We all love a holiday but how you holiday can make a big difference to the way you perceive the world and how you experience different countries. There’s nothing wrong with a resort holiday if all you need is a week by the pool or on the beach, but if you are actively looking for new experiences, you’ve probably got your travel plans all wrong.
Travelling should always be about learning a new culture, new ideas and allowing your own views to be shaped accordingly. The more opinions you hear and the more you see, the more flexible you will become. Your outlook will almost certainly change with travel.
But how do you get that experience?
The answer is travelling cheap. Whether you have found a good deal on NetVoucherCodes.co.uk that has encouraged you to book a holiday in a country you’ve never visited before or you are simply packing a bag and seeing where the trains can take you, cheap travel will open your eyes to how people really live elsewhere.
When you travel cheap, you will find that your trip will be significantly different to others. Instead of eating in fancy restaurants or staying at the hotel, you will undoubtedly discover various street foods and meals favoured by the locals. You will also find that wandering around the streets of a new city is just as fascinating as paying to go to an exhibition or another form of entertainment. You can learn a lot simply by being in the presence of new things, new people and new ideas.
The Local Experience
New Yorkers rarely pass through Times Square, Londoners don’t often visit Camden Market and Parisians won’t queue for the Champs-Élysées. Why? Because when you live somewhere, you don’t act like a tourist. You might explore these things once but you know that there are all kinds of other curiosities to your hometown that are worth more of your time.
Learning to live like a local is one of the best ways to get to know a new place. Locals have all the insider knowledge so asking for recommendations from people you meet is a great idea. If you can get a recommendation for the next place to visit everywhere you go, you will never run out of things to see and do – plus, you will make a new friend or acquaintance with every conversation.
Follow Your Curiosity – Get Lost
One of the best things you can do when arriving in a new city is to get lost. When you allow yourself to step off the beaten track, you never know what you might discover. However, there are a few things to keep in mind. Firstly, if you step off the beaten track and don’t feel safe, don’t push on! Go back and try another direction! Secondly, if you ever get truly lost, you are allowed to look at a map on your phone or call a taxi to collect you!
When you allow yourself to follow your curiosity, rather than the tracks set out in a guide book, you stand a far better chance of discovering the things you really like. Guidebooks can give you some brilliant recommendations but they won’t contain every amazing place to see. Besides, guidebooks are designed to be generic so that they appeal to as many people as possible. If you want to tailor your travels, you will need to do your own research and allow your curiosity to take over.
Be Open to New Things
If you want to push your personal boundaries, you have to be open to new things. Learning where your comfort zone is and gently pushing out is the best place to start. So, if you have never traveled on the cheap before, now is an excellent time to try it. Instead of going for the same sort of hotels, why not give a hostel a go for a night? Perhaps you could try self-catering or even pack a tent so you can go into the wilderness.
But being more open could also bring you to new destinations. When you stop browsing the same travel magazines, all kinds of destinations may present themselves to you. And now you will have a brand new problem: where to visit first!
Cheap travel is a mindset. When you start thinking more about what is right in front of you and less about where you need to spend, you will inevitably live more like a local and enjoy a different kind of holiday.