TikToker's Unexpected Travel Tip Will Change How You Prepare For Your Next Trip

When you're about to embark on an epic trip, you need to plan many things ahead of time. Some of these include buying your flight well in advance so you get a good price and booking your accommodation in your destination city. There's also being proactive about theater or event tickets, so you can nab 'em before they sell out. However, a famous saying goes, "If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans." Sometimes, the fit hits the shan when it comes to best-laid plans. In those moments, having strict, prepaid plans can come back to haunt you when things go awry. 

According to TikToker @findingfiona's viral video, which has been liked more than 113,000 times, having her entire trip to Bali completely planned out and paid for in advance became a nightmare when she came down with dengue fever. She shared to her over 476,000 followers that, "We had to forfeit about half the Airbnbs that we were gonna stay at. It was such a mess." Her text overlay reveals she couldn't get a refund for some of those prepaid Airbnbs. "Never ever ever plan every second of your trip!" she insists. Here's why being open to travel that embraces spontaneity might be a better option during your next vacation.

If you're highly organized and love to pre-plan everything, your brain might explode when you learn that most people these days prefer to go where the wind takes them and plan little to nothing during their travels. A survey conducted by OnePoll for Motel 6 showed that two-thirds of travelers prefer taking spontaneous trips. Additionally, Americans are spending 30% less of their time planning trips, per a 2023 Travel Trends report by psychologist Emma Kenny in conjunction with Skyscanner. This is backed by psychological research! 

Speaking to HuffPost, Skyscanner's travel trends expert, Laura Lindsay, notes Kenny believes that "spontaneous travel helps foster a 'can-do' attitude and reminds travelers of the limitless possibilities that await them." The most seasoned travelers agree. Travel blogger Rocky Trifari told HuffPost, "Spontaneous travel is a way to meet new people, discover destinations that maybe you wouldn't have gone to ordinarily, and helps prevent decision paralysis, which stops many people from traveling in the first place." 

"Instead of needing to make sure you check everything off of your planned itinerary, you are able to take it all in and not feel the pressure of needing to rush to your next stop," travel blogger Esther Susag also told the outlet. So before you ensure every second of your trip is outlined to the hilt, consider how flexibility and a sense of adventure might make your next vacation more memorable and easier to alter if things go awry!