5 Ways to Build More Flexibility Into Your Trip

5 Ways to Build More Flexibility Into Your Trip 

In the past, I used to build my vacations with pretty hard and fast lists. Now, I like to leave plenty of space in my itineraries to just be in the moment, not have to rush or easily fit in sites and experiences I discover when already on my trip. When I went to Paris, I decided not to take pictures on our Seine River cruise opting to just revel in the beauty that is Paris. I found the experience to be freeing and refreshing, so I started reevaluating how we travel and how rigid we make our travel. Once we started adding more flexibility into our travel, I feel like we can live more in the moment and really be in a place. Here are a few strategies that we use:

• Avoid over packing your days: If you put too many sites, experiences, adventures into each day of your trip, you will not have time for spur of the moment finds.
• Build in an extra cushion day or two: We like to build in a unscripted day or two to our trips so that we can plan explorations on the fly or even revisit somewhere we discovered on the trip.
• Determine priority experiences: Make a list of the places you and others in your party want to see. Separate them into must-see, would really like to see and would be nice but don't have to see. This way you can easily prioritize your must-sees. Then, you have a little wiggle room with sites and experiences that are less important to you leaving time to linger longer at sites or add in new ones you discover on your trip. This will also make it easier to readjust on the trip and potentially exchange experiences for new discoveries.
• Make a list of possibilities within a certain radius: After I have all of my must-sees together, I look for other possibilities that are close to my destination but not necessarily right there. This list will include a lot of my favorites such as chocolate shops, unique bookstores, small businesses, local coffee shops, hiking trails, beaches, historic sites and more. If we find we have gaps, I can easily pick something off of this list to fill in if we desire.
• Do ask locals and visit Visitor Centers: While on your trip, local resources can help you find experiences that you  may not have learned about while researching your destination. Using local resources can help you change your itinerary a bit and add more unique experiences.