Last week’s article prompted a whole raft of conversation amongst colleagues and friends. However, in amongst the positives and negatives of on-line commerce, one question that was asked continuously was prompted by the fact that I had listed some of the Airline’s websites in Surfer’s corner - When was I going to write a about travel resources on the web ?
Well, always one to listen to the requests of my readers and realising that, like many of my fellow ex-pats living in Spain, I haven’t had a proper holiday since I came to live here !! Here we go.
My angle here is not geared towards where you can go to on the web to buy a holiday but where you can go to choose your destination in the first place !! So many of us who have come here to live seem to have forgotten that there are so many other places out there to visit. It’s a huge world and I believe it would be an equally huge shame for any of us to depart from it having not tried to see as much of it as possible.
The myriad of cultures, the opportunity to immerse ourselves in a world of experience seems to pass most of us by. We know that we should but, for many of us, we do not know where to start to choose a holiday destination that will excite, challenge and reward. Traditionally, we have just popped down the road to the local Travel Agent, stated “sun, sea and sand please” and that was about the limit of the adventure.
So, time to throw off the cobwebs and get out and experience what our wonderful world has to offer. Whether you want to walk, climb, cycle, travel by car boat or plane, lay on the beach all day or absail down a mountain, you have to start by making a choice of destination and type of holiday.
For example, one of the really interesting things I noticed whilst conducting my research this week was that there were many opportunities to visit a place and get involved in an activity that benefited either the local nature or the people. How many of you have thought of combining your holiday with an opportunity to bring benefit to others ?? I can assure you that this is next on the Reed-Forrester family list with a trip to Thailand to help look after the elephants high on the kids agenda at the moment !!
Another option is to actually get out and see Spain properly. Why is it that so many of us come here and end up seeing not much more than our little corner of Javea or Benidorm or Torrevieja ?? How awful is that !!??
A couple of years ago we drove back to the UK to pick up some bits and pieces we had left there and managed to take a wrong turn on the way to San Sebastian. What a stroke of luck !! We ended up driving through some of the most stunning scenery I have ever scene. Medieval castles, beautiful valleys, rivers, towns and all with the stunning Pyranees in the background. Max, my son, made what I believe was the definitive statement of the trip when he said “Dad, if we had to get lost, what a place to get lost in”. Out of the mouths of babes etc. eh ??
So how do you choose where to go and what to do ??
Yet again, the internet lends itself superbly to this task and offers you the opportunity to research your next holiday quickly and easily. You can find information about just about any location in the world on the net. What weather to expect, what clothes to wear, what food you will be tempted with, local customs, national or local holidays, the list just goes on and on.
Whether you are on a budget or are looking to splash out, there is something out there for all of us, you just have to look.
Apart from the obvious starting points of the major search engines such as Google and Yahoo etc., there are a huge number of travel related sites out there. From the big corporates, to individuals looking to share their travel experiences. The amount of information is staggering.
As usual, to help you start, this week’s Surfer’s Corner gives a list of relevant sites for you to get started with.
Bon Voyage !! (and don’t forget to send us your own “travelogue” of any adventures you have as a result of reading this !!).
Peter Reed-Forrester
inspírese (www.inpsirese.com)
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