Spontaneous Travel vs Planned Travel: Which one is better for you? Last Updated: December 27, 2021
Spontaneous travel is all about not having a pre-planned itinerary and just going with the flow. Planned travel is literally traveling with a plan. So, how do you know which one is better for you?
Well, the answer is that you should try both!
I love planning my travels. Before every trip, I research a lot. I make an excel sheet with a day-wise itinerary along with tentative costs, things to do in every city, local foods to eat, and so on and so forth.
But I recently completely changed the way I travel. My 3-month solo adventure in Europe couldn’t have been more spontaneous!
I booked a one-way ticket to Europe without having a plan to experience planning my journey on the move. It turned out to be quite rewarding in many ways.
Imagine not having a place to stay the next day or not knowing in which city or country you will be? Scary right? WRONG!
This is the fun part of spontaneous travel. You go with the flow without already knowing what is in store for you. If you are a solo traveler or plan to travel solo at some point, I highly recommend trying spontaneous traveling at least once. You will meet many interesting people on your journey. Sometimes the connections that you build will lead you to places you would probably not have planned. Having an open mind and no expectations is the secret to spontaneous travel.
Sometimes, I met people on my solo trip and just tagged along with them because they had a plan and they had already researched about it. For example, on my 3-month trip, I had no plans of going to Greece.
I always thought I would explore this country with my ‘better half’ at some point in life because of the romantic impression we have of Greece, especially amongst Indians. I had reached all the way down south of Albania, at the border of Greece, and was still contemplating going there. But I met someone on my journey who was going there next and I just tagged along! I ended up spending 3 weeks in Greece because of the people, place and the food. Loved it!
In Serbia, I didn’t have any accommodation booked.
This is because I wasn’t sure if I will be able to cross borders from another country since I had a Kosovo stamp on my passport (here are some political conflicts going on between Kosovo and Serbia making it harder for travelers to cross borders). But I managed to enter Serbia without any hassle and managed to get a bed at a hostel last minute.
After entering Belgrade, I looked up hostels in the city center on Hostel World and picked the one that had good reviews, was centrally located, and was affordable. Being optimistic and confident is key while planning on the go.
Spontaneous travel may not be for you if you are all OCD about planning. If not having a plan makes you anxious and fearful, then don’t do it. But if you want to try something new and trust yourself enough, then definitely give it a shot.
In my opinion, the most ideal way to travel is researching a little but not too much. It is good to have some flexibility in case of any unforeseen circumstances or in case you meet wonderful people who influence your travel plans.
If I had a planned itinerary on my solo trip, I would have had expectations in every place and I would have been disappointed if things didn’t go as per the plan. But not having an itinerary allowed me the flexibility to extend my stay in places that I loved.
Are you influenced enough to take on the spontaneous route at least once in your lifetime? What are your opinions on this?
