No words could ever be enough to express how amazing traveling is. Its whole existence is one wonderful gift. A sense of freedom is what it gives. What’s more, traveling gives you the freedom of choosing how to do it. You can do it as planned as you want! Or you can go for spontaneous trips!
Different kinds of travelers have different preferences when it comes to how they spend their time traveling to places. The most common is the planner type. If you are like this, by choice, you can never travel without any kind of preparation. Another popular type but not very common is the spontaneous type. If you belong here, you are brave enough to opt for spontaneous trips – traveling without concrete plans or with no plan at all.
In many instances, spontaneous trips are impulsive trips. They can happen after one asks, “Wanna travel?” and another answers, “Sure.” There is nothing much to talk about. It’s like “Let’s grab our bags, and leave,” literally. No exaggeration. Some people treat spontaneous trips that way. And it’s something that planners cannot even look at. Why? Because there’s nothing but a Z-E-R-O plan.
Well, for real, although spontaneous trips are fantastic, and although many incredible memories can be made in unexpected moments, there are cons as well. The list below talks about them. We are not discouraging spontaneous trips, of course. Rather, let’s understand why planners happily choose to do what they do.
Here are 5 downsides of spontaneous trips that planners despise.
1 – No or less possibility of reservations
Spontaneous trips are equivalent to walk-ins. There is no or less possibility of being able to reserve slots in places you want to visit. This is particularly true if you are going to visit popular tourist attractions or if the day is a special holiday for all. Even if you try booking the day itself, it could be hard or impossible for you to get a slot if there are limited offers for guests.
Furthermore, say you still get a chance to be among the last guests to be accommodated due to the bursting amount of people, do not expect to be prioritized. Those with pre-made reservations, probably at least a day before, get the first priority. This proves that if you want to be immediately catered for, you should not expect that from spontaneous trips.
2 – Excessive spending
Because spontaneous trips come with no planning, you might not be sure about the budget you will be needing. Everything is impromptu. Everything happens according to same-day decisions. As a result, you could incur excessive spending from such unplanned trips. You might be able to control your spending since you are going with the flow. This is especially true if you are traveling with a group, and you just agree on what they say, like where to eat, what itinerary will be next and so on and so forth.
You might unwillingly spend more than you hope to do because of the tendency of having limited choices. Say you travel to a far local destination. While looking for a hotel accommodation to stay overnight, there might be only one or two options that are nearby and accessible to and from your itinerary. If it so happens that the only available selection is quite expensive, then you might be forced to just go for it.
3 – No schedule to follow
As its name implies, a spontaneous trip has no schedule to follow. Whatever comes to mind right at that moment, it might be what you’re really going to do. While you are on your way to your desired tourist attraction, you might cram your rough schedule, yet it’s still uncertain if you will be able to do all of them.
You hold your time, but if you have appointments after the trip, they might be affected. You might fail to attend to them. Sometimes, having time limits is also helpful for travelers like you to manage your time smartly, to avoid wasting time.
4 – Uncertainty of where to go
Probably the number one question mark for spontaneous marks is having an uncertainty of where to go. There are times when you randomly hop in the car, then ask yourselves where you are going. If you don’t know where exactly your target location is, you will not be prepared. You might be wearing the wrong clothes, using the least comfortable shoes or forgetting to bring your film camera.
Planning allows you to be completely prepared for the places you are coming over and for the activities that you are going to enjoy. If you skip that part, you might not be able to fully revel in your trip!
5 – Failure to bring requirements in certain destinations
Somehow connected to the previous number is this. There’s a high possibility for you to fail bringing the requirements in certain travel destinations. Since you suddenly thought of visiting a particular beach during the pandemic, you might be surprised to know that they still have strict guidelines for guests and things brought inside their premises. Unlike planned trips, spontaneous trips may sometimes feel like you’re in a trial-and-error.
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SPONTANEOUS
Planned trips are not perfect either, but they give you more certainty than impromptu trips do. With preparations, you know where to go and what to do, and even if there are things you are confused with, you may have plans B, C and so on.
Compared to planned trips, spontaneous trips are riskier in many ways. Nevertheless, if that’s what you prefer and if you’re ready to do it, then do as you please. Just remember to always be careful and responsible, so you can dodge its possible disadvantages.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Nicole Ann Pore is a writer, an events host and a voice over artist. Quality and well-researched writing is her worthwhile avenue to enlighten and delight others about things that matter. She is a daytime writer for Holiday Inn Parramatta Hotel, a five-star hotel in Parramatta, New South Wales which provides a rewarding stay and a close reach of Australia’s noteworthy features. Nicole graduated Cum Laude from De La Salle University Manila, Philippines with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Arts.