Travelling: Ways to minimise the damage

Post date: Jan 16, 2019 12:38:24 AM

I love to travel but like lots of people have to balance time and money.

Its possible to take a tour: they're often reasonable value for money; all the itinerary planning is done for you and there are usually tempting glossy brochures full of people having a great time....

Depending on what you really value there will be drawbacks: you have to travel at a specific pace to set locations no matter how you feel, what the weather's like or how much you'd love another day in a spot you've fallen in love with.

Then there are the other people on the tour....whether you like them or not....

So I've never been on a tour longer than a day....by boat through the Katherine Gorge in the Northern Territory of Australia....there are crocodiles in the river - safety in numbers!

If you decide to go it alone there are a lot of online tools to help locate travel options, accommodation and things to see and do.

This is how I use my favourites. In this example we're travelling from Japan to Australia for a week or so to check out the wine growing regions close to Adelaide in South Australia.

Planning your trip.

You decide:

  • When you want to go

  • Where you want to go

  • How you want to travel

  • Things to do when you get there.

When do you want to go:

With this trip the weather is important. Mild days and nights will make travelling around by car then on foot through the wineries a lot easier. And outdoor dining and wine tasting overlooking the vineyards is always more satisfying than being cooped up with a crowd indoors.

Most countries' Weather Bureaus are a good source of information, based on hard statistics rather than a sales pitch to fill the slow seasons.

May in South Australia but then so is October.....

Now to sort out time off from work, someone to water the garden and feed the cat....

Getting there:

Almost always flying is cheaper and more time efficient when travelling more than 500km.

And its the only option to get from Japan to Australia.

Finding flights is made easier with the Skyscanner application https://www.skyscanner.com.au/

      • You can set the language and currency at the top of the screen.

      • If you like the application its worthwhile registering so it'll remember your preferences

      • When searching its best to search by month firstly so that you can identify cheaper days to fly.

Sometimes its better to search country to country rather than city to city.

      • When travelling to Australia you usually find that some destination cities are a lot cheaper than others.

      • You should consider internal Australian flights as these are often quite cheap.

      • So you may find that its cheapest and almost as quick to fly from Narita to Cairns (for example) on the international carrier then Cairns to Adelaide on the Australian airline.

    • NOTE: If you decide you use different airlines make sure you leave at least 4 hours between the arrival and departure times. You will need to clear immigration and customs then check into the next flight.

Skyscanner will indicate the various travel companies offering fares.

      • Where possible try to book through the airline themselves.

      • If there are problems later on its easier and cheaper to change dates etc through the airline themselves rather than a third party....

Where to stay:

The airlines often offer deals on accommodation, To decide if these are good prices you can use the

Hotels Scanner application https://www.hotels-scanner.com/?languageCode=EN

Like Skyscanner you can customise the language and currency and register as a member.

Some deals seem very good. Make sure you read the fine print to ensure you know what you're getting.

  • For example free WiFi can mean unlimited WiFi throughout the hotel and in your room OR it might be limited to only the public areas in the hotels for an hour before you start paying extra.

An alternative to hotel accommodation is airbnb https://www.airbnb.com/

This can be an excellent way to meet the locals and benefit from their knowledge though if you don't have your own transport getting there and then out to the places you want visit may be an issue.

Moving around your destination:

Google often provides accurate options for travelling around your destination. For example “Adelaide to Barossa Valley” will show you

Local knowledge plus Google is probably the best option so talking to someone who has actually done the trip is helpful.

You can either do that when you get there or if you prefer to plan ahead continue to research your preferences.

Clicking on Directions you are given a range of travel mode options.

Its back to Google if your preferred mode of transport isn't a reasonable alternative.

When you get there:

Websites like TripAdvisor have forums where you can research and ask questions about your chosen destination. https://www.tripadvisor.com/

Searching Google for “Adelaide to Barossa Valley TripAdvisor” provides a range of travel options as well as site seeing suggestions.

Sometimes its better to search more broadly. While we've focused on the Barossa Valley as its one of the best known wine regions in Australia there are other wine growing districts in South Australia that may offer what we want.

In this example we hope to spend our time visiting wineries, tasting wine; cooking and eating the local cuisine possibly using a tour as we won't have our own transport.

Our search for "Adelaide, wine tasting, cooking class, tour" provides plenty of examples but one stands out as it gives us information about several wine districts in our chosen destination

A lot of results we get will offer high end options across the different districts.

Some may cover part of our to do list but not all of it.

And its always interesting to find out what other people have done when they've had a similar dream to you.

Sites like TripAdvisor will help you find the sometimes hidden gems that are twice as good at half the price we like to talk about when we get home.