A Guide to Help You Begin Adventuring.
“Invoke thy aid to my adventurous song” -John Milton’s Paradise Lost, 1.3
So you’ve chosen your style of traveling, you know what amenities are important to you, and you know when you will need what type of accommodation. But the question remains, how do I provide these things for myself, what are the means to the ends I’ve identified?
Here, the internet is your friend. I’ll explain what apps I use and when, as well as when being on the ground is best. I’ll also briefly discuss the process of booking what is required to travel.
What to book first?
This is almost a chicken or egg question, regarding transportation and lodging — because they are both big, potentially stressful steps for someone initially planning and with little experience. But you need to arrive in a place to sleep in a room, so I generally emphasize transportation as the first step. Plus, flights have far greater price fluctuations, sometimes doubling or halving overnight. For any traveler looking to extend their money, flight watching can make huge differences — or even increase the lodging budget.
But for short-distance travel to small-time destinations, sometimes just getting there and then finding accommodation is ideal. One example is the up-and-coming Oaxacan village, Chacahua, where little lodging exists to book online. Other spots like Mazunte, Oaxaca are small but feature ample online lodging options, so an “accommodation upon arrival” approach has its advantages like price and selectivity — but this corners your market away from hillside Airbnbs for which Mazunte is well known. The book-upon-arrival approach is best left for small destinations, and for arrivals earlier in the day, not for nighttime or late afternoon arrivals.
Buy your long-distance travel ticket first, and then your accommodation to match your flying schedule. For short-distance travel, booking ahead of time or upon arrival is fine — but beware that the excitement of exploring and handpicking your lodging is counterbalanced by the stress of not having a definite place to stay and the time spent wandering with potentially cumbersome bags.
Types of Transportation:
Transportation while traveling comes in a few different forms: airplane, train, motor vehicle, to name the most prevalent; each can be taken for short or long distances.
The line between long and short is a bit arbitrary here, and I base it off of time and ease rather than distance — because different methods of transit have different timeframes for the same distance. For example, a 14-hour bus ride could be only an hour flight.
Flights are many times the quickest option, and sometimes the only practical one. From the southeast USA to Cancun, for example, is a cheap flight that has no comparison via train or bus; likewise for a flight to Denver, why take a long and expensive train/bus when Frontier flies regularly for dirt cheap? Going to different continents, or across big land features like rugged mountains or open water is also far easier by plane. Planes and international airports also have standards w visa processing and are reliable, completely legal entry points into other countries. But airports are also capital heavy establishments, and many regions worthy of exploration are inaccessible by direct air travel.
Pros of air travel: great for international travel, the easiest way to pass natural barriers like open water or mountains, super safe
Cons of air travel: often requires connections, airport security, can only fly where there’s an airport, more expensive
Trains are good for long-distance travel, as they are often quite comfortable and many offer sleeper cabins. City trains i.e. metros are also convenient and far cheaper than taxis, but not what’s covered in this article. Trains are usually cheaper than airplanes while providing similar services. Europe, China, and Japan have great long-distance train systems. Countries like Vietnam also have trains, but these are far older and less comfortable. Other countries like Mexico have little to no railway services.
Pros of Train Travel: Comfortable options, good views of scenery, no connections, amenities
Cons of Train Travel: Can be noisy in public cars, public bathrooms not great, quality of train varies greatly according to country
Buses are usually the cheapest option, monetarily. Depending on the country and region, as well, buses can be extremely comfortable. The luxury buses of Mexico’s central plateau have recliners and private TVs! Night buses are also a convenient way to combine your nightly lodging costs with transit costs, but beware, bus-sleeping is an acquired skill. Overall, buses are a great way to save a little money and (most of the time) deal with no connections.
Pros of Bus Travel: Cheapest option, very scenic, travels to the most destinations
Cons of Bus Travel: Can be uncomfortable and crowded, sometimes no bathroom, makes many stops
Arrange the proper transport for the proper endeavor. Fly into the country, take a train to cover a longer distance, and bus to the obscure or hard to access spots. Or take buses everywhere, like I do in Mexico — which lacks passenger railroads.
Know your needs and push yourself to figure out what fits you best!
Apps
Apps for booking are plentiful, but I primarily use booking.com, hostelworld.com, and Airbnb for accommodation, I use skyscanner.com (almost exclusively) for flights, and Uber, Didi, and assorted local apps for ground transit — keeping in mind that many towns’ taxi services ban these apps. Niche apps like “hotel tonight,” “Couchsurfing,” and “Workaway” all offer unique services, too. But in the end, when you are choosing apps to use for booking some kind of service, knowing what you are looking for is crucial.
Booking.com has great deals on hotels and because I have remained loyal to them, I receive regular discounts and room upgrades through their Genius rewards program. Booking also has a huge number of listings, all over the world.
Other hotel apps with good reward programs include Expedia & Priceline. These are especially good for people spending a lot on hotels; I like Booking rewards because they never expire and I don’t book online enough to accumulate many points.
Skyscanner is just unrivaled for booking flights if you ask me. They allow other services to negotiate prices, show you those prices, and then allow you to cash in on the savings. This does involve you creating accounts on other platforms, but $100 via trip.com for Cancun to Atlanta is worth the savings of creating a few additional accounts.
Google flights also operate similarly to Skyscanner.
Ground transit around cities can be accomplished through Uber and increasingly through Didi, though in places like Southeast Asia Grab is most prevalent.
The world is moving steadily towards ever greater digitization, but not everywhere uses the same apps for infrastructure services like trains and buses. Researching what apps are prevalent in a country will greatly improve your experience, but also understand much of the world still operates on face-to-face transactions. Sometimes bus or train schedules are misleading online, so buying in person is a safer bet.
Niche apps like Couchsurfing, Workaway, and Woof all offer volunteering opportunities. Couchsurfing is a great way to find hostels or just people who will offer you a place to stay in exchange for the company, Workaway is a great place to find volunteering as a nanny, tutor, or laborer, and Woof is a great place to find opportunities to work on an organic farm. These are community pages, however, and require yearly fees for access to its members.
Other apps like Hotel Tonight or Hopper specialize in selling hotels last minute but are only functional in larger cities.
Thanks for reading, and always feel free to reach out to me!
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-Justin Markowitz
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