Travelling Efficiently

Sometimes when we travel we don’t have as much time in certain places as we’d like, and if you’re a weekend tripper like I have been recently this is especially true, as you’ve no doubt tried to pack in as much sightseeing and leisure time into every second of your trip – even if sometimes that means you may only have a day or even half a day in a city, when really you’d probably need at least a week to really get to know the place. In these cases, knowledge is definitely your friend when time most certainly is not. I found myself with two hours in Geneva once, but I still managed to walk the streets and see the lake, get some great shots of the United Nations building and take a tram ride – it’s all just organisation, I promise! Each of the short trips I’ve done has taught me more and more about the importance of organisation when you only have a limited amount of time spare, so I’d like to share some my travelling advice to help you get the most from your adventures.

Know Your Destination

How big is it? Is there public transport? You want to know these things before you work out how much you’re going to have time to see, for example it might be completely doable to walk the central part of Brussels in an hour, but to do the same in London could take you days! Get online and find out the basics, then plan your time from there.

Take A Map

Google maps saves the day again – I cant count the number of times its saved me time, and also gotten me un-lost! Print a map before you go so you’re not wandering around blind and highlight the things you want to see and do, and the distances between each so you can work out the quickest route. It might sound like military precision but it really will help when you’re running out of time and yet to see the Mona Lisa that was top of your list!

Or Buy An App

Travel apps have come along way, and there’s now loads on the market.  Depending on what you’re interested in or the info you need consider purchasing an app which you can refer to on the go – this will also negate the need for a printed map in many cases, so if you’re a paperless and wireless kinda person, get yourself to the itunes app store, stat!

Be Realistic

If you’ve only got two hours somewhere you’re not going to be able to see everything – it’s just not possible! So prioritise the things that most interest you and commit to seeing those this time, then plan to visit again in the future. That was you can relax and enjoy being in another culture and not stressing that you haven’t kept exactly to your schedule.

Relax, You’re On Holiday!

Most of all, just have fun! Even if you don’t see everything you planned to, enjoy it! Sitting in a local cafe might end up being just as satisfying as ticking all the things you planned to off your list after all, so don’t beat yourself up – relax, you’re on holiday after all! If you leave wanting more then it can only be a good thing – it means you’ve discovered a place that resonates with you, and when you return you’ll be super organised and know exactly where you’re going, so be happy that you’ve found somewhere to add to your ‘Bucket List’.

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