Travel planning - On vacation but not

Recently a friend asked me some travel related questions figuring I may be able to assist with her plans for an upcoming trip she would like to take with her husband. My friend hasn't travelled much and would like to start doing so however is not sure whether to start with an overseas trip or a more local road-trip style of vacation.

For me I can't say I prefer one over another and it really comes down to where I want to go and how much time is available. I've done several road-trips in my own country and one 4 week road-trip in the United Kingdom as well and on each occasion have enjoyed them very much. I feel that one gets to see more when on the road rather than flying into an airport and really only seeing the tourist destinations or those few areas that have been targeted as places to go on that particular trip.

It really comes down to where one would like to travel. One can't road-trip to Australia for instance and so another mode of transport is required, a plane or boat. Once here road trips work well mostly although the other problem with Australia is that it is so vast. To see Sydney, Ayres Rock, the Great Barrier Reef and the Victorian High Country in one trip would take weeks and weeks of driving with huge stretches of nothing in between so is often not viable for a traveller considering the time limits most travel on. Road-tripping in Europe is a little different as the countries are so close together. In Australia once could drive all day and not see anything or anyone, and certainly no towns; The Nullarbor Plain is one such stretch of road. Conversely, road-tripping in the UK brings one to a town, village or hamlet almost every 15 minutes.

I had a nice time speaking with my friend and I hope she found some clarity through our discussions. She is leaning towards a trip to Italy as she has always romanticised about the Tuscany region and Venice. I've added a photo here of Venice from my last trip which wasn't the best. We had a few days of rain which caused us to have to alter our plans somewhat however we still enjoyed the things we managed to do.

When my friend and I parted company she promised to keep me informed on her plans and also asked if she could pick my brain for ideas and to allay some of her travel-fears, of course I told her I was happy to acquiesce. Travel in overseas countries can be daunting and she knows this however with some forward-planning it is generally comfortable enough for most travellers. I am sure she and her husband will be fine. I'm looking forward to helping her with her trip as I get a lot of enjoyment out of trip-planning. It's a little like being on a trip, but not really on it.

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