4 Old Soles

Welcome to my international section of my daughter’s travel blog.  While she and her husband are accomplished world travelers with 37 countries under their belt, she felt that her parents, with 123+ countries and still counting, could greatly help contribute to 10 Traveling Feet and provide valuable information about how to travel the world as Rick Steves would say – “close to the ground.”

Rick Steves “Why We Travel” Video

    There is no right or wrong way to travel.  Each person must find that special niche that gives them the experiences they desire.  For purposes of discussion, I am going to place people into 3 groups: TOUR/CRUISE, TRAVELERS and WANDERERS.  I have chosen these broad divisions because where you fit into these groups basically determines how you go about planning the travel experience.  No one will always be only one type, but broadly speaking, it defines how you approach travel.  I did not address “Adventure Travel” because it is a type of travel that can be found among each of the categories.  The groups are defined as follows:

• TOUR/CRUISE – These are people who want to see places in the world and talk about it to their friends. They like the protective cover of someone who can show them the sights and introduce them to the cultures without themselves moving outside their comfort zone.  They like sharing their travels with likeminded people and often the camaraderie of their companions is as important as the adventure.  They like nice meals at the end of the day and familiar room accommodations.   They like to decide what country or city they would like to see but spending time planning does not hold their interest. 
• TRAVELERS – These people are interested in the world on a more personal basis. They want to feel a location, mingle with the natives and experience local culture in the same manner as a local citizen.  They do not want to be burdened with travelling with other people like themselves because it takes away from the opportunity to interact with the locals.  Yet they want to have some measure of a protective cover to help them maximize their experiences.  The original Rick Steve’s “Europe through the Backdoor” espoused these principles by encouraging people to see the real Europe not seen in travel brochures.  Being a Traveler requires some planning in order not to waste too much time.  Being a Traveler usually entails enlisting the help of locals to find those things that enhance your experience.  Travelers usually value culture as highly as they do the sights.
• WANDERERS – These are best described as amateur anthropologists. They would be a lover of Arthur Frommer’s outstanding guidebook from the 1960’s “Europe on $5 A Day.”  They have now graduated to the Lonely Planet series of guidebooks, or better yet no guidebook at all.  They wander with minimal planning, picking up hints along the way from other adventurers they meet along the road or in hostels, the preferred mode of accommodations.  They have more time than money.  The people they meet, both other travelers and locals tend to be more important than the specific locale.  Unique experiences are highly valued.  Schedule is of minor importance.

    So, which one of these groups are the “4 Old Soles”.  We are group 2 – the TRAVELERS.  I started my international travels in 1970 with 3 months in Europe using “Europe on $5 A Day” which was $7.58 when finally tallied up.  My wife and I have refined our approach over the years. Our kind of travelling requires active participation in the planning process.  And this is where potential Travelers hit a roadblock and decide it is too hard and difficult to plan and so they return to the Tour/Cruise group, never knowing what they missed. 

     “4 OLD SOLES” provides information that will allow you to bridge the gap between a Tour/Cruise person and a Traveler.  What is amazing is how much easier it is today to do this than it was 30 years ago.  There is a vast pool of independent guides in every part of the world.  They speak good English and are some of the best educated people in their country.  They have good equipment.  Outside the first world countries, “tour guiding” is a very well-paid profession and attracts some of the best people.  With the internet, it is possible to connect to great guides – instantaneously.  The main concern is that you connect in a manner that 1) ensures that the guide is good (reviews) and 2) that the guides’ financial transactions protect both buyer and seller.  So how do you do that?

LET’S GET STARTED 

    The most important part of planning any trip is information on the location where you wish to travel, how you are going to see  the sites and how you are going to arrange a booking.  I think the best way to demonstrate how this is done is to discuss some of the tools currently available to a Traveler.

• TOURIST BUREAU WEBSITE – Visit the website of the country’s (or cities’) tourist bureau, which usually contains most of the major things to do. In the case of Malta, for example, Malta’s country’s website is  https://www.visitmalta.com/en/Home
• TRIP ADVISOR “EXPLORE SECTION” – TripAdvisor is another source of information. In their Explore Section you can find out what other travelers like to see when exploring that country. If you’re looking to visit Malta, for example, their site is  https://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g190320-Island_of_Malta-Vacations.html  
• ITN MAGAZINE & WEBSITE – Subscribe to International Travel News (ITN). I have subscribed to this magazine for 25 years and it is the best magazine for a Traveler.  The articles are all written by other Travelers and contain invaluable information on whatever country/city you desire.  The “search” function on their website does not require a subscription and is a great resource for the serious Traveler.  Website  https://www.intltravelnews.com/ 
  • Update:  The ITN magazine stopped publishing in April, 2022.  It may not restart  unless a buyer can be found.  The “article library”  is going to be maintained on-line until at least 2025.
• TRAVEL ARTICLES – I have a file of travel articles on almost every country in the world, collected over 50 years. Most of you will not have this resource but do not worry, this file is becoming less and less useful each year.
• PACKAGED TOURS – I WOULD NOT get too hung-up on looking at packaged tours to see where they go – not because it is not good information, but because it is usually so generic as to not be useful for Traveler trip planning.
• LOCAL TRAVEL COMPANIES – In our earliest years, I spent some significant effort identifying good, solid local travel companies in the places I wanted to travel. This was the most difficult part of my planning.  But the reason I did this was that ALL tours that you book via a local travel agency, ultimately end up being done at the local level by local companies.  If you could identify them, then having them do your independent trip was a win-win for both – you get a customized itinerary and they cut out the costs of the middleman.  This approach still works great EXCEPT my next bullet eliminated the need to do that searching except in unique cases.
• TOURS BY LOCALS – If you did NONE of the above investigations resources and went directly to my beginning choice for all trips I do today, you would be a success. It is a company that I have been using since 2012.  After booking 36 trips with them, they come with my highest endorsement.  What I like is that you can go to the Tours By Locals website, call up a destination anywhere in the world, and see the offerings of many guides, each with ratings.  All the tour offerings are changeable and combinable.  Check them out at https://www.toursbylocals.com/   The Tours By Locals office handles all the administrative and financial details.  When the pandemic hit, I had 8 tours with deposits – all deposits were returned immediately.
• VIATOR.COM – I augment my tours in specific localities by using Viator, which is a subsidiary of Trip Advisor. Sometimes in a country and especially a city, where a specific tour topic may not need the expertise of a private guide, Viator offers a viable option.  Examples are nighttime “food” tours or tours to buildings where you are handed off to the building guide for the guided explanation.  While Viator tours have many of the characteristics I do not like, they do serve a useful place in the Traveler’s arsenal of options.  https://www.viator.com/
• EXPEDIA.COM – For airline tickets, I use Expedia.com https://www.expedia.com/   for planning purposes.  It is an easy way to look at multiple ways to arrive at your destination.  There are several other comparable websites that would provide the same workability.  Once I have settled on an airline schedule, I check that airline directly.  For the major carriers, I tend to book directly with them because if there is a problem, working through a third-party vendor has occasionally been, for me, a problem.  Many of the smaller carriers have difficult websites and they charge in foreign currencies.  This is many times a problem for credit card companies, especially ones that are not used to seeing you book in another currency. In these cases I use a company like Expedia.
• TRIP ADVISOR – I always start with Trip Advisor https://www.tripadvisor.com/ for all hotels.  I have been a ratings contributor to Trip Advisor for over 15 years – authoring over 500 reviews.  By looking over the available hotel selections, the rating of hundreds of previous guests, where it ranks in comparison to other hotels, and the general price, you can get a good feel for what you like.  Once I have a couple of selections, I go to the hotel site directly to confirm my feelings.  It is interesting that Trip Advisor and/or Expedia may sometimes have specials not shown.  I will book about 50% of my stays directly with the hotel.
• GROUND TRANSPORTATION – Initially, one of the most feared aspects of independent travel is what to do when you arrive in a new country.  The simplest answer is to have your guide have someone meet you.  It really is a warm feeling to emerge from baggage to see your name on the placards held by a welcoming face.  Ask your guide for specific instructions about getting an airport taxi.  In most countries, if you have your destination written clearly on a piece of paper, you can take the taxis lined up outside the terminal.  Resist the temptation to accept “help” from the independent limo drivers who lurk in the lobby and offer special service.  Usually, these drivers are good people just trying to make a living.  They are working around the bureaucracy of local cab companies and their lock on the taxi market.  BUT enough of them turn out to be shady or worse, making it not worth trying for a limo upgrade.  If you want that level of service, book it in advance.  Leaving a country is much simpler.  Have the hotel arrange a taxi to take you to the airport.  Also note that many hotels can arrange airport pick-up, but it comes with a price.

REAL WORLD PLANNING TIMELINE

STEP 1:  Decide where and when you want to go.  For me, this is easy since we have a list of places always ready.  But wanting to go and “should we go” are two different things.  Since we are retired, when is the weather the best is a top consideration.  Another question revolves around when do the most tourist go there.  It is usually better touring if you are outside the main tourist’s months.  One of the classic saying is to “not go to Paris in August because all the Parisians are on holiday.”  

Let me walk you through the planning for an unnamed Mediterranean island.

STEP 2:  I go to the Tours By Locals website and login.  I then find my island country and observe they have 15 local guides offering 95 individual tours.  There is tremendous overlap in the tours, so you must study the ones that meet your criteria.  Understand that these offerings are based on generic travelers needs.  In this case, I picked 6 tours to use as a basis of developing a planned visit and the length of time I wish to spend.  I noticed that 2 of my 6 picks was the same guide, so I went to the guides’ resume page and looked at prior ratings, English fluency, education and background, # of previous tours, etc.  I also looked at all the tours this guide offered.  As it turned out, this guide offered everything I needed, and their ratings and background was superior.  {I have on a few occasions, used two guides in a single location when I was uncomfortable that a single guide could do everything we needed.}  Time:  this is usually less than a 4-hour process

STEP 3:  I contact the guide via the Tours By Locals website.  I told them which tours I was interested in and what things I thought might need to be modified to meet my perceived needs.  I NEVER demand because each of these tours was crafted by the guide to fulfil a need that they observed from their previous customers and their knowledge of their country.  Your correspondence would indicate your thoughts about what you would like added and subtracted and getting their feedback about these ideas.  I would say that 50% of the time the guide changes my thinking or finds a 3^rd path.  This email provides the foundation of the tour planning.  Time:  less than 1 hour to construct a request unless you are asking for major alterations.  The guide almost always returns my email within 48 hours.  At least 50% of the time, I accept the tour as shown.

STEP 4:  You may potentially trade emails back and forth for a couple of days until you decide on a final plan, tour dates and price.  Usually, the price among guides is consistent on a per hour basis, with additional costs added based upon additional items that make up the tour.  If you are contracting for a multi-date tour, the cost of the hotel during the tour is usually included in the price, while the hotel cost at the two ends is not.  If you are doing single tours over multiply days, the hotel cost is usually excluded.  During this step, get hotel recommendations.

STEP 5:  Before you finalize your tour, book your tickets to get to your destination.  When you are a Traveler, you will not book many round trips.  This is OK, because in recent years, a round trip ticket is only slightly less than 2 one-way tickets.  This allows flexibility and the ability to book multiple carriers.  As you link multiple mini-trips together, I rarely find a return trip ticket effective. What you are really doing is stringing together multiple mini-tours into one grand tour.   Secure the booking before you finalize your Tours By Locals booking.

STEP 6:  Book a hotel.  Using the guides suggestion, combined with the Trip Advisor information, it should be easy to find something suitable.  NOTE:  I have some basic criteria for a hotel as follows: when you look at the hotel on the street and in the interior, you have some idea where in the world you are.  Pick classic local hotels that a businessman would go to.  Match the cost of your hotel, to the amount of time you will spend on premise.  There is little value in spending 5-star prices if you are not going to enjoy the ambiance  Also, use Google Maps   www.googlemaps.com   to look up where the hotel is located, a street level view  and what restaurants are nearby.  The restaurants can be crosschecked on TripAdvisor.  Looking at the street view om Google Maps can tell a lot about the area and if you will be getting the feel you hoped for.  Where to book your hotel is a choice between the Expedia (Hotels.com, Trip Advisor, Travelocity, etc) type sites and the hotel directly.  I am about 50-50 with no real preference.

STEP 7:  Moving on to your next destination.  Remember to put in some filler time.  Until you know how all this works, leave plenty of time for airplane connections, have an occasional “down” day to relax and enjoy the ambiance of a particular area.  Any example is if you are seeing a city and you have booked an especially unique hotel in a unique location, say a traditional Greek Hotel in the heart of Plaka, Greece (at the base of the Acropolis).  A free day to wander the old quarter and enjoy the evening festivities (and a little extra wine) will create memories that will be burned into your mind forever.

EXTRA:  I am only now bringing this subject up because you do not become a Traveler for this reason.  Everyone always asks us about costs.  They assume that it is more expensive to be a Traveler than a Tour/Cruise person, and they are mostly wrong.  In general, we travel for about 20% less than a comparable tour to the same area.  I know this because I keep meticulous record of expenses and do the comparison when the trip is over.  Sometimes we will splurge on a hotel or take an extra day to enjoy where we are, and that runs up the costs.  But tours are not cheaper unless it is a cheap tour.  But if you add in the cost of your time to plan the different parts, it probably is comparable to an upper middle level tour.  So do not become a Traveler based on costs, do it because you want to experience the world at an entirely different level.

SO WHAT NOW?

My plan for this section, under my daughter’s guidance, will be to, over time, add short trips that one could make using the above planning tools.  The objective will be to open your eyes to what is possible and with pictures of what you will experience.  To show you how to see the world without having to be on a 20 to 30 person tour, constrained by the desires of others. I want to help you learn how to be a true Traveler.