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As travelers, all of us know how important is to look for accommodation. To have a place to overnight is one of the biggest worries. The direct way to solve this need is to book a room in a hotel or hostel or to rent a place. But sometimes, a last-minute arrival, peak season, an unexpected event can make these choices hard to get or unavailable.
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These scenarios are really common, especially in touristic destinations. Have you ever asked a friend or someone to host you? What would you do if you have the chance to host someone? Is it possible to solve this big traveler concern without losing your privacy or feeling invaded? Could we keep the calm of our place and nice relation with our guests? To invite someone to stay in your home can be a cool experience or a nightmare.
We have heard thousands of stories by now, positive and negative. People who have found in hosting a way of traveling without leaving their place while meeting new nice people. But also people who don't want to open their sanctuary (home) to others anymore.
Well, after experiencing both sides in different moments (being guests and hosts), we have some tips to share with you!
What is the key to being a good host?
The key to being a good host is to communicate properly and honestly. If you will host someone at your home, before accepting him or her, both sides must express everything, their visit’s purpose, plans, length of time, etc. Nobody, neither the host nor the guest must assume stuff!
Unsaid things are a chance for many misunderstandings.
How to be a good host without die trying?
Here you have some useful recommendations based on true experience.
Think seriously about the request.
When someone asks you "hey, dude I'm going to your beautiful city for the holidays. Could you host me?". Don't answer the request immediately. Check how busy your agenda is? Are you in a good mood to have visitors? We can get excited with the request but also we could feel badly pushed, shy, afraid...
It depends on how social and tolerant you are having people around. If you are experiencing some bad days that require you to be a bit lonely. If you don't trust the people. If your place will be busy with workers of any kind or you need it for your freelance job... better say clearly and openly. "No, maybe next time".
Get the whole picture before saying "yes".
In some cultures, people consider it’s rude to condition the answer for hosting or to dig into guests' plans. Please, no matter your nationality or traditions, it’s your home, so you have the right to know people's plans. If the request comes from family members, friends, or unknown travelers (Couchsurfing platform, BeWelcome.org, Couchers.org, for instance), it doesn't make any difference.
Ask! How long they are planning to stay with you? How many people does the plan involve? Are they moving by themselves once there? They sound like basic things but there are still many complaints from hosts around the world who wrongly assumed they would host for just 2,3 days and suddenly the guests moved after a month. Single requests that became a 'party' of 3,4 or more guys at their home. Or people spending entire days at their home waiting for them (hosts) to be the ones driving them (guests) around the city.
Both sides must be clear and direct. Be sure not to assume a single detail. Ask everything you need to know not to suffer afterward!
Talking about friends, check this article: "Unexpected friendship lessons, only traveling can teach you".
Have a specific place for hosting.
Hospitality is a very nice practice. It doesn't matter if you live in a big or small apartment, in a luxurious or humble house, on a farm, a hut, or a tiny studio. But to choose in advance the place where guests will sleep to describe it properly can stop guests' wrong expectations. To have an independent room for them is very practical to host guests. But if they have to share the bedroom with you, if you just have a mattress, an old couch, a hammock for them to sleep in, or you don't have such thing, say it clearly for them to be prepared.
Clean!
Here we think everybody will agree. Even if you just offer a place to sleep on the ground of your living room, clean it for the guests! A few things are as disgusting as sleeping in a dirty place, receiving bad smelly bedsheets, lying down on a surface with bugs... To offer a clean place for hosting visitors is a must!
When we are talking about preparations, you might also be interested in "What to do before leaving home for a long holiday?".
Avoid fake expectations.
There are many factors involved in a trip decision. The time people will spend, the kind of adventure they have in mind, the relationship they have with you...
Let's face it, many people will ask you to host them just because they need to save money, your location is convenient for their plans, they feel safer staying with someone who lives in the place... Ok, sometimes it could be true they miss you or want to meet the charming and awesome guy you are... but not necessarily. Talk about it clearly and avoid fake expectations. Know if you will spend time with them or if they are only asking you for a place to stay.
Without this information, to modify or pause your agenda assuming they maybe invite you to join their plans, can be a mistake. Avoid disappointment or frustration. If you want to have time with your guests that could be perfectly arranged. But the clue again is to talk about it!
Give a home tour!
By this point for sure, you accepted to host so why don't you plan a tour to welcome them? We move already instinctively around our home but let's make that task easy for the guests. And, in this way, let's establish the rules that are important for us to be respected.
Point kindly but also firmly the spaces that are open for them and the ones that are not. If you have delicate stuff you prefer not to be touched, pets that you don't want to be fed by the guests, just say it! We all have personal habits and also some maniacs. It’s ok. It’s your home, right? So if you have that special cup your grandma gave you to drink your daily coffee, say it: “it’s just mine!”. They could take it if they ignore it’s your favorite and get you so angry.
Don't make people guess. If you share something from your fridge or not. If you need to be the first to take shower in the morning, say it! You are working. They are on holiday. Schedules and turns could be easily organized based on priorities. It’s not fair to push our guests to get uncomfortable 'mistakes' because we didn't talk about something properly.
To share or not the keys?
Hospitality is also a leap of faith. If you know people or not, always there can be surprises in human behavior. But to trust even in these hard times leaves a very nice feeling. Take the first minutes in the arrival to feel the environment and people's viber. If there is a nice interaction, you like their manners and they are capable enough to make you feel they are trustable, try! It has some advantages. In case they arrive late, you don't have to be waiting for them. If they forget something, you don't have to leave your job to help them. But take your time to decide this. It’s not a must to do it!
Make your guests independent.
Of course, you should try to have some nice moments with your guests. But always is good to provide them information about transportation in the city, schedules, rates, day and night choices, etc. for them to enjoy by themselves and not to depend totally on you and the free time your tight schedule allows.
Talk openly about COVID-19 and other illnesses.
Before the current pandemic, honestly we didn’t think about this. But it’s important not only to be polite and generous with the guests but also to take care of your health and your family's. Talk openly with your guests about the topic. Ask them if they are healthy. Tell them clearly how they can make you feel safer. And be sure you get to know how you can make them feel safe too. Both sides are to be considered.
It’s your home and they should agree on your rules and healthy measures. But also how acceptable are theirs for you? If they don’t like your rules or you can’t accept theirs, it’s better not to host them. The objective should be to have a nice time together. To have a daily debate at home against or in favor of masks, vaccines, social distance, washing hands, etc. could be stressful.
Advantages of hosting people.
- It’s nice to meet friends you can’t see frequently.
- Having guests breaks a bit the routine and adds a refreshing touch.
- Having guests is a good motivation to order and clean your home.
- The exchange of ideas with people that don’t belong to your regular context can give you new ideas and different perspectives.
- Interaction with foreigners can give you a picture of their countries. If you haven’t traveled there, this is a good way to know about them.
- Having guests you will become a tourist in your city or town. Visiting common places for you with them will make the experience different and more interesting.
Disadvantages of hosting people.
- Sharing the space is not easy for some people so hosting can be an uncomfortable experience.
- Hosting people demands a bit of your time so think it twice if you are too busy.
- If you are not used to interacting with foreigners or you are not very tolerant, cultural differences could be a struggle.
Conclusion.
After many experiences, we can say that hosting is a very nice practice. You always learn! From positive and negative experiences. It makes you improve empathy and tolerance. And the nicest thing for us, it’s to know we contribute a bit to get our guests a great time! Next time, it can be our turn. We could be the protagonists of a great trip adventure!
Share your experiences with us.
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- Written by: Gianna Esquivel
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This article has been written based on a true and personal story, guys. I love to travel, just like all of you. I like to plan my trips but sometimes it’s nice when you can join others' plans. It sounds fun and comfortable that the destination and most of the plans have been already decided by others, so you only have to take a couple of things in your backpack and go with the flow.
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That happened to me during a long weekend (four days). Some friends invited me to stay 3 nights in a nice forest. I got excited about the idea because I didn’t have another plan and nature sounded better than staying in the city.
I didn’t think so much before deciding. I got a couple of cool images in my head, I joked with my friends about finding the elf of our life there, and then I firmly said “yes, I’m in”.
Why not? The only time I have been in a forest before was on a primary-school trip. So it’s time to try by myself. My adult version felt like challenging the MacGyver soul for sure I have somewhere inside and to enjoy a short staying among those high trees, the cozy environment that woods, nature smells and a romantic bonfire produce.
If you are getting excited about these thoughts just like I did, stop right now! Those images are the ones movies provide us. Reality can be very different and you really need to be prepared.
Forest holidays – Common mistakes.
Not to know the type of forest you will visit.
My blurry memory about that one-day school trip made me forget that there are different kinds of forests. That one I visited when I was a kid was a park or an urban one. A forest is not just a bunch of trees but a bigger challenge and conditions can change depending on the weather, location, wildlife, etc. But laziness together with the initial excitement made me forget to ask for more details about the destination. And this was the beginning of a chain of more mistakes.
Not to consider day and night are very different in a forest.
So to pack just a couple of shorts, T-shirts and some sandwiches like back then, when I was a kid, can be a painful mistake, believe me! Temperature variations can be extreme so you will need extra warm clothes, sunglasses, sunscreen, and a raincoat if you are planning to stay some nights there. Humidity and cold were strong due to the constant night rain we had.
Not to plan and prepare for the basics to survive in a forest.
I have to tell you that the MacGyver soul sadly doesn’t inhabit every human body. Improvisation under hard weather conditions is a wrong idea. Important skills like hunting, making fires, building a shelter, etc. don’t grow spontaneously. And especially when people don’t have experience at all in specific environments, to plan at least the basics is a must.
Since I didn’t ask details to my friends, I realized until we were in the forest that it was the first time for everybody on such an adventure. In the beginning, it was fun to see everybody failing like trying to make fire. But when it got dark and cold, it wasn’t fun anymore. Besides, it rained so even we managed in a moment to ignite the fire, we failed to keep it on.
Not to take enough and convenient groceries.
Before arriving in the forest we bought groceries in the supermarket. But everybody bought freely. There was not a common plan. Some thought about not carrying so much weight because they wanted to enjoy trekking. Others bought a lot of snacks but neglected a bit the water because it’s heavier. Nobody thought about matches or water filters. We managed to get the fire by luck. One of us was a smoker, so she had lighters. And even we spent only three nights there, some ran out of groceries and water faster than others. The first two days we had even wine and cold pizza, but the third we barely had water enough for all. And since we didn’t plan, every day we just kept going deeper and deeper into the forest without knowing when or where we could find a place to buy stuff.
How to enjoy forest holidays? - Tips.
Well, the experience was not completely nice but we learned a lot. Check these tips so you can enjoy your next forest holiday.
Get information about the type of forest you will visit.
No matter you didn’t plan the trip, you only joined it, get information about the forest you will visit. Location, weather, facilities in the place or around. Some forests are prepared for welcoming all kinds of visitors, with and without experience. Facilities are made to access food, water, toilets, huts, camping spots, etc. without a big effort. But fortunately, there are forests untouched by human hands so they are a bigger challenge. In this case, planning, preparation is key.
Choose a proper tent or rent a hut.
During the day you will be active and enjoy nature. But you need a safe place to sleep. Sometimes days can be very hot, but nights cold and rainy non-stop. Considering you already know the weather conditions of the forest you will visit, take with you a good tent. Forget to pack the light-beach tent you already have at home, because you can experience a forest version of “Cast Away” movie during a rainy night. Everything but a cozy scene. If you don’t have one or you don’t want to risk, check for huts or shelters. To rent a hut or to hit a shelter won’t make you less adventurous or brave. The main idea of holidays should be to enjoy, not to suffer.
Pack properly and Go!
We, travelers, know the benefits of packing lightly. But the time you plan to stay in the forest and its conditions will define what exactly and how much you have to pack. Clothes and tools are important. For instance, if there’s a river or lake you could purify water on demand with a proper water purifier. Then you won’t have to take many bottles in your backpack.
Take a pocket knife, matches or lighter, map and compass, headlamp, food enough, water and purifier, a basic first aid kit, insect repellent, a whistle, and a GPS app for your mobile. And very important, try them before. If you don’t have an idea about how to use these things, you can be stressed and maybe humiliated by a little boy scout.
Buy enough and adequate food.
About the amount of food, buy considering if you go alone or with a group to organize and guarantee food for everybody. To match tastes can be hard but it’s better to have a common ground. Everybody can buy independently a couple of snacks they love. But to know the food that is available for every day, for everybody is more helpful.
Also get information about the availability of shops, food or water stands. Chocolates, nuts in general and dry fruits are a good idea. They provide a lot of energy in a small package. Practical stuff to make sandwiches or some conserves (cans) are a smart ace up your sleeve. They last longer and you can eat them cold or warm.
Remember, food is important but water is critical, so it should be a priority!
Pay attention to forest signs and the surroundings.
The forests are beautiful. The bigger they are the better, but also the easier to get lost. This is not to be scared. To find your way back is part of the challenge and it can be a fun story to share later. Just pay attention to the surroundings, look for trail blazes or color signs on the trees. They provide direction. And do it before it goes dark.
Tell a friend or family member about your plan.
Before leaving, share with someone highlights about your trip. How long are you going to stay there? Where exactly do you go? Everything will be great but some caution is not bad.
Enjoy the benefits of planning your holidays.
Once there, enjoy, yes, you don’t need to be a professional to admire nature. Pay attention to the landscape, to the delicious and pure forest scent. Take as many pics as you want. Train your eyes and all your senses while enjoying. You will be proud when you realize that every element, besides beautiful, is a valuable reference for you not to get lost.
Conclusion.
Forest holidays can be great with a bit of planning! To take new adventures in challenging landscapes, environments, different countries or continents is great but being spontaneous, meaning improvised, all the time can kill the fun. And we want the opposite, more fun and cool stories to tell, than trouble!
Enjoy your next forest holidays. Be ready for exciting encounters not really with elves but wolves, birds, bears, raccoons, skunks… just watch out! They are not interested in having selfies so keep your distance and be safe.
Share your experience, pics, or more tips with us! Let’s build together a nice traveler community through Packandgo.info.
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By the way, if you enjoy this article you can also like "Expectation vs reality: on the beach!".
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- Written by: Gianna Esquivel
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This morning, very early, around 6 am, we arrived in Miskolc, Hungary.
We were in zombie mode due to the lack of sleep and coffee, but still, we felt our hearts jumping when the first “Miskolc” signs appeared. The reason is simple: this is our second time in Miskolc and the first was amazing! Impossible not to be shaken by all those cute memories. We enjoyed so much wandering around this quiet city and we got some cool and unforgettable friendship lessons here.
Exactly in Miskolc, we met one of the amazing friends we just left in Budapest. Let’s call him “T”. Years ago, T was living here in Miskolc and he accepted to host us for a few days without knowing us. It was also one of the first trips “M” and I shared. At that time, we were traveling by hitch-hiking and it took us a lot of time and several rides to arrive in Miskolc. A very kind driver finally dropped us exactly at T’s address. We were destroyed, tired, sweated, and smelly, all at once hahaha
T welcomed us with that cool smile and with a shot of tequila to relax hahaha This guy is very into nice details and always ready to nicely surprise you. After some minutes we forgot the fatigue and we three got a very nice and fun conversation. Our Hungarian friend is a very warm person. It is very easy to enjoy his company. In the next days, we walked around Miskolc, we shared awesome conversations around the table, we ate delicious food cooked by him, and we got into cooking because of him!
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It was very hard to leave Miskolc. But the moment arrived and he drove us to a strategic spot to hitch-hike and continue our trip. For a long time, we did not stop talking about the great time we spent with him in Miskolc. We kept in touch but as time passed, we moved to Mexico City and got badly absorbed by work, and adult life. One day, we received a message from T saying he was going to Mexico and he did! It was awesome! Hahaha. If I tell you how much we enjoyed ourselves and how much I cried when he left Mexico, you won’t believe it haha. It was like a Mexican soap opera scene. And well, long story short, we have been friends for a decade.
Now, you can understand why Miskolc is special to us. It is a Hungarian destination with very nice spots to enjoy if you look for a quiet place to relax. And it is a place where we got a great friend and some important friendship lessons. We will share that with you!
Unexpected friendship lessons, only traveling can teach you
Friendship lesson 1: Befriending is a bet without a refund
Honestly, T could only host us without getting more involved. We all were strangers and with very different backgrounds. To know someone takes time, some little effort, patience to listen to stuff you may or may not agree with, etc. We could have decided not to invest in it so meeting us could be an irrelevant event. We all could keep living without each other. But we decided to invest, to listen to each other without "hidden" interests, prejudices, or expectations and the reward was big.
So, getting friends demands effort. Yes, magical encounters, meaning those friends you get in a lucky, happy, or random instant you shared, happen but still then you have to do, to show interest and that you care. This is in case you want to keep the friendship and not only the memory of that happy instant.
In this sense, friendship is a bet, you can lose or win, and there is no refund! But it is worth trying!
Friendship lesson 2: Friends can disagree
Many topics can ignite the fire in every family or group of friends. For centuries, religion and politics have been thorny issues, but now there are many more. The problem is that currently, we seem to be very weak or intolerant to disagree. As we told you, we could not be more different, a Bulgarian, a Hungarian, and a Mexican. There is a world in between us, but we managed to listen, respect each other’s reasons and circumstances, and openly say our opinion. We certainly don’t follow the same path, but we encounter ourselves many times while walking in life.
Friendship lesson 3: Honesty is a strong foundation for a lasting friendship
By now, we have been friends for almost a decade, just imagine the number of experiences we all have faced. Very good and bad moments. For sure, sometimes we did not take the best decisions and our attitude towards problems has not been the best. In any case, we try to keep honest communication. We criticize yes, not to kill each other but to move on. Currently, we can talk between us very honestly when feeling awesome or very bad. We do not try to disguise our feelings or situation to impress someone. We are what we are, we all know it and we love each other that way. And this beauty started like this when we met here, while traveling around Miskolc!
Friendship lesson 4: True friends are your biggest fans
The more we grow, the harder seems to be possible to keep true friends around who can honestly celebrate our success. There are very ugly human feelings called envy and selfishness, and they kill many friendships. But guys, celebrating our friends’ achievements feels very nice. Besides, it is a selfless act in itself and is a great antidote to selfishness. If a selfless act can help us to be better people, that sounds like a win-win situation, don't you think?
We, humans, are competitive and that is good, but sometimes we confuse the arena to compete. To be a good friend is a personal decision. The friendship we three have decided to have is something closer to a land of motivation and inspiration. If you think these are hackneyed lines, well they can sound like but to put them in real practice is another story.
Friendship lesson 5: Time nor distance can stand in the way of a true friendship
Time and distance are big challenges for friendship. We can’t meet as frequently as we would like because usually, there is a huge ocean in between us hahaha. But we care about each other and we show it because it is important. We want to be present despite the time and distance. No matter whether we are busy, we find the time to send a message, to arrange video calls from time to time, and every time we meet in person is such a big and lovely event! Every meeting feels as fresh, amazing, and honest as that time we spent together in Miskolc. I still cry when the farewell arrives hahaha
Conclusion
Traveling around Miskolc (what to do in Miskolc) we found more than only tourist attractions. We got some unexpected friendship lessons, only traveling can teach you.
We could say much more about our dear T, but we will make it shorter with a big “thanks, T!”. You have brought joy, support, warmth, hours of laughing, life lessons, and even another great friend, “P”, to the gang! Miskolc is in our hearts because of you!
Guys, traveling can be a great opportunity to make friends forever. It is not about pushing things to happen, just being open to them. Who knows, maybe your next time in Miskolc or another destination in a faraway continent can be the surprising beginning of a friendship for life!
You may also like:
Top 5 parks in Budapest for picnic lovers
5 Reasons to Fall in Love with the Buda Side of Budapest: An Insider's Guide
Attractions near Budapest, that will leave you speechless!
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- Written by: Martin Pramatarov
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We have wandered many times without a trip goal, and still, it is quite a lot of fun. But adding a goal for your trip can really enhance your travel experience in many ways. It is a true motivator, providing you with a sense of purpose and a compass. The trip goal helps you better organize your time and resources.
How, having a trip goal makes the journey better?
The trip goal can determine the destination. If you would like to swim in the Death Sea, then you have only 2 countries to choose from. Do you want to see the North Light? Then you need to visit a North country like Finland, Sweden, Norway, Canada, or Russia.
The world is full of countries, and often it is hard to choose which should be next. The goal narrows down your choices making it a lot easier to choose.
Then the destination will determine the attractions and activities on the way
Our current adventure has the goal to meet a dear friend in Budapest, Hungary. We started from Bulgaria, and we needed to create a route to Budapest. That made us travel across North Bulgaria, then Romania, and finally Hungary to reach its capital. That allowed us to climb different mountains, and see many waterfalls, caves, and little towns in the 3 countries on the way. If we didn’t have this final destination, we would probably go to different attractions.
It gives you something to achieve
A journey with a final goal gives you something to work towards. The further and harder it is to get it, the more satisfied you will be, when you finally achieve it.
This time, our trip included more than 1000 kilometers, that we drove. Although I have had my driving license since I was 18, I don’t like driving long distances. It was a big challenge for me.
And also, sleeping in hotels, for the first time, since the COVID pandemic started.
It might be something small for some of you, but huge for us, to meet friends for the first time since the pandemic. We lived isolated for 2 years, without almost any live contact and it definitively affected us.
In the end, after you finally reached the goal, the feeling of accomplishment is amazing! You feel like you are on top of the world and you can do everything. You can return home charged and ready to start new adventures.
The trip goal keeps you focused
At the beginning of the trip, we were so happy to be out that we wanted to see and go everywhere. Even though there is a pandemic outside, the world is beautiful, and with the right care, you can still explore it relatively safely. We decided to extend our stay in multiple places. Dryanovo, Lovech, and Belogradchik are great examples of that. We stayed there for a lot longer than we originally thought. But having in mind the limited time (2 months of a holiday) and the desire to meet our friend, we were continuing our journey towards the north. If we were without a goal, we could easily spend the whole holiday in Stara Planina mountain and be happy there. But, didn’t stray for too long and we eventually arrived in Budapest.
A travel goal can help you budget the trip
If you know what you want from your travel experience then you can easily budget for the whole trip. If your end goal is to enjoy a hot air balloon in Belogradchik, Bulgaria, then you will need tickets to get there, around 200 euros for the attraction and 200-300 euros more for accommodation, food, and other entertainment for a few days. It makes it far easier to know when you can afford your trip and makes you far more secure during your trip. You can check in advance most of the expenses, and be prepared.
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A goal can give your trip a sense of purpose and meaning
Sometimes you have the money, you have the time but you don’t know what to do. It could be a trip to find yourself. To explore a different aspect of your personality, passions, interests, or even sexuality. You can set a goal, far more spiritual than just reaching a certain destination. You can have the trip of your lifetime.
Which was the goal of our last trip?
The goal of our latest trip was to meet a good friend again and beat our COVID fears.
When we met, G and I were extremely outgoing, having plenty of friends and always ready to go out and meet new people. During our initial trips together, we made at least 100 friends from all around Europe.
But with time and all the work, we have slowly become distant from social life. We love each other company and that led to far fewer new friends. The absolute bottom point was the pandemic. It came and made us stay at home, and evade any social contact in person.
That was surprisingly easy. We were antisocial already. But with time, we started to miss some of our old friends. There are people in our lives that we associate with many happy memories. With other times. With careless life and lots of fun.
Such a person is our friend from Hungary. We won’t share his name, to protect our and his personal life. We met that guy a long time ago when we casually pass through his city hitchhiking. He got such a good vibe that we stay in touch and create a very nice friendship. Later he even visited us in Mexico. It's been almost a decade of friendship!
And visiting him, was a great way to break out of our COVID chains and see, why even if we don't need to see people, it is really nice.
2020 was spent without any trips. 2021 was the same. We were, and up to a point, we are still afraid of the Corona virus. Staying safe for so long, showed us that no contact means being healthy. And thanks to the fact that we are both freelancers, the work was not a problem. Also, not going out that much, helps you save a lot.
What was pushing us to go out were two things. The old friends that we were missing, and the deep desire to travel the world. Both were on hold for too long.
Finally, in the spring of 2022, we got brave enough and started our new long journey. From Varna, Bulgaria all the way up to Budapest, Hungary by car! Crossing 3 countries, and visiting more than 20 destinations on the way.
Have we had other trips with goals in the past?
There are 4 big trips, that we shared, which were very goal-orientated. Very different, one from another.
Our trip to Israel, in which G surprised me and took me outside of Europe for the first time. The crazy thing was that I didn't know the destination until we got to the airport. And even during the first few seconds, after an employee gave me the tickets and told me "Have a safe flight to Tel Aviv", I remained clueless.
Hitchhike from Bulgaria to Finland to see the North Light. The summer when I finished the university, I and G wanted to go out and travel. But to make it more fun, we decided it should be a hitchhiking and CouchSurfing trip. After such a hard journey, seeing the North Light really made us cry.
From Mexico City to Vallarta by car, to have a Christmas on the beach. It was the vacation season, but because of our schedules, we couldn't plan in advance. We needed to improvise, but we knew we wanted to celebrate Christmas on the beach. So we search for a beach, that we haven't been to before together and we drove all the way there.
Cross Mexico from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean to see which one is better. Cancun and the Caribbean are stunning, but the Sargassum and its smell were getting annoying. So we check every beach on the Riviera Maya to see the best places, and then we cross the country to compare them to the beaches in Oaxaca. On the way, we made new friends, saved some turtles, and cleaned a massive river.
Someday, we will share more about them. And the multiple small trips, we have done on our own. There is a lot to write about, and so little free time.
Conclusion
Yes, having a goal for your trip really makes it richer. The sense of purpose drives you and the final emotion of reaching the main objective truly stays with you forever.
However, it's important to keep in mind that a trip does not have to have a specific goal to be enjoyable and meaningful. Ultimately, the most important thing is to have fun and make the most of your travel opportunities, regardless of whether or not you have a specific goal in mind.
Enjoy the journey itself, the company of the people you are traveling with, yourself, all the nice emotions, and new experiences. Have fun!
Check the start of our last long trip: "The best waterfalls near Veliko Tarnovo (Bulgaria) you must visit!".
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- Written by: Gianna Esquivel
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Guys, leaving home to go on holiday is exciting! We love to travel but we had to stop due to the pandemic. We have been missing it a lot, but finally, we will travel again!! And from the moment we took the decision (get to know packandgo.info here), we have been imagining ourselves in those great landscapes, having fun, trying exotic and delicious food, getting the best pictures…
But ok, we have to stop dreaming for planning everything! And planning involves not only the transportation, accommodation, and stuff we will need while traveling, but also everything we leave behind. So what to do before leaving home for a long holiday? Well, it does not matter if you own or rent a small apartment or a big house, you have to arrange everything not to be negatively surprised when you get back. Based on your location and how extreme is the weather in your place, you will have fewer or more worries.
We know this is not a fun part of planning a trip, but we have to do it. We enjoy a lot the time in our village house so we want to keep it safe and ready to “hug” us when we get back. We mostly travel during the Spring and Summer, so usually when we get back, we find the grass very high, lots of bugs around, dust, so a lot of work! But ok, the house itself is fine to live in again. And that’s exactly the goal! Imagine the opposite scenario, arriving after having wonderful holidays to find out your place was flooded during your absence, that it became the home and toilet for 25 cats due to a forgotten open window or something worse.
That can kill your nice holiday mood instantly. There’s no need to risk it! Better take time for leaving your home safe and then enjoy your holidays as hell!
1. Analyze your home's needs.
- Do you live in an apartment or house?
- Do you live in a busy or remote area?
- Is it safe where you live or house thieves are active around?
- In which season will you leave the house? Is the rainy season coming? Is it Winter?
- What are the risks around? Is there a close river? Are tornados common?
- Are there services you can cancel during your absence? Do you need an essential service to keep working?
- Are the services’ bills up to date? Can you pay them in advance? Or can you pay them online while traveling?
- Do you leave pets, plants, or flowers to take care of?
- Where do you leave your car? Do you have a safe (closed) garage? Do you need paid parking? Is it ok leaving in it on the street?
- Are you leaving pets or plants? Who can take care of them?
- Is there a problem to fix with windows, doors, or locks? Fixing issues is a priority!
Make a list so you won’t miss anything. And make this list 2 weeks or a month in advance but not at the last minute. The excitement of leaving home for going on holiday can easily blur your sight and make you ignore important issues. Besides, you won’t have time enough to fix or arrange anything.
2. Get the refrigerator empty and clean.
For us, to have always food in the refrigerator is a duty we are very committed to. We love food and we enjoy cooking! But leaving home for a long holiday suddenly requires doing the opposite in a limited time. And sometimes is not so easy to eat everything on time to leave. We have tried to give it away but it does not work as easily as you could expect. People are very attached to their personal preferences and taste. That’s why, once we have a date for leaving (exact or approximate), we organize our menu to use what we have and we don’t buy more (perishables).
Once empty, clean it out! The smallest spillover of milk or meat juice, a tiny piece of vegetable or dairy, can be attractive to bacteria. In a very short time, they can reproduce making your refrigerator a disgusting, smelly, and not healthy (for you) space. To find out this after your holidays is not the best welcome. You will require a bigger effort to clean that smelly mess. Better do it before leaving!
3. Install an IP camera or more.
Nowadays, getting such cameras is not difficult, there are choices for different budgets and you can install them and watch them through your Smartphone. You only need the Internet to access the image. Depending on the software, you could be able to take pictures and record video from the stream. No matter if you are far away, you could take an eye to your home!
4. Check plumbing and taps.
Here you have to check your specific needs. For us is simple, we just close the main tap not to have running water around the house. Now, we don’t have leaks or plumbing issues, due to the regular maintenance we practice. But in any case and aware that shit happens, we stop the water and that’s it. You can also close individual water valves to be sure (washing machine, sink, toilet, etc.).
5. Prevent fire hazards.
If your water heater and stove run on gas, be sure to close the stopcock. Even if you are sure there’s no leak or problem at all, it’s safer to close it.
Unplug your electronics while you are away. You will kill two birds with one shot. First of all, you will prevent an electrical fire. And second, you could get a reduction in your energy bill. It depends on the number and type of electronics you have at home. Yes, some appliances don’t consume a lot of electricity so if you think you will save only cents, still preventing a fire is a good reason to unplug them. Unplug chargers, vacuum cleaners, computers, routers, televisions, consoles (gaming), electric razors, printers, coffee machines, irons, washing machines, tools (drills, electric saw, air compressor, welding machine, etc.), kitchen appliances, refrigerator, dishwasher, fans, air conditioner, etc.
While unplugging them make a quick check not to leave something inside them, like wet clothes in the washing machine, a bit of smoothie in the blender machine, dirty plates in the dishwasher, etc.
6. Program some lights to turn on in the evening.
We just recommended unplugging electronics. But if you consider, based on the security of your area, that there’s the risk of thieves, you could make your apartment or house look lived in. It’s easy, you can simply program either some lights or the tv to turn on in the evening and turn off after a couple of hours. The place won’t look empty.
There are analog outlet timers very easy to use and smart lamps or bulbs that give you the choice of controlling them remotely. Simulating someone's home is possible.
7. Inform your insurance.
Insurances have different policies. Read in detail all of them not to get mistakes. For instance, they usually require you to inform them when you leave your house for them to be aware of this situation and to register it (dates of departure and arrival) in your file. Do it! Avoid all possible problems before leaving home.
8. Clean and organize a bit your home.
Yes, with all the work you already have organizing the trip, this task can sound pointless. You won’t be at home for the complete next month or months! But believe us, to leave dirty stuff (clothes, floors, rooms, dishes, etc.) and piles of mess will make you feel horrible when you get back. Besides, dirt can attract insects and bacteria. You don’t have to go deep but be sure you leave a decent place where to get back. And guys, be sure you take all the garbage out. Even a last check at the moment you are leaving home is worth it! Toilet garbage or organic one left behind a month or more can become a smelly nightmare.
We usually clean and organize once we finish packing for the trip. When we are sure we won’t be taking more stuff from drawers, closets, or from the garage, etc. A day or two days before leaving.
To motivate you to clean and organize your home before leaving it, think that later you will have to unpack. And this can be even more annoying if everything around is dirty and messy.
You know when you also need to clean your home? When you are going to host guests. Read how to prepare for visitors here.
9. Ask someone to check your home.
To have trustable friends or neighbors is gold. If you can rely on someone to check your house during your absence, you will be more relaxed. Being in touch with him or her you will know the status of your place.
Talking about friends, you can also be interested in this article "Unexpected friendship lessons, only traveling can teach you".
10. Close windows, curtains, and doors and lock them well.
When the time arrives and you are ready to leave home for a long holiday, close very well every window, and door. Lock properly. Don’t do it in a hurry. Take proper time to close, lock and check that you made it well.
11. Turn on the alarm.
In case you have a house alarm, don’t forget to turn it on properly.
Conclusion.
Guys, this is not only boring theory. Exactly now, we are putting into practice these tips. Leaving home safe to go on a long holiday is possible. Safe travels and have fun!
You can like this article too: War tips for tourists who get trapped in a conflict.
Share your tips with us.
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