Dan and Becky Teach Travel

My friends Dan and Becky are, as Dan explains in a well-worded blog post, starting a venture called LearnToTravel designed to teach you how to become an independent traveler.

While I’m not entirely convinced that the best way to learn to become an independent traveler isn’t just throwing caution to the wind and going traveling, I also know that some people are just never going to do this: the great chasm of the unknown looms too great.

When Dan and Becky are trying to do, I think, is to plane off enough of the rough edges of your first trip to the point where you emerge confident enough to travel independently thereafter.

Comments

Dan James's picture
Dan James on October 26, 2009 - 16:36 Permalink

We understand the inherent contradiction in “sign up to become an independent traveller!”. As you point out there are some people who just might not make that leap of faith without a little help and security. Maybe we’re more like swimming teachers than tour guides.

Martin Cathrae's picture
Martin Cathrae on October 26, 2009 - 17:02 Permalink

I saw this poster in Beanz yesterday, and though it’s not something that would work for me, I can see the benefits for people who want to travel, but aren’t sure where to start. A fun initiative!

oliver's picture
oliver on October 26, 2009 - 19:30 Permalink

Maybe it will increase the diversity of personalities and perspectives of the people telling the world about Canada and vice versa, which sounds like good thing to me. I can easily imagine that every gender, class and color might travel and still the people who self-select to go could be the same in a way that we at home as a whole are not. To the extent that empowering or encouraging people to travel isn’t to transform them into the kind of person who opts to do so more autonomously, they’re broadening recruitment.