IRINA TRAVELING - Official Web Site - Travel conversations Part 1

Sometimes only the smallest separates us from our dreams. These are our fears. I won’t succeed, I can’t, I won’t cope, so much for me … And I don’t really have English … I want to visit some point on the map , but there are no organized tours there, and it is always more interesting to plan your route. But, as practice shows, the only way to overcome your fear is to take it and do it. Even if not everything will work out the first time, but step by step, the accumulated experience will give impetus to new development, and you will see that it is not so difficult to make dreams come true.

Today we’ll talk to #net travel blogger but travel lover Alexandra about her experience in solving these issues.

Tell us a little about yourself, was it difficult to start traveling on your own, and how did you get there?

Hello, my name is Sasha, I am from Moldova, I am 29 years old and at the moment, I cannot imagine my life without traveling. As far back as I can remember, I have always dreamed of traveling, but I managed to fulfill my dream only at the age of 25. Therefore, as soon as I had the opportunity, I did not even hesitate to start traveling on my own. And on my own, because I worked in the field of tourism and realized that making my own route is much more interesting than following a trodden path, and even in a crowd of other tourists from the group. Therefore, only standalone programs, only hardcore

What booking services do you use the most?

Moldova is an ideal starting point for different countries, we have flights through Wizz Air to Vienna, Paris, half of Italy, Barcelona, Prague, London, Belgium, Greece, and since this is a low-cost airline, the prices can be wildly tasty. For example, I flew to Paris for 40 euros there and back, from Paris I took tickets to Portugal, through Ryanair, which cost me 12 euros. So, we can say that I travel extremely budgetary

In terms of hotels, I book everything through booking.com . This service has never let me down, plus, for frequent bookings, I get various discounts and unique offers. It seems to me that booking is very good at thanking its regular users.

What was your first solo trip?

I will remember my first trip forever – it was Barcelona. The tickets cost me 60 euros there and back (so you understand, my luggage came out much more expensive than a ticket :)) I, also, through booking, booked a 2 * hotel (as I remember now, I was very worried that it was 2 stars , and that there will be something wildly awful, but no, the hotel differed from the 5th only in that my linen was changed every 4 days, and towels every 3)

Are you grabbing promotions from airlines or picking up complex budget route assemblies?

Regarding promotions on air tickets, I, apparently, have some well-developed intuition for all kinds of discounts. How long I traveled, I always managed to book something very budgetary, and at the same time there was always something new, where my soul had never been. So, for example, because of the coronavirus, when my tickets to Norway were canceled, I found a flight from Moldova to Vienna for 60 euros there and back, and a ticket from Vienna to Oslo for 25 dollars. At the same time, it turned out to be booked for the month of August, when you can still see all the beauties and at the same time not get too cold. I don’t know whether to call it luck or a well-functioning intuition, but to look out for it on purpose – I’m not looking for anything, but if something missed, then I go to the websites of airlines and start looking for interesting routes.

Do you use affiliate programs from booking services, banks, etc.?

I do not use affiliate programs, but now I will develop my blog on Instagram and look for different “sweets”, and share them of course, because it seems to me that many people would like to travel, but perhaps they do not know what can be done for such the minimum amount, as I get it.

How many times a year do you usually get to travel?

On average, per year, I manage to visit 3 places, unfortunately 2020 was not so fruitful, but even before the pandemic I managed to visit Vienna, and now I am writing from Istanbul. So at least 2 trips, even in difficult periods for travel, otherwise it’s like breaking travel is very necessary to charge with positive and vital energy.

Do you manage to combine travel with work?

Travel complements my work very well. For example, now, when quarantine and everyone is working from home, I have requested remote access and work from Istanbul. So we can safely say that my work allows me to combine business with pleasure.

Do you prepare for the trip in advance, how long does it take to start booking?

In terms of preparation for travel … here I have a swing. It happens that I see some tickets departing in a couple of days, and I have to pack my bags and think over a cultural program at a fast pace, and it happens that I book tickets half a year in advance, or even more, especially if new destinations open , tickets are always very cheap. So, unfortunately, I don’t have a golden mean in this regard

Do you usually make a clear trip plan or improvise?

On my first trip, I made a plan, and exhausted myself and my friends. Therefore, now I outline a couple of main attractions, and I try to get to them on foot. Use transport as little as possible to catch as many interesting places along the road that were not in the plans.

How do you solve the problem of the language barrier?

In most cases, English saves. In some countries, such as Istanbul, sign language is used.

What are your favorite places?

I adore Barcelona immensely, fell in love with Lisbon and was amazed at the cleanliness and neatness of Porto, the rest of the places that I visited did not make such an indelible impression on me

What was your funniest travel experience?

One of the amusing cases was when, one day in November, I flew to Barcelona for the second time, with a guy, and it so happened that on the second day after my arrival, I got wildly ill, but I was not going to miss the opportunity to walk along the Spanish streets, so we stocked up on medicines for the common cold and began our journey. I really wanted to get to the Bunker El Cramel, they say there are incredible panoramic views. And now, with a temperature, I can barely move, we got to the metro stop, after which we had to get out and take the bus. The bus in that place passed every 40 minutes, and we just arrived, it was supposed to arrive any minute. And now, our divine bus appears on the horizon, we stand at a bus stop, and the maximum we can do is to see him off with a glance, since he passed by, and all because I forgot that in Barcelona, if you are alone at a bus stop and you see the bus that you need, then you have to wave your hand, otherwise it will pass by. In general, I never got to the Bunker, as 40 minutes of waiting was too painful for me. Therefore, for those who read this post, learn from my mistakes

you will be in Barcelona, remember that you need to wave a handle to the desired bus so that it stops.

What is the main difference between an independent traveler and a package traveler, in your opinion?

I love independent travel, because I would not be able to visit some places with time limits. I remember I was in Greece, and went to Meteora (by the way, the place is just incredible, I really, really advise those who travel to Greece to visit it). In Greece, we rented a car, so we drove to Meteor on our own. And so, we are sitting on a rock, enjoying incredible views, and just every 30 minutes buses pull up, tourists drop out from there, take photos, all this lasts 10 minutes, then they are loaded back and they leave. This, as for me, is what kills the beauty of travel. When you, like a sheep in a flock, have to follow the path trodden by the shepherd, how awful for me is.

I love to decide for myself where and how I want, just as I really like getting out of the airport and getting to hotels, with some trepidation, with some confusion. All this creates all this charm.

What are the “pitfalls” of travel agencies?

Since I worked in a travel agency, I can say with confidence that only Egypt, Antalya and Bulgaria can be booked through agencies. You will find the rest yourself, and it will cost you 2 or even 3 times cheaper. Since European cities (except for bus tours) are not developed in agencies, and what the agent finds you you can easily find on your own, moreover, without commissions and extra charges.

Your tips for budding travelers.

I would recommend the following for novice travelers:

– find out what air connections your cities have, I also advise you to google different low-cost airlines such as Volotea, Wizzair, Ryanair, let’s say from your city you can fly to Budapest, but from Budapest there are already many other interesting and inexpensive options where you can still fly and see the world.

– always take insurance, it is extremely cheap, but on the other hand you will have some kind of medical assistance or reimbursement of the money spent.

– book tickets on the official websites of airlines, so it will be easier for you in case of some unforeseen circumstances to return your money.

– if you book hotels, like me, through Booking, always take rooms with free cancellation until a certain day, because sometimes very nice discounts pop up on hotels, and you may well find, almost before departure, that much better than what you found beforehand.

– never make rich programs, select 2-3 interesting places and try to get to them on foot, so you will get to know the city and culture much better.

– have fun and never spare money for travel.

Alexandra answered my questions directly from Istanbul, where she is at the moment. As you can see, independent travel is not as scary as it seems. The minimum knowledge of English is quite enough for a start. You just need to take the first step)

Follow Alexandra’s travels here @by.elysian

And get only positive emotions)