Transport Options
Your choice of transportation options generally fall into two categories; 'before you go' and 'once you’re there'.
Before You Go:
Transportation is another area of travel planning where your choices can seem endless and advice often seems to contradict itself. Do you book all your flights in the UK or are some internal flights cheaper to book once you get there? Should you get simple return flights or a round-the-world ticket? How flexible are tickets? How can you make up for the carbon emissions of your travel plans? Do you have to fly; can you drive, take a train or even go by sea?
The answers to these questions and more, will help you make the choices that allow you to plan the trip you want and put that plan into action.
Once you are in-country:
Your options here will depend largely on the country you visit, some forms of transport are exceptionally cheap, others so convenient it can actually take away from your travel experience; some add to your personal safety, others are distinctly unsafe.
In 2006; Indonesia reported a serious aircraft related incident every 10 days, it had 8 maritime disasters every month (some resulting in hundreds of deaths), 2 train crashes or derailments every month and the number of fatal road traffic accidents is simply not known; but anyone spending any time in the country knows the numbers are significant.
Does this mean that Indonesia is out of bounds to the independent traveller? Certainly not. Indonesia is a fascinating country and well worth visiting, you just need to plan your trip well, have a great deal of common sense and some knowledge of how to identify and reduce the risks to acceptable levels.
Your transport options in many parts of the world will be extensive and may include: Aeroplane (of all shapes and sizes and maintained to different standards), Train, Car, Camper Van, Taxi, Minibus, Private Bus, Public Bus, Rickshaws, Tuk Tuk, Bicycle, Boats / Ships (again of many shapes, sizes and standards), Canoe (motorised and manual), Horseback Camel, Dog Sled, Elephant, Motorbike, Walking and even Military Helicopter….
Gaining a basic understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of each of your options, as well as the costs, will give you a head start when you arrive at your chosen destination. This advantage could prove to be the difference between adventure and disaster.
We may never (despite our best efforts) be able to persuade you that hiring a motorbike in the Far East is not a good idea unless you have the safety equipment and experience to drive in the dangerous local traffic. But even if we just persuade you that wearing a crash helmet is actually a very sensible idea and not a 'fashion faux-pas', we will have reduced the risks you face, at least a little.
We believe in a transparent open approach and in and in providing access to useful information through our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop (GYITSA).
A short introduction to each of the subjects we cover during our workshop is published to allow anyone planning to travel to gain an insight into the considerations they will need to make, these include:
For more details on our Workshop / Course Dates and Fees please visit the How to Book section of our website, call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.
Please also visit our National Press Archive and MD's Blog for relevant international news stories and our comment and advice or join us on Facebook.
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