Why Less Is More When Traveling
Being more strategic about what locations you choose when traveling can help you have an even better adventure!
Dreaming of your next adventure is one of my favorite things! Thinking about all the places you’ll visit and the things you’ll see is exciting. As you start to dream, I encourage clients to take to heart the age-old saying:
Less Is More.
Want to visit multiple cities or countries while you’re abroad? Absolutely! But keep in mind how travel can impact your experience. Remember, your international flights to and from your country of origin will take two days of your travel time. Adding in internal flights to get you to your next destination can take up precious days on the ground. Being strategic about how you travel, how long you’re staying in one location, and how you get to and from your next destination is key!
More travel = more time traveling. More time at the airport, waiting in lines, checking your luggage, and waiting means less time exploring, making memories, and actually seeing where you’re at. Here are some key things to think about when selecting which places you’re wanting to visit, and how much time you can spend getting to and from!
Same Country - Different Cities
To enjoy where you are at and not be overly exhausted I encourage clients to choose a larger country that has lots of options within its borders!
You can see SO much of Italy in two weeks and changing cities by train or car is not only easy but enjoyable! A train from Naples to Rome is 1.5 hours and a train from Rome to Florence is only 2 hours. The best part? You only need to arrive 30-minutes early for your train. Easy!
The same goes for so many other countries in Europe. Interested in venturing out to other countries? Select places that are close to one another and can be easily accessed by train or car. Visiting multiple cities by train is a great option to get you to and from more quickly and efficiently. It will keep your travel time minimal and stress-free!
A Travel Timeline Example
Recently my husband and I flew to San Sebastian from Lisbon for our next month-long adventure. Here is a typical internal-European flight day you can expect when transferring to another country:
5:30 AM - We awake in Lisbon to get dressed and ready for the day.
6:15 AM - We ordered our Taxi which would get us to the Lisbon airport exactly two hours prior to our flight departure time of 8:45 AM.
We got to the airport and spent almost two hours checking our luggage (even being checked in online already), going through security, getting to our gate, taking the bus to our plane, and then boarding our plane for takeoff.
As seasoned travelers, this was not stressful for us. However, for those who aren’t used to traveling, or get tired walking long distances, arriving two hours prior to departure would not have been enough time to feel stress-free about making your flight. You would need to arrive at least three hours early to have plenty of time for all of the obstacles that come with flying.
1:00 PM - After a short layover, we arrived in San Sebastian!
3:00 PM - After getting off the plane, collecting our luggage, and ordering a taxi, we are finally in our AirBnB and able to relax before exploring our new location! Just kidding. We ordered a late lunch and took naps because we were exhausted!
Moral of the story? This was a tiring day where we spent 8+ hours traveling to our next destination. And everything went on time with no delays or lost luggage which was wonderful! But, that entire day was lost just getting to and from. If you have a limited number of days this is something you want to think about when deciding how long you plan to be abroad and where you want to visit.
Internal European flights are not that big of a deal and absolutely doable as long as you give yourself the time you deserve. It’s good to know the reality of traveling within Europe when deciding where you want to visit and for how long. The longer you travel the more destinations you can visit!
Don’t forget For The Story Vacations has an 8-day minimum when booking travel and if you want suggestions about places to visit or countries you should add to your list schedule a consultation by clicking here!
So, I guess my next question is, what will your story be?