Travelling abroad is a great way to experience different cultures, meet new people, and enjoy eating new foods. Every year, millions of people travel to other countries. Sadly, an awful lot of them end up staying in tourist resorts, which they do not actually leave. This is a shame because these areas are usually very different from the rest of the country. They are designed for tourists, so there is a good chance that you will simply end up eating the same food you do at home, and mixing with other foreigners.
The key to getting the most out of your holiday and experiencing other cultures is getting off the beaten track. Taking the time to travel outside the resort is always worth doing.
If you have the confidence, hiring a car is the best approach. Having your own vehicle frees you from the constraints of timetables. It also means that you can travel to more remote places, than you could if you relied on public transport alone.
In most countries, it is easy to hire a car. You just need to spend a bit of time shopping around to find a good company.
If you are planning to hire a car while abroad, it is important to make sure that your driving licence allows you to drive in the country you are visiting. Bear in mind that how long you have held your licence for and your age can have an impact on whether you can hire a car.
To make sure that you stay safe, it is important to spend a couple of hours reviewing the local driving rules and regulations. You need to pay particular attention to learning the various road signs. Some, like the stop sign, are almost universal, so are easy to learn. Others are unique to the country you will be visiting. Therefore, you need to make sure that you set aside enough time to learn all of this. The last thing you need is to get behind the wheel feeling unsure about how to behave at a busy road junction.
Using public transport
If you do not fancy driving while abroad, the next best option is using public transport. However, it is important not to just assume that you can get a bus or train to where you want to go.
In some places, the public transport network is not well developed. Surprisingly this can be the case even in developed countries. For example, in the UK, many villages and small towns have no, or virtually no, bus or train service.
This fact means that you need to do your research before you leave. The internet makes it a lot easier for you to do this.
However, unfortunately some of the train and bus timetable websites are not easy to use. Luckily, you can often find the information you need elsewhere. For example, if you want to plan a train journey in Europe this website makes it easy to do so. Surprisingly, Deutsche Bahn AG, which is the German train operator, runs this site. Yet its database still includes up to date timetables for virtually every European country. Therefore, if you want to make a train journey anywhere in Europe you can easily find out what you need to know.