Is it time to plan your next adventure?
In the dictionary, an adventure is defined as ‘an usual, exciting or daring experience’ - just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, the person that is creating their adventure gets to decide what their version of an adventure is.
A few weeks ago, I went on a tractor for the first time to mow the fields where we live. I hadn’t left home, I hadn’t packed a bag and in all honesty it took less than an hour. However, it felt like an adventure. Why? Because I was doing something that I had never done before, I was using something new and seeing a view that I see everyday from a different perspective.
We can make anything we like into an adventure, it is all about our mindset.
I often hear people say that they don’t know how to have their own adventures. What to do, where to go, and how to go about doing it.
In The BeWild Membership, I created a masterclass sharing with the members the process that I use to plan my adventures. It is a process I have used for years (without really knowing it was a process) and putting it together made it really clear. I have used it multiple times since creating it. I can really see how it works.
One of the key areas that needs to be considered when planning an adventure is where we want to go. Considering where you go can be really simple or it can be a hugely overwhelming task. If you are anything like me, I have folders and folders saved on my Instagram of places that I would like to visit and not enough time to actually go to all the places I want.
It can really help if you a create a ‘bucket list’ of places that you would like to visit or experiences that you would like to have. For example, after watching the Julia Roberts film ‘Eat, Prey, Love’ I got in my head that I had to eat pizza at that specific restaurant in Naples (IYKYK).
There have also been times that the ‘where’ might be dictated by certain things, such as work commitments or the weather. For example, as daft as it sounds Rob and I never actually decided that we wanted to go to Bali. His work booked a trip there to avoid the costs of flying the team back home from Australia and back out to Japan. When I got wind of this, we decided that we would make a holiday out of it which massively saved us on travel costs.
Here are 5 things to consider when planning where you will go on your trip:
Identify your why
Identifying why you are doing this adventure in the first place enables you to have a home base. It gives you a place to come back to when you go off course, get overwhelmed or over excited with the planning. Your why should be linked with what you want to experience and how you want to feel during and at the end of your trip.
Your ‘why’ might look something like:
On this adventure I really want to travel around as much as possible, experience new things and be immersed in the culture. I want to feel like I have tried new things and been inspired by a different way of life.
2. Budget & finances
Considering your budget early on in the planning process can be really important as this may have an impact on where you go and what you plan on doing. Research the cost of accommodation different areas, how you will get around, food and drink, and activities that you want to do. Having your ‘why’ identified beforehand will help. For example, when I went to Iceland it was all about travelling on our own terms and seeing as much of the country as possible. Iceland is known to be quite expensive when you eat out, we weren’t there to eat in nice restaurants or try local food so we stayed in an AirBnB and bought all our food from the supermarket to save money for the places we wanted to visit.
3. Collect inspiration
Get inspired from a variety of places and store these in a way that works for you. I love getting inspiration from Instagram. I have folders saved for different countries or counties so that if the opportunity arises to visit there, I already have ideas. Reading blog posts is another great way to get ideas for trips. Searching for ‘10 day itinerary for Bali’ for example. Once I have read some blogs, I will then look at Instagram for pictures and save them to the relevant folder.
4. Identify your 3 absolute ‘must haves’
Once you start researching you may end up finding so many places that you want to visit but you can’t squeeze them all into the time that you have. This happened when I was planning our roadtrip in America (read the blog here). I had planned so much that it would have left no time for flexibility or down time. Rob and I highlighted the 3 absolute musts that we wanted from the trip and this ended up dictating our route.
5. Seasons
This also comes back to your why. The weather can dictate where you go, particularly if going abroad. If you are looking for a winter expedition, you will need to ensure that you are travelling to the right place and the right time of year. This has been a factor for us with our next trip. We considered going to the Philippines but the time that we would go is typhoon season…no thank you! Another part of this is the activities that you want to do, check the websites to ensure they are open the time of year that you are going. An example of this is on certain safaris, they can close during mating season which could potentially ruin your whole trip.
This is less of something that you need to consider in the UK as who on earth knows what the weather will be like when you plan your trip. However, seasonal opening times of places are worth checking and if you are going to Scotland…midge season might be something that you want to consider.
Planning a trip doesn’t need to be overwhelming, it can be just as fun as the actual trip.
Breaking down the planning phase into small stages can really help. In The BeWild Membership, I have also provided a handy PDF that can be used when planning your own adventures. To get access to The BeWild Membership and the PDF planner, click here to join the waitlist for the membership today. Being on the waitlist will give you first access when the doors open and a reduction in the monthly cost.
We would love to welcome you into The BeWild Membership- it is our friendly & supportive membership to help you plan your next adventure.