Do you remember the story of the reluctant traveler? No? Click on the link to read the whole story.
Anyhow, she’s back now. With a vengeance. And this time we talk about the hardships of picking a suitable travel destination.
Reluctant traveler knows she has many days of holidays to spend in the autumn. She wants to go on a trip. Unfortunately there are too many itineraries that sound interesting. And now she’s asking for your help. Sometimes indecisiveness causes reluctance. Important factors are money and the amount of things to see. A beach would be nice, but there needs to be more as well.
Tell us in the comments which option sounds the best to you.
Where should the reluctant traveler go?
Option 1: Road trip through the Balkans
The Balkans. Is there anything more fascinating in Europe? Think of all the history, the food, the culture, the complexity. In my head I’m seeing myself peeking through the window at sunflower fields (not very likely in autumn), walk the streets of ancients towns and listen to all the lovely languages. The plan includes at least Bosnia, Croatia and Montenegro. Possibly also Albania. Why not add Bulgaria as well? Romania would be a real treat.
Pros: traveling to the Balkans is fairly easy, as is traveling between the countries. However, we would only be able to spend a day or two in each place because there are so many towns and cities that we’d like to visit.
Option 2: France, Spain & possibly Portugal
Another great option is the south of France, the north of Spain and parts of Portugal. Getting there quickly from northern Europe is not so easy – especially if we’re not looking for a round trip. Spain also feels a bit meh. Don’t get me wrong, I like the country. But there certainly are more exotic places on the planet. It’s also unclear how easy it is to travel between different locations and how much the cost would be.
Option 3: Thailand, Cambodia & Vietnam
The reluctant traveler rejoices at the thought of beaches. However (and there is a big however), EVERYONE goes to Thailand. Who wants to be like everyone else? And there might be rain season in Vietnam. Thailand is on the list because it’s cheap and easy to fly there. Hmm…
Option 4: Jordan & possibly Israel
This option is the black horse. There are arranged trips to Jordan, which means that getting there is fairly straightforward. But how easy is it to travel inside the country? We’d also like to see more countries than one, so the obvious addition would be Israel. And how simple is it to go there?
Option 5: The Caribbean
Sunshine? Boats? Paradise? Coconut drinks under a palm tree? Again, we are talking hurricane season and a tendency for seasickness. (yes, we’re thinking about a cruise). When everything is pre-arranged, it gives so little flexibility. Cuba would be a lot of fun, but from here it’s quite expensive. And again, that’d only be one country.
Option 6: India
India for lightweights – Goa. For someone so into yoga, the reluctant traveler has not much interest in going to India. Although it would be such a great country to see. The point is that one week or two weeks would not be enough to see anything. And we are not seeking out party destinations. Well, there are beaches. And probably delicious food.
Option 7: Stay at home
If the indecisiveness turns out to be too big an obstacle, then there’s always home. It’s cheap. It’s rainy. Doesn’t require any planning whatsoever. Fortunately it’s not very claustrophobic either as our apartment is fairly big. Nonetheless, this option is the most boring one.
In conclusion, we need your help. Where to go for holiday?
