Introducing: Harry Potter and the Hypothetical Holiday
Hello fellow travellers! I hope you are all safe and well in this
corona-crisis.
What a weird situation for a traveller! Nearly all country
borders are closed and airlines are restricting their flights.
So, how is a traveller like me spending my time in isolation?
I’m planning a holiday!
Yes, just because travelling is not something we can (or should)
be doing in the coming months, doesn’t mean we can’t plan for
a hypothetical holiday sometime in the future. Over the next
week, you can join me on the adventures of Harry Potter and the Hypothetical Holiday. Step by step we can plan the outline of a future holiday and share travel ideas as we go.
Close your eyes: Where would you like to be? Head to facebook or instagram and let me know your perfect holiday destination in the comments.
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Step One: Harry Potter and the Hypothetical Holiday - Who and Where?
Step one is the most important question: Who is going?
Will this be a solo trip? Going with family? Travelling with a mate? A group of mates? Have a think about who you’d like to spend your next trip with and tag your travel buddy. (Make sure you don’t plan too tightly though, this is still all hypothetical).
I’ll be planning a family trip to the UK with my parents and sister. I’d like to go at Christmas time, but since no one knows when travel will be a possibility again (as well as the effects of the economy), I make the plan vague enough that it can be used for this Christmas, next Christmas, or at any time of year, with any fellow travellers. I’ll vaguely plan for a three-week trip, but again, nothing is too structured.
So where will you go? Hawaii for lots of sun? Paris, to practice your high-school French? Vietnam, for history and culture? Egypt, to see the pyramids?
This is all hypothetical, so dream as big as you can!
Post your best photos from your favourite holidays in the comments on instagram
Step Two: Harry Potter and the Hypothetical Holiday - What to do?
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So you’ve chosen your destination. What is on your bucket list? Websites like Trip Advisor are fantastic to see the best things to do in a city or town. Think about your interests: pop culture, movie filming locations, historical events, scenery, architecture?
I like to write two lists: a Must See List, and a Maybe List. I plan times for (and budget) for the Must See things, and keep the Maybe List with me during the trip for if plans change or we have spare time. I also note the approximate costs as I go just to keep an eye on the budget.
Think about:
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Museums
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Statues
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Walks
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Monuments
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Natural landmarks
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Castles/palaces
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Filming locations
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Recommended restaurants/cafes/bakeries/bars
My trip outline:
We will start in Edinburgh, roadtrip through the Scottish Highlands, explore London, where I'd like to see the Tower of London, visit a friend of my mum’s in Surrey (and look out for signs pointing to Little Whinging). Then we will spend a week in Greenland and another week in Germany. If we can travel during Christmastime (this year or next), we’d all love to see some German Christmas markets in Cologne or Munich.
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So, what are you going to do on your holiday? Comment on facebook or instagram.
The Royal Mile, Edinburgh
Dean Village, Edinburgh
Glencoe, Scottish Highlands
Step Three: Harry Potter and the Hypothetical Holiday - Practicalities
Remember, this is still a hypothetical holiday. Now is not the time for the nitty-gritty details, but it is worth having a think about things like accommodation, transport and packing.
Hostel or Hotel
I’m a huge fan of hostels when I’m travelling alone. They are cheap, its very easy to meet fun people and most hostels host activities such as walking tours of the city, movie nights or pub trivia. I usually use the HostelWorld app to find a good place to stay (rely on the reviews when choosing), but sometimes it is cheaper to book direct through their website if they have one.
However, for this trip, we will go for hotels. While snoring strangers in hostel dorms don’t phase me, for a family trip hotels will be better. I like to use booking.com for finding good deals in hotel rooms.
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Train or Plane or Bus
When deciding how to get from A to B, I check out the options for taking a train, plane, bus or hiring a car and compare the cost vs the travel time. Sometimes it is worth spending an extra $50 for a flight if it saves you 5 hours of travel. I learnt this lesson the hard way when I decided to take a £14 bus from Edinburgh to London (8 hours overnight) instead of the 4-hour train trip for £40. On paper, the bus was a better option (I can sleep anywhere), but in hindsight, I should have gone with the train…. Lesson learned!
When travelling in Europe, my go-to apps/websites were FlixBus, MegaBus, National Rail and Trainline.
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Packing Tips
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Rolling clothes takes up less room than folding
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Multipurpose: Make sure each item of clothing can be worn in different outfits
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Use small packing cubes to separate tops, pants, dresses ect.
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Scarves! They can keep you warm, tuck easily into a small backpack, and can keep the sun off
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If you’re struggling with packing light, use a microfibre towel. It packs small and dries quick
What are your travel tips, tricks and favourite apps? Comment on facebook and instagram.
Step Four: Harry Potter and the Hypothetical Holiday – Sharing
So! Tell us about your next holiday!
My trip plans:
Our family holiday will start in Edinburgh, my favourite place in the world. After a few days in the city, we can hire a car and roadtrip up into the Scottish highlands and to the Isle of Skye. From Edinburgh we can catch a train and bus to Eyam, a small town featured in the novel, "Year of Wonders” by Geraldine Brooks. In 1665 the plague broke out in Eyam, and the villagers decided to quarantine themselves within the village to prevent the spread to neighbouring towns (a story quite relatable, right?) I have visited here once before, and walking through Eyam is just like stepping into “Year of Wonders”. Many of the cottages are still standing and plaques reveal the families who lived there in 1665-6 and Brooks has included most of them in her novel.
From Sheffield train station, we can catch a train to London. I have been to London several times, but I have never had a chance to explore the Tower of London. I am also keen to revisit my favourite place in London: Borough Market. Mum has a friend living in Surrey who she hasn’t seen in years. We can do a day-trip there to meet her, and while we are there I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for signs pointing to Little Whinging!
I don’t know much about Greenland but Mum has always wanted to go and it looks really cool. However, after I looked into it a little more, I realised that return flights from London would cost AU$2500 per person! And so, we decided on Iceland instead. If we are travelling in wintertime, we will try out best to spot the Aurora Borealis!
Our last stop will be Germany, which my Dad and sister are very keen to visit. If we are able to travel at Christmas (2020 or 2021), everybody is very keen to see some German Christmas Markets. We will fly to Cologne and visit another old friend of my mum’s. Photos I have seen from the Cathedral Christmas Market in Cologne look spectacular. We will definitely be going here. While in Germany, I would also like to see Neuschwanstein Castle. Even if you don’t recognise the name, surely you’ll recognise the outline. This castle inspired the Disney Sleeping Beauty castle.
So where will you be going? Post your trip plans in the facebook and instagram comments!
