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Advantages of Independent Travel

There is a changing tide in the travel industry. Traditionally massive package holiday companies have block booked villas, hotels, flights, tours and coach transfers from and to the airport. Every detail of ones holiday was catered for by the tour operator. Two weeks in July with bacon and eggs by the pool. The situation is however changing and the trend is towards independent travel.

The independent traveler is on the scene and with the arrival and growth of the internet individuals no longer need accept a tin sardine holiday. Low cost airlines have made it possible for individuals to make huge savings on flights especially by booking mid week and at least two weeks in advance. We have seen a huge increase in the purchase of one way tickets. The modern traveler wants more flexibility and will often extend or shorten their trips depending on how much they are enjoying themselves.

The package holiday companies placed massive burdens on the infrastructure and environment of summer holiday destinations such as Majorca and the Algarve. Their ability to monopolise the accommodation market and dictate pricing has not only created ghost towns that are virtually deserted for most of the year, it has also conned thousands of people with misleading real estate opportunities and created a housing bubble and surplus as well as unnecessarily spoiling miles of coastline.

Taking an independent holiday and renting holiday villas directly from the owner of the property has major advantages over the package holiday trap. There are fewer middle men taking their hefty commissions for renting the villa, apartment or hotel room to you. Often these savings are passed on meaning your holiday can be cheaper. You get to choose exactly which property you are renting. Instead of finding yourself in a murky hotel room with a leaking sink or a green swimming pool you have the freedom to personally speak with someone you can trust and who takes pride in providing a service of a higher standard and better value for money.

You have more freedom to roam, to stay in more than one rental property or to travel around and discover rural hotels and get off the beaten path. The trend towards independent travel has colossal benefits for the environment and local economies. Instead of profits being siphoned off into the already inflated bank accounts of mammoth corporations, small businesses and the local economy get a bigger slice of the pie. The season is extended as independent travelers take advantage of lower prices and less competition in the shoulder and low seasons.

Independent travelers travel to a greater variety of places. Instead of large concentrations of people arriving in a single location in July or August the independent traveler will venture elsewhere reducing the environmental footprint and helping the economies of more rural economies.

In the traditional package holiday situation tradition and culture were at best artificial spectacles such as a flamenco night in Tenerife and at worst local people have felt exploited and tourists unwelcome. The mammoth companies keep sending the tourists and in locations such as Majorca where the package still rules restaurant proprietors needn’t worry about reputation or providing value for money because tomorrow a new load of pale faced tourists will be arriving.

With independent travel one is free. Free to choose, free to move, free to travel onwards, to follow ones intuition, to enjoy and interact with the local people, to see the real culture and to travel in a more environmentally sustainable way that benefits the local people and their economy.

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Martin Thompson is an independent travel writer specialising in online travel guide writing and photography. His web sites feature owner’s direct villas in Portugal and Majorca holiday villa rentals.