I just got back from a short out of town extended family trip. It was the first trip in a while where I wasn’t responsible for all the planning and organizing. It was refreshingly liberating to let someone else handle that for once, and just show up, relax and enjoy the actual trip. Even for a short trip, figuring out accommodation, transport, meals, activities and logistics is a lot of work. Multiply that by the number of people going, and take into account age, limitations, and dietary requirements, and it’s literally a full time job.
Despite all that effort, there’s still the uncertainty – how good will everything actually be? The place we stayed at had great reviews, but nobody told us that it was going to smell like fertilizer. A little too organic for me 😄. The same goes for tour operators and activities – you never know how good they will be until you try them, and by the time you do, it’s too late anyways.
That’s one of the reasons I do what I do. My formula is simple. It starts with a dream. A place piques my interest and lands on my radar. I start researching the destination, make connections and hop on a plane to go over and check it out. I cram in as many cities, towns and areas as possible in the days that I have. I trek through several trails, bike many miles, and try all kinds of local cuisine. My exploratory trips are like three trips packed into one, with one singular objective – try everything out and figure out what the most awesome things are in each locality, from hyper-local experiences, lodges, adventure activities, to local guides, hidden restaurants, how to eat halal, extraordinary routes and transport options. Then I wrap it all up in a series of fantastic travel itineraries. Tried and tested, and ready for you. All you gotta do is show up.
Here’s a video of the last place I checked out:
If you want to learn more about the trip in this video, click below.
