Travelling the World - Part 1

When we say that travelling around the globe has become a lot easier in recent years we may well correct but when we look closer at what is involved in travelling from one country to another, the notion of easier travel is only partially correct.

First of all, I think we should split the travel and tourism industries into sectors as to obtain some insight of what is involved in travelling around the place. No doubt we will cover all segments of the marketplace over the coming weeks. For the purpose, our journey might begin in Europe as travel between EU countries has become much easier in recent years as well as the fact that with more countries having recently joined the EU, having a closer look at how other people live and work has just become a lot easier. Over the weeks, we might also look at business travel.

Our starting point might be Germany for this particular exercise and we might be a 20-year old person who never travelled before. There is not too much money in the wallet so value for money travel is absolutely essential.

First of all, all travel involves some decent planning and our 20-year old wants to see as much as possible during his or her trip. Having found the places and cities that are on the wish list, the actual planning of the itinerary begin. A passport or EU ID card is essential so out comes the pen and paperwork and the documentation is obtained. Getting a passport in Europe is fairly easy these days and EU ID should already be in our traveller’s possession in any case.

Following that, the sequence should be obtaining accommodation. Our traveller does not have too much money so off he or she goes on the internet looking for guest houses, Bed & Breakfast establishments or cheaper hotels. It should be noted that cheap does not necessarily mean nasty and our traveller must consider the right location at the best value for money prices. Our traveller must take note of inclusions such as food and other inclusions or exclusions. The research must be detailed as our next stage, transport, will have to fit in with the accommodation requirements.

Modes of transport are varied in Europe and there are plenty of choices. An easy way to get around is to hop on an aircraft and roll off it at the other end, the problem being that from 35,000 feet, one sees lots of clouds and not much else. Air travel is quick but overall, it is not much fun for our first-time traveller. Trains are a much better option. IC, TGV and Eurostar trains are fast but they are also expensive so a combination of local trains from point to point combined with suitable local accommodation is much more fun. Local trains are fairly cheap and rail passes and rail packages are available all over Europe. Alternatively our traveller can take his or her own car or hire cheap wheels at the various destinations. Local bus services are also great value. One service that have limited value as far as I am concerned is the express bus service. They are fine for routes where trains my not be available but when train services are available, they are much better value. Along the way food will be a major expense.

Cheap eating houses, take-away places and other such establishments offer good value for money and our traveller should avoid buying things on trains that have their value loaded up to a level whereby they no longer present good value for money.

And now our traveller much pack a bag. When I say a bag, I mean one bag plus some hand-luggage. There is no point carrying half-a-house around Europe when most of the things packed are not used in any case. Having packed a bag and having booked all the accommodation our traveller is ready to go, right? Wrong. Our traveller will re-check all details and also check local problems that might exist at the various destinations, which in Europe, is highly unlikely. One word of advice for our traveller would have to be this - Don't take contraband material, forget about drugs and don't drink until one is so drunk that one cannot remember what one has been doing. It should be remembered that it is very hard waking up in strange place with an extremely large hangover.

After all that our traveller will be ready to enjoy the sights, make new friends and learn about the cultures of fellow Europeans.

In the next few weeks we will take different looks at other aspects of the travel and tourism industries.

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