transport or at least cheap cab ride and airport has a direct system to get downtown - I choose this next)
3. My last resort > See if the city has a good public transit system and how far the closest stop is from a hotel
4. Once I decide based on those 3 factors the AREA I want to be in (Airport, Downtown or random small town away from both) I then compare and read reviews. If a hotel has a pool and free breakfast, i'll pay more. But I ALWAYS read reviews.
Here's some examples for you:
1. Amsterdam > Hotels downtown were CRAZY. We booked a hotel near the airport. It had free transportation to the airport (15 mins) and then the bus from airport to downtown was SUPER easy and cheap.
2. Athens > We nailed a cheap hotel downtown. It was no Hilton but it did the job
3. Brisbane, Australia > We stayed at a GORGEOUS hostel in the city but not RIGHT downtown. We also had a car.
4. Barcelona > We stayed out of the city and airport and didn't take a cab once - the metro system is AMAZING (hotels were double/triple to be downtown)
Q: Do you have an travel traditions? Something you do in every country or a souviner you must bring back?
A: Absolutely! I have two things that I try to do in every place I visit:
1. Not always possible, but I try to see the water in every country. Whether is a nice lake, a beach, the ocean, a waterfall. I try my best to it every trip. So far I have done pretty good in seeing it!
2. I always try McDonalds in every country. I know it sounds silly, but you have no idea how different it can be. Each country has different items and sometimes they're pretty crazy. So far my favourite for chicken nuggets is Zakopane, Poland and the most unique one I've seen is probably Indonesia.
As for souviners I always get a shot glass - I refuse to leave until I have one (and believe me, in some places its REALLY hard). Another thing I like to do if possible is get a post card, write out what I did and send it to my home address so when I get home I can be reminded of the trip! Then I also try and get something "unique" something small that I can put in my home as a nice decoration. And lastly, I JUST started this in Morocco but I want to start collecting sand. I know I tried bringing some home on a past trip but they took it in security at an airport so I stopped trying - but I think i'll try again. :)
Q: Have you had any scary moments? Been pit-pocked/stalked/ect.
A: I have been exceptionally lucky. I hear so many horror stories of people who have been robbed or even worse. I have had a few moments. I have had questionable people approach me, I've had people grab and pull me, and I have been detained at an airport. But to me the worst thing that's happened when travelling was my most recent trip to Morocco. It was late at night, and our tour guide went to drop us off at our hotel only to find it no longer was there. We were almost left stranded with no where to go. Luckily the tour guide brought us to a local who offers couch surfers a bed. But that was the scariest thing (in my mind) that has happened to me. BUT just because it hasn't happened to me, doesn't mean it won't to someone else - you still need to be very careful. With yourself AND with your things. Keep that in mind!
Q: Is there any place you've been that you wouldn't go to again or wouldn't recommend?
A: This is a tricky question. Everyone has different travel preferences/likes/dislikes. Not only that, but I personally try to stay away from going to a country twice - I have so little time that I want to see as many different countries as possible.
Off the top of my head I can say I wouldn't have any interest going back to Iceland. Although a very beautiful country, the price of being there threw me off (it's very expensive!). And I feel like I could've seen/done it all in 2 days rather then 4.
Another place I don't think I would go to again would be Morocco. I saw the desert and that's all I needed to see :P Not to turn the question around but I think it's easier for me to say countries that I WOULD go back to! So I would in a heartbeat go back to Scotland. I would love to go back to Rome when I'm older (its a city I think I would just appreciate more when i'm older - I would recommend saving that would until you're 40+). Another two I would love to go back to would be Bali, Indonesia and the Greek Islands. There is no country that comes to mind that I WOULDN'T recommend. I have enjoyed all of the places I've been just maybe not the time/age I went to them!
Q: From your experience, what would the top 5 sights/experiences would you recommend?
A: Dang, another hard one! I think this would be my list:
1. Volunteer with animals in Africa (I did South Africa, but I think Kenya would be awesome too!)
2. Scuba Dive the Great Barrier Reef (it's already lost so much of it's colour but seeing an ACTUAL SHARK!!! was unbelievable.
3. See the Sahara Desert. Whether you're on a camel or just walking in.. it's honestly a must see
4. Live abroad - Honestly, its such an amazing, eye opening experience! You really challenge yourself.
5. Skydive somewhere beautiful (I did the rocky mountains, but islands would be just as beautiful)
Stay tuned though, because i'm sure these may change!
Q: How can you afford to travel all the time to all these places?
A: This is a question I get so often. It's all about priorities really! So many people said "oh well she had flight benefits" Which is true and helped A LOT. But even then, trips were almost 2K each trip. And I only went on a few while flying. When I was in college I went on 3 major trips. One across the UK for 2 weeks, one to South Africa & England for 2 1/2 weeks and one across Europe for 2 weeks. So many people ask how they hell could I afford that while in school. I worked my ass off is what I did! When I was in school I would work part-time. At one point I had 4 part time jobs. I had OSAP which gave me grants, the grants ALMOST covered my tuition for one semester. I then applied to bursaries which helped when I won them (and I did a few times!). You have to be money cautious before the trip. You have to look into how much you make and say, "ok each pay check i'll put such and such amount aside for travel only" etc. I have always had an account specifically for travel. When I have enough, I book that trip!
BUT. It's not always what you make or how much you save, its also HOW you travel. Setting budgets for literally everything. Transportation, food, hotel. Like I've already said I typically like to spend no more than 70-80 a night in a hotel. I would say my typical average is under 50 a night. When it comes to transportation, I always look at cost of the average cab in each country. This helps me decide how much I think it should cost in transportation. Transportation is the hardest one I find to bank for. I try and keep it under $200 if possible (Which sounds high, but in Europe the average price from downtown to airport is 40-50 euros. You do that twice and you're already over $100). I then go into food, I look up average meal costs and pick a budget (I do the full duration, some people do per day). When it comes to food, I ALWAYS bring enough granola bars for 2 a day. That'll be my breakfast or even lunch. If my hotel room has a fridge, I buy food and keep it- save money again. Sometimes I even bring some packets of Mr.Noodles and boom - insta dinner. Then would be your activities > this is where I splurg. I am only going to be there once, I want to see everything I can. If that means a not so nice hotel, worth it.
Now, remember, when you travel with a partner 80% of the costs are split, which helps A LOT. Lastly, I set a trip budget for the year. I say "no more then 5K on travel this year". Which I find is very reasonable. I never like to spend over 2K on a 2 week trip. That's my max. If I plan a trip out and notice it's over 2K on my predictions, I wont do that specific trip. 1K a week. Very good budget to have and I personally believe it is very reasonable for travelling with a partner. Now of course if you're going FAR (Australia, China, Argentina for example) your flight itself will probably be close to 2K. SO for those I have exceptions. But if I do one of those trips, then that means I sacrifice another trip for that year. SO I may only go on one trip that year vs 3. Make sense?
Now, another thing with me that you do have to consider is - I work in travel. I know ways to get cheap prices, I know how to find deals. But not only that, I am a well experienced traveler. Which not only educates me on how to travel AND how to do it cheap BUT it also means I have met so many people, so many across the earth. Which means in many locations I have places to stay. I've stayed with friends in England, had friends/family drive me around, provide me with home cooked meals in MANY countries. That saves so much money. And also provides a much more unique experience in the country.
The last thing you have to consider when travelling is that anything is possible if you make it your priority. BUT sometimes when you have rent/mortgage payments, bills up your ass and your vehicle payment - it's not a reality to you. But if you set a goal for yourself, it will happen. And I am always here to help you with your trips and can help you find cheap deals and help you set budgets. Especially if I have been there! :) It CAN happen!
Q: How far in advance do you usually plan/book your trips?
A: If i'm completely honest. I have a list of countries I want to see in like the next 5 years. So I have a rough idea of where I kind of want to go already for like the next 5 years, which helps a lot for planning purposes. BUT, this might sound silly but I typically start planning the next trip either while i'm on my last trip or pretty much right when I get home. But that's just planning. As for booking??? Shit... honestly it varies. In January of 2019 I planned and booked a trip for April/May as well as a trip in September. Another time I planned a trip a week before I went and booked it the day before I flew out. So it honestly varies. With flying I knew my schedule for ACTUAL vacations very far in advance, which helped to plan and book things. But sometimes I would be given a week off randomly and I would plan something and go. I rarely book a year in advance. Max is 8 months. But I also book when I can afford it. It really varies. I recommend always booking flights 6-8 months in advance to avoid hefty costs. But hotels and shit can wait. Unless you're stay at a very popular one. For like all-inclusive and Caribbean, I would recommend at least 2 months in advance. If i'ts a big cruise or a river cruise, 12-8 months in advance TBH. Actual tours can be 12-8 months in advance as well to make sure you get a spot.
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