Welcome to the Travel Forums

Why join TravelBlog?

Membership is Free and Easy
Your travel questions answered in minutes!
Become part of the friendliest online travel community.

Join Now! Join TravelBlog* today and meet thousands of friendly travelers. Don't wait! Join today and make your adventures even more enjoyable.

* Blogging is not required to participate in the forums

Random Acts of Travel

What is your most spontaneous trip? How did it end up?

13 years ago, November 13th 2010 No: 1 Msg: #122888 Delete Edit

yogabbagabba
Gabrielle Varela

B Posts: 71

I am just curious. As travelers it doesn't take much to push us to try a new experience or explore a new place. What are some of the most spontaneous trips your have taken, how did they end up? How does it effect your philosophy on travel now? Reply to this

13 years ago, November 13th 2010 No: 2 Msg: #122901 Delete Edit

littlewing
Cindy

B Posts: 897

I go with the just do it philosophy. I was sitting at home with a couple of weeks leave up my sleeve, my kids were with their father and a really hot annoying wind was blowing so I jumped online, found flight schedules, rang airline found there was a seat but had only two and a half hours before the flight left. Grabbed my passport and wetsuit rang a taxi and made it to airport to pay for ticket and board. I really dislike Bali but its a great drop off point for nearby dive islands so had to find a hotel for the night before leaving for Gili the next morning, had a great week diving in Gili and Lembongan, came home, walked out of the airport, found the wind was still blowing so turned around, walked back in, look at departure boards and found a flight to Singapore. Customs officers raised their eyebrows when they realised I had only just flown back in two hours ago. Got to Singapore decided seeing I had my wetsuit may as well go diving somewhere so found a connecting flight to BKK then down to Krabi. Spent 5 days there and out around phi phi diving before having to come home and face the music from Customs who searched me really really well 😊.

Almost all of my travel is spontaneous - just probably not to that extreme. The wind had died down by the time I got home the second time. I dont have a philosophy on travel, i dont navel gaze about it, i just do it.

Reply to this

13 years ago, November 13th 2010 No: 3 Msg: #122909 Delete Edit

deleted_49612
deleted_49612

D Posts: 24.6K

Hello Gabrielle 😊

I think my first backpacking trip was the most spontaneous one, because I had no idea I was going to do it, until just before it.

I moved to London, England when I was 19 and fell in love with a backpacker. I had never done anything like backpacking before. One day I suddenly announced to him that I wanted to go on his next trip with him, and he agreed that I can. He asked me all kinds of questions about what types of things I wanted to do on the trip and which countries I wanted to visit and was surprised that I really did not care which countries. I just wanted to go to any of them, to see what it is like there. So, I quit my job and tossed a few things into a bag and off we went, on what he had already been planning for the last 6 months.

I had been saving up for something, while I was in London, but did not know what the something would be. I did know that something would come up though, and moving into a flat in London inhabited by a bunch of backpackers decided me on what to do with my savings.

That trip started my lifelong passion for travel. Long after the relationship with the backpacker ended, I continued to be in love with travel.

Mel Reply to this

13 years ago, November 13th 2010 No: 4 Msg: #122927 Delete Edit

pilnikjezerobota
.

B Posts: 119

My most spontaneous trip was my most important - it was my first time to Croatia in 2007. My uncle is married to a half-Croatian woman and their wedding was in September 2007, the official half with the meal was in Norwich and then there was a big celebration in Stara Novalja afterwards. I was only going to do the UK part because my dad couldn't go to Croatia, but while at the reception in Norwich someone offered me an available ticket and I just went. I had to cancel a trip up to my grandparents for a 70th birthday celebration, which is one of the most horrible things to do last minute, but even they told me to go for it.

As a result of this trip I became fascinated by the Slavic world - and my next trip, which gave me an absolutely epic travel bug, was my first one to the Czech Republic. Now I live here. Reply to this

13 years ago, November 14th 2010 No: 5 Msg: #122959 Delete Edit

D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley

B Posts: 10.9K

Gabrielle,

I woke up one morning in Seattle to an ice storm. As i was cleaning out the file cabinet and gazing outside at the gray and ice. Yuck, was all I could think. I called my husband and suggested that we go to Hawaii later that week. He laughed. He thought I was kidding. He humored me and suggested I check flights. In about three hours I had purchased round trip tickets to Maui and had booked a room. We left 3 days later.

Keep in mind that we are generally planners and book our vacations about 6 months in the future so this was a big change.

That trip worked so well that when we quit our jobs, sold our house and put things in storage in 2007 to travel for 10 months we only had an airline ticket and two nights in a hotel in Singapore when we left the country.

As it turns out we can be spontaneous as well as great planners.
The longer the trip the less we plan.

MJ

Reply to this

13 years ago, November 14th 2010 No: 6 Msg: #122982 Delete Edit

yogabbagabba
Gabrielle Varela

B Posts: 71

Travel is about our obsessions, but it is interesting on what actually fuels us to pass the threshold of daydreaming to holding a ticket out to board. My first backpacking trip was a surprise to me as well. Since then, there have been many quick decisions that have changed my life and led me to the most unexpected adventures!
I think my most spontaneous trip was while settling on Ios Island as bartender (*I had run out of money and gone to the islands because I heard they hire Americans to speak English to the crowds of NZ-ers, Australians and Americans that seek the wild festivities of high season) My Australian flame had decided to move on to the much calmer island of Santorini. Two nights later, when I was released from work at 7:30 am, I grabbed a euro and ran to the ferry port to catch the first ferry to reunite with my love. (I have seen too many romantic comedies.) As the ship cruised further and further away from the dock, I realized I knew nothing about this island other than it was known to be a romantic destination where couples come to spend their QT on the various beaches and watching the beautiful sunsets. When I arrived, the adventure began as toured the island blindly, finally running into my man on the red beach when I recognized his tent. Luckily he was heading back to it at the time to grab something.
That was when I realized how easy it was, that you can just ..go and the rest is serendipity. Like Mels story, my backpacker and I went our separate ways, but now there is no hesitation in taking the jump and making it happen. Many times we don't even know what traveling feels like, when or why or how we got there until we are already doing it, and it is all happening. That is really something. That more often than not, whatever you are looking for will find you if you have the courage to seek it. Reply to this

13 years ago, November 15th 2010 No: 7 Msg: #123025 Delete Edit

abbadon3
Callum

B Posts: 37

My most spontaneous trip was the first time i went to Amsterdam. I had been sitting in a car one night with 3 friends and the conversation moved onto Amsterdam. We all smoked and all really wanted to go. We always sit and have funny conversations about just going somewhere or doing random things, but we never actualy do any of them!

This time was different.

After the rather hazey conversation i went home, turned on the laptop and booked flights for 4 people to Amsterdam leaving 2 days later. Luckily each of my friends could afford to go and it was a great experience. I found it incredibly surreal to just book a holiday and within 48 hours be sitting in a different country! Reply to this

13 years ago, November 21st 2010 No: 8 Msg: #123381 Delete Edit

deleted_180667
deleted_180667

d Posts: 14

I grew up in a spontaneousness home. While they taught the necessity of good planning, they also taught that the best laid plans didn't always turn out the way they were expected to, as well as the fact that once in a while it was good to just break out and do something different. It was not uncommon for one of my parents to grab an available child, or stuff the whole family in the car for an instant roadtrip. We'd find ourselves a couple of hours out of the city at a restaurant, museum, or favorite shop. Now, my children almost expect me to breeze through the house, gathering up whoever's available, and jumping into the car. We'll just flip a coin at the end of the road. That's the extent of our planning, aside from water, food, and gas. They know that they'd better be prepared for anything when I do that, because I'm not going to listen to any complaints when they don't have a coat or good walking shoes. lol
My most spontaneous trip? Couldn't tell you. They mostly turned out pretty well, no matter what happened (disasters are an excuse to party, with us. And panic is not allowed. lol) How it's affected my life? I only want more, though I really should be doing less.
Nah, let's just do it anyway. XD Reply to this

13 years ago, November 30th 2010 No: 9 Msg: #123948 Delete Edit

liliram
liliram

B Posts: 847

Back in 2003, I visited a friend in Paris. On a whim, we decided to rent a car to go to Provence. No set itinerary, no specifics, just drive all the way to Provence and see how things go. As it turned out, we drove to Tours, Bordeaux, Lourdes, Arles, Nimes, Avignon, Le Baux, St. Remy de Provence, etc. We passed and stopped at almost every stall selling cheese and whatever else. It was fun! Then we got a call from another friend who was flying in from USA to Barcelona. Without any map, and just driving by instinct (the Mediterranean should be on our left side....) we drove through Andorra and reached Barcelona to be with old friends. Couldn't have done it better! Reply to this

13 years ago, December 7th 2010 No: 10 Msg: #124416 Delete Edit

cheapskate
john wilson

B Posts: 42

I was backing in Indonesia in 2008. I had spent nearly 2 weeks living the beach bum dream in kuta....surfing every day, drinking copious amounts of beer, hitting clubs every night. One day I woke up and felt the need for change and escape from the beach scene.. I opened my lonely planet and found some pictures of naked jungle dwellers in Papua New Guinea. I went to the travel agent down the street, and by 5 pm that night i was on a plan flying to papua, over 2000km away. Reply to this

13 years ago, December 9th 2010 No: 11 Msg: #124507 Delete Edit

Muno
Sally and Nick Griffith

B Posts: 375

in Indonesia aswell. 1998 New Years Eve, met a couple of lovely Swedish girls who pursuaded me to abandon plans to go to thailand and accompany them from Bali to Flores on a fishing boat with numerous stops along the way! It didn't take much to twist my arm and the trip was the highlight of my round the world adventure as we made it to Komodo Island which was amazing! Reply to this

13 years ago, December 11th 2010 No: 12 Msg: #124595 Delete Edit

deleted_182441
deleted_182441

d Posts: 7

Personally, I find excitement in driving into a large unknown city and going where the wind blows. I have experience taking adventures into cities such as New Orleans, Atlanta, St. Louis, Chicago, Boston, New York, Boulder, Flagstaff, L.A., and San Francisco! As you can see, you can go virtually anywhere with a clean slate, not knowing anyone or anything.

<snip>

Reply to this

12 years ago, July 19th 2011 No: 13 Msg: #140582 Delete Edit

Dancing Dave
David Hooper

B Posts: 6,107

I was in Xian, China with my wife specifically to visit the minature terracotta site called Han Jing Di or Yanling that I had read about in National Geographic.

"No tours" they told me..."But that is why we are here"...so they organized a private driver to take us there...Hao Bin (Robin)...now my Xiondi or younger Chinese brother.

About a month later I was home in Sydney, Australia when the phone rang.

"It is Robin...I am in Melbourne. I want to come to Sydney...can you help me?"

Over dinner in our home I told him how I had tried to get to Maiji Shan in Gansu Provence, N-W China one icy winter but it was too difficult...so we abandoned that part of our trip.

I had learnt about it in a 1955 travel book but it was then closed to foreigners.

Robin said "I will drive you."

About two weeks later when he was back in China, I emailed him.

"You said you would drive me to Maiji Shan...were you serious?"

He wrote back "Yes...I pay."

I wrote back "How about in two weeks?...and I pay."

He wrote back "I will meet you at Xian Airport...and we will work out who pays when you get here."

So I went to China by myself...and Robin drove me to Maiji Shan...and we stayed walking distance from the base...scaled the catwalks to the 194 grottoes of carvings from the 4th Century...carved into the side of the loess mound mountain...they could not remember an Aussie there before me.

And Robin also drove me to other remote grotto sites...just the two of us...and to Henan Provence...to Kaifeng...the ancient capital on the Yellow River that was abandoned as a capital in the 15th Century...as it flooded too often...and to Shaolin Si...the home of Kung Fu...and to Luoyang...to the marble carved Longman Grottoes...and to too many banquets where men travelled from other Provences "to drink with me!"

I have had many people over the years say "Visit me in Kiel, Kiev, whatever...but until then I had never got past "That would be nice."

I went to China to be driven to a carved mountain in the middle of nowhere because a man at my dinner table suggested he would... it changed my outlook on travelling... have the dream...then do it! Reply to this

12 years ago, August 14th 2011 No: 14 Msg: #141867 Delete Edit

Dancing Dave
David Hooper

B Posts: 6,107

I've been corresponding with a professional photographer I met at a blues festival...swapping photos of Patagonia...then sent him my "Stretched Lips & AK47s...The Mursi" blog...glad I did.

He invited us to Canberra for his wife's 60th Birthday...why not?...about a 4 hour drive.

Wow...what a party...a 7 piece hot blues band in a suburban loungeroom...incl 3 saxs...plus 4 cameo singers...virtuosos all...unbelievably good...still recovering... Reply to this

12 years ago, August 21st 2011 No: 15 Msg: #142148 Delete Edit

Going Global
Marc

B Posts: 102

Two stories:

1) I was 2 days into my year-long trip. My bag never made it out of the states, so I was killing time at the Travel Lodge in Nadi, Fiji. I had some rough plans for Fiji, but during my time waiting for my bag, I meg a dude at the pool & he mentioned Tribe Wanted, a sort of eco project on an island (Vorovoro). On the spot I changed my plans, bought some boardies and flip-flops and headed off w/o my bag. Was a great week on the island & my bag was waiting for me in Nadi when I got back. Not only was it a great and spontaneous change of course for my trip, but it was through a friend I met there that I eventually met the woman who is now my fiancee...as she also randomly found her way to that island a year later & met some mutual people.
Maka Na Leka and the Butterfly Effect

2) I was at my hotel in Kathmandu & was planning my Annapurna trek. One of the staff mentioned that he was about to go trekking back to his village for a 2 week festival and asked if I'd like to join him. So I found myself riding on the top of buses for two days and then hiking through rice paddies for the next two days until we got to his village for 8 of the most unique and memorable days of my trip.
"When you going toilet, you go far away. Somebody coming." Reply to this