Here’s the thing: traveling is amazing. If you know, you know; if you don’t, get out there and explore! Whether it’s closer to home and finding new things to see and do, or hopping on a plane (or two or three) and experiencing the other side of the world, there’s so much to see and do on our big blue marble in space.
From our perspective, travel does one of three things. First, it can give you a new appreciation for your home area. We’ve been to several places that make us really appreciate the things, areas, and people we grew up with. For us, that’s a win. Second, it’ll give you a new appreciation for other people, cultures, and so on. Truth be told, this is one of the things we like most about traveling: meeting new people, trying the food (okay, maybe not all of the local delicacies), and just seeing what there is to see. Some of our closest friends have come from bumping into folks while abroad. Again, for us, this is a win. Third, and ideally, it can do both.
So, traveling is a great experience, but how you travel is totally up to you, and this is what we call DIY Travel: doing travel your way. Enjoy hanging out on a big boat with a few thousand of your ‘closest’ friends gorging yourself on 24-hour, all-you-can-eat buffets? Perhaps a cruise is up your alley. Like experiencing the fast(er) pace of city life around the world? Neat, there are lots of cool cities to explore. Feel like taking your life into your hands, renting a car while abroad, and taking the road less traveled? Nice. When we travel, we think it’s important to see the big tourist destination areas, if for no other reason than to say we’ve been there. But for us, the real fun of traveling is when we get a rental car and go off on our own. More work? Sure. Worth it? Absolutely.
It’s also important to note that traveling doesn’t need to drain your bank account(s). Sure it can, but it doesn’t need to. The more we’ve traveled, the more we’ve learned from other folks and experts about how to make traveling make sense for our budget. No, we don’t stay in 5-star hotels, but in our defense, those places almost never have free Wi-Fi (seriously, what’s with this?). Yes, it is possible to spend 10 days in Europe with only a carry-on and a backpack, even if that is a slightly painful learning experience. As we create posts on our blog, we’ll do our best to share the tips and tricks that we’ve picked up along the way and point you to the experts we’ve learned from. By the same token, if you’ve learned things and are willing to share, don’t be a stranger to our comments sections!
So, come along on our DIY Travel journey, where we’ll talk about how we plan for the trips that take us all around the world (Travel Planning), how we actually make it all happen (Travel Hacking), and stories and photos of our adventures (Travel Photos & Journals).
More importantly, while this is our journey, know it isn’t a one-way road. What of you? Love to travel? Cool; let us know your favorite places to go. Reluctant to head out and explore? Tell us why; maybe something we’ve done or learned can help.