I embarked on my first impromptu trip in 2017 with a company that planned and curated surprise trips, and since then I’ve never looked back, embarking on spontaneous travel as and when I can.
I’m sure we’re all familiar with the routine.
Book your air tickets, secure accommodation, ask around for recommendations, plan your travel checklist, get onto the plane and race against time to tick off every box before going home.
Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against this travelling method.
In fact, I was that traveller. Spreadsheets were a part of my pre-trip routine, as I spent hours researching travel blogs and sites, and meticulously arranged my trip itineraries in a manner that left little to chance.
As I continued to structure my travel experiences around such lists, I started to see just how limiting it started to be, and my first impromptu trip only further affirmed this.
I booked a trip on a whim after tendering my resignation to my then-company. Right after booking, they sent me an information pack but I chose to keep it for the day of my impromptu trip.
I discovered my destination only at the airport and got sent to an island I never knew existed – Koh Lanta, Thailand.
For what it’s worth, I had such a great time exploring that I even doubled the length of my trip.
Spending that one week on a remote (but extremely safe) island with no itinerary, no checklist and no expectations, I learnt that the best travel experiences come when you don’t plan for them to happen.
Now, here are 5 reasons why you need to ditch all that travel planning and go on an impromptu vacation:
5 Reasons To Take An Impromptu Trip Right Now!
1. You’ll Interact More With The Locals
Sans checklist (and probably Google – but don’t cheat!), the next best way you can find out about what you can do at your destination would be to talk to the people around you!
Strike up a conversation with a local whether it’s on the plane there, while you’re in a queue, or anywhere really! If that’s too daunting, start off by speaking with the crew at your accommodation for some ideas.
I personally like to ask them where I can find their favourite local dish.
Not only might this score you an invite to hang with them, but you also pick up little insights that make for a more authentic travel experience, beyond touristy must-dos.
When I stayed in a guesthouse in Osaka, a question about where the best drinking spots in the area were, brought me to an authentic hole-in-the-wall bar full of Japanese salarymen.
Having chicken heart yakitori (Japanese meat skewers) over sake (a type of Japanese liquor) – you really can’t get any more local than that!
2. You Save Time (Planning) For Better Experiences
I bet that all of us have, at some point of time in our travel lives, been to a restaurant just because someone we know claimed that it was the best, or because it was oh-so-Instagrammable.
Well, you know what isn’t as gram-worthy? The snaking queue stretching across blocks would probably take up 2-3 hours of your precious travel time.
What I’ve come to realise is that most times someone’s must-try doesn’t always necessarily translate into the best experience for me.
Nowadays, I either pop into the first restaurant that catches my eye (or nose!) or if I see locals streaming in and out of it.
I’m proud to say that this has led to me some really affordable and hearty gems, surprising even my local friends, and the best part – no queue and barely any wait for your food!
3. Impromptu Trips Open You Up To New Experiences And Help You Embrace Spontaneity
With zero pre-trip research and thus no opportunity to second-guess any decisions, I found myself saying yes to things I normally wouldn’t have.
Such as riding a scooter for the first time ever, out 12 kilometres to a rustic seaside town, and then in search of a secret beach, hinted at in my Anywhr travelogue.
If I had my own way, I would have probably planned for pick-ups or charted out a route pre-trip that would have excluded the need to ride a scooter.
But when such plans don’t exist, and when your guesthouse owner says to take a scooter because, one, that’s what everyone does and, two, it’s the best way of getting around, you get on a scooter and do it anyway.
4. On An Impromptu Trip, You Create Memories Unlike Anyone Else’s
When you rely less on a one-size-fits-all generic travel checklist, you’ll find yourself seeking out things that are more in line with your own interests, rather than doing something just because everyone says you ought to do it or for the sake of it.
When I was in New Zealand, three-quarters of my bus unloaded at a Lord of the Rings filming site, Hobbiton, but I chose not to hop off.
Our driver asked those remaining if we fancied a short walk nearby. Since I loved hiking and I had to wait anyway, I said yes!
This supposedly-unremarkable short walk turned out to be one of the most picturesque moments of my trip!
In fact, some of those who had gone to Hobbiton said they wished they had gone with us instead because the site turned out so packed that their time there was mainly spent waiting around.
5. Going On An Impromptu Trip Is Less Stressful
Given how routine and structured most of our daily lives are, you’ll find not planning and just going on impromptu trips incredibly liberating.
Not only will you be less stressed without all that pre-trip research, but on your trip, you’ll likely feel less obligated to, for example, cut short your time at a museum that you were really starting to enjoy, just because you already pre-booked tickets to a play starting in half an hour’s time.
I get it – doing an impromptu trip without a plan can feel scary and seem reckless, spending that much money on a plane ticket, or using your limited vacation leave, and yet having no idea what to do as your plane takes off.
But you’ll notice that somehow, you will find things to do, places to eat, and sights you never thought you’d come across.
In fact, some days you might even wake up with no idea about how your day will pan out, but that’s perfectly alright because being in another country is already a great experience in itself.
You’ll soon realise that travel isn’t just about ticking off those boxes, but also being present where you are there and then.
It’s about taking in the new surroundings, the smells, the sounds, hearing conversations in a language foreign to you, and even just enjoying the weather outside, whichever season it may be.
With all that in mind, it’s time to leave the checklists only for your groceries back home and venture into the unknown with only a spirit of exploration.
If you went ahead and did it, I’d love to hear about how your impromptu trip went! DM me on Instagram at @saraaahsays and let me know!
This article was first published on NTUC Income’s travel blog on behalf of travel curator company Anywhr.co.
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