Be Careful What You Wish For (And Pay For)
Most of us have been drawn into buying something before simply due to how great it was represented in a commercial or told by someone else. And most of us have regretted such a purchase in our lifetime, because it was either misrepresented or because we ultimately discovered that we did not like it.
Before you decide on going to a place for a long time, such as teaching abroad in Southeast Asia and signing a contract for two years, committing and pre-paying to volunteer in South Africa for a year, moving to the Carribean, or paying $8,000 for a safari adventure, think real hard about the commitment you are about to make.
Joey and I went to volunteer in an orphanage in Tanzania for a month and because we didn’t want to take away any time from spending time with the children and also travelling on budget, we ended up deciding to only go on safari for one day, which some people thought was absolutely crazy. Now, don’t get me wrong, at that time I would have loved to sign up with the other volunteers and join them for a 5 day safari to all of the major National Parks in northern Tanzania, I thought it would be a dream come true.
However, in the end, I am so glad I did not have that opportunity, because that one day was enough for me and I was so happy that I wouldn’t have to do it again – for me personally, it was a great and exciting experience seeing the animals in nature, but I know I would not have enjoyed a 5 day safari, riding 6 to 10 hours in a hot vehicle without A/C every day with dust flying into my nasal passages at 50 miles per hour on the bumpy roads that make you want to throw up everything you eat, not being able to sleep because even though you put Anti-TseTse fly lotion on, these things keep biting you anyway and it hurts!
And some of you that are reading this may now think I am crazy for writing this because you have gone on a safari and it was everything you ever imagined, but this personally had been my experience and it very well may be the same experience someone who booked a $10,000 luxury safari tour and found on the first day that one day would have been enough for them versus having to do this another 8 days.
If you really love something, you will almost always have the opportunity to extend it (whether it’s a hotel you’re staying or an activity, such as safari) on the spot, because it means more money for them, but if you go and you have already paid for everything, it is unlikely that you will get any of your money back if you end up not liking it.
THEN WHAT’S THE RIGHT STRATEGY?
What I have found to be the best strategy to pick a destination and list some of the things that you would like to definitely do there. However, wait to book anything prior to your departure. Not only can you get much better deals most of the time when you are already there, but most of the time the locals will tell you about many great things to do, which are often less touristy, cheaper, and even more amazing.
For example, when we went to volunteer in Tanzania, most of our weekends were free and we could go out and explore. We had done our research prior to arriving and had a list of various available things to do, however we had not paid for nor committed to anything yet. When we arrived, we got to know many other volunteers and many locals who had told has about the things they had already done and that were available to do.
For example, after a lot of research, we had found another volunteers’ blog before we left the United States, who had been to that area in Tanzania before and had recommended to visit Hot Springs, a little paradise-like oasis in the middle of nowhere (literally!), and we ended up doing that there, however, instead of paying $200 which was what we had found online and what the other volunteer had paid, we ended up only paying $13 per person (food, transportation, and the fee included) and it was amazing! Because it is not a well known tourist place, we ended up being the only ones there, which couldn’t have turned out better.
My point is, don’t try to be a control freak and plan every minute of your trip out, thinking that if you don’t, you will end up not doing anything. When you get to your final destination, mingle with the locals (the real locals, not the salespeople that are trying to sell you something at their “tourist” price), stop by a few local hostels and simply ask what there is to do.
This also helps to be flexible with the weather. Imagine you spend $4,000 to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, only to get there and hit rainy weather for 5 days – I don’t know about you, but I would be pretty upset and disappointed.
WITH THE STRATEGY ABOVE, WE WERE ABLE TO
visit a Masaai Village (which was my favorite and I did not want to leave) 🙂
climb the lowers slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro and see a 150m waterfall, see how coffee is grown and get to know the entire process, try banana beer and banana wine freshly made
go on a 1-day safari and see another city
visit the Hot Springs oasis
visit an unknown Monkey Forest (and during that visit also see the slums, the landfill (which was very interesting and eye-opening) and see the rice fields and how people work there
participate in the Kilimanjaro marathon – only the 5k fun run, but it was something we will remember forever 🙂
spend an amazing month in the orphanage and get to know the wonderful children and help them with many different projects
get to know the real Tanzanian life and culture with all its ups and downs
and much more, all for about 15% of the cost we would have had to pay if we had booked these trips in advance (and I’m sure with the touristy guides we wouldn’t even have seen and experienced half of the things we were able to)
What have been some of your experiences that you wish you hadn’t paid for? Where have you traveled without any pre-made plans and what did you end up doing?