As some of you might know, I’ve been enjoying an amazing vacation in Oludeniz for the past three weeks. You might also remember my big list of things to do when going there. Well, I kind of did less than half, some that weren’t planned and did a lot of laying in the sun by the pool, reading a book. So here’s what I’ve learned and would like to share with you in no particular order:

Lesson 1 – Never underestimate the level of tiredness a stressful year has caused

Lesson 2 – Some of the things you waited and waited for: they will be a lot better than you’ve imagined.

Lesson 3 – Sea + Mountains = really amazing roads but extremely tiring diriving

Lesson 4 - What you think is enough time, never is. And time also has this bad habit of just flying by.

Lesson 5 – Relaxing and enjoying yourself is as rewarding as doing a lot of cool stuff

Lesson 6 – If you also want photos from the road there and back, make sure the family/couple/group shutterbug is not the only driver. I was

Lesson 7 – The Efes beer is amazing!

Lesson 8 – Belly dancing is not that hard

Lesson 9 – Bring more books next time! Running out of books to read sucks a lot more than carrying too many and going back without reading them. I packed four and finished them in a week and a half and bought three more

Lesson 10 – Pet food stores might also sell used books ??? Yup, I haven’t gotten over this…

Lesson 11 – If you go through the trouble of getting road maps ready, don’t forget them on the living room table!

That’s it for now! Next, I’ll share my cruise experience, my paraglading experience, a review of the amazing hotel I stayed at and some other cool stories I know you’ll love! Stay tuned!

There are three possibilities when it comes to travel planning: (1) do it all yourself, (2) have an agency arrange lodging and transportation and worry about what to do yourself and (3) leave it all to the agency and just show up and follow their lead. Each of these approaches comes with ups and downs and it also depends on the traveler’s personality, available or inexistent planning time and other such circumstances.

As I want to make it easier for you to choose how to have your trip planned, I’ll explore all these possibilities and focus on what’s good and bad about them. Relax, stay tuned and decide after reading this.

I Am the Master of Disaster

DIY trips come with all the freedom you’ve always dreamed of. Everything is exactly how you wanted it and you have control over every detail. You’re also responsible for every detail of your trip. But if you think you know best what you like, if you don’t want a standardized trip and want to just put your inventiveness to work, you should really go for it.

With all readily available online, finding a hotel, discovering all the major attractions and estimating costs and time can be quite easy. You’ll have to keep a close eye on travel blogs, forums and online booking site reviews.

Thumbs up:

* Everything is your choice, from how you get there, to the hotel and what you visit
* You can change everything as you go if you have a better idea
* You will not be forced to travel with people you don’t know and might not share interests with

Thumbs down:

* It takes a very long time to organize everything
* You might not find out about all the cool places to see and fun stuff to do; also might overlook important details and find everything closed (museums and other attractions)
* You might not estimate everything correctly: time, prices, fun factor

With a Little Help from my Friends…

Partly relying on an agency when planning your trip might spare you quite an effort. You can just email them their request and have everything booked for you, at a certain price. You can have them book your stay, arrange for transportation and go.

Thumbs up:

* Easier to organize and less of a hassle for you
* More time to research what to do on the trip instead of worrying on how to get there
* You still have enough freedom to do what you like and change plans each day

Thumbs down:

* It might not be the best deal you could get. Don’t only think money, also think location and other such details
* As the booking decision is based on just a few objective request, it might not be exactly what you dreamed of
* You’re still left with the largest time consumer and hard part of it all: planning everything you’ll do while you’re there.

Someone Else Has to Worry about EVERYTHING!

There’s a wide range of ready made vacations you can choose from. Everything is already scheduled – from your meals to your activities, and you’ll also have a couple of hours of time to do things on yourself.

Thumbs up:

* Everything is ready for you, you just need to show up
* Groups get discounts when visiting, so when it comes to expensive museums, you can have a big smile on your face
* They agency know everything tourists like and it will all be there for you. If anything is closed, they have 3 other objectives to replace it

Thumbs down:

*Most of the times, you travel with groups of people who can get on your toes quite often
*Your own plans don’t really matter
*The agency might want you to see so much that everything will be in a hurry, no time to really enjoy.

As you can see, there’s something for everyone of us, from the individual travel that wants to do it all on their own, to the lazier ones of us who just want to enjoy their time off work with no real worries on their minds. You should decide what you want and then mix the ingredients to your spell accordingly. But choose wisely, all trips are meant to be enjoyed.