Since the launch of our new Self-Guided Experiences many people have been asking the following questions:
“How does it actually work?”
“What makes them self-guided if someone plans it for you?”
“What’s included and what am I paying for?”
“Why should I pay for this, if I can do it myself?
So this blog post is all about breaking the concept down and answering these common questions.
How it all starts:
A typical scenario, that I’m sure a lot of people can relate to, is you decide you really want to go to a particular destination such as Iceland – you don’t want to do a group tour and you enjoy the excitement of exploring a place on your own and on your own schedule, but an issue arises – you’re not sure where to start and in most cases you just don’t have time to put into planning all the details of your trip.
It can be overwhelming deciding which route to take, what to see, where to eat, what are tourists traps, what are some accessible off the beaten track places, where can you find hiking trails, and so forth. So this is where we come in.
West Iceland Road Trip
What we offer:
Have you ever returned from a trip only to find out that you missed some amazing sight that was literally 5 minutes away from where you were? And you just didn’t know at the time?
We’ve created travel routes and recommended itineraries in a variety of destinations that you can explore on your own without having to book a group tour. We have self-guided adventures created for Vancouver Island, Iceland, and Sweden so far. We only offer destinations that we have personal on the ground knowledge in, ensuring that you have exclusive info for each place. Once you decide on a destination, dates, and a travel route that interests you, we will arrange your accommodations and domestic travel which may include a rental car, boat service, flights, and trains. All the basic things you need to book and arrange anyways.
Value-added service:
We’ve only selected destinations that we have an intimate knowledge of and have personally been to. Some of the destinations we have spent several months in, or have even lived in, providing you with more inside knowledge on our favourite local spots in each of the destinations. We make it easy for you – all of these local secrets and hidden gems are all labeled on an offline map that is GPS triggered and available for download onto your smartphone or tablet.
On this map you will have everything you need and its location allowing you to have an incredible experience and make the most out of your adventure. You’ll find hiking trails, scenic viewpoints, good places to see wildlife, interesting cultural & historical places, great places to eat, good picnic spots, and other interesting points of interest. All of the places to eat, activities, and points of interest are in line with our values of supporting local businesses and responsible tourism. We’ve all been there looking for a place to eat on TripAdvisor only to find KFC rated as the best place to eat in town!? Not quite what you’re looking for… We’ve essentially done all the research for you but have added our favourite “local spots” and are happy to share them with you.
Vancouver Island, Canada
What makes it self-guided?
Your time is valuable and travel is supposed to be about having fun – not spending 2 hours on Google each morning looking for things to do. We’ve done the grunt work of testing & labeling all the interesting sites and things to do on our interactive map, but each day it’s really up to you to decide what you want to do. We’ll just ensure you have all the info you need and your basic needs arranged like where you are sleeping and how you are travelling from place to place. That means you have all the adventure and freedom, but without hours of planning and determining what to do in each place you’re visiting.
Stockholm Archipelago
What are you paying for?
You’re paying for us to arrange your basic needs such as accommodations and domestic travel – which you have to book anyways. Plus you get the value-added service of us providing you with our insider’s knowledge on each destination and an offline interactive map that provides you with all the details you need to make your adventure special. In addition you will also get our exclusive travel guide that you can print out and take with you on your adventure that has details on recommended things to do along your route.
Also if you want to book any excursions ahead
So there you have it – hope that broke it down for you. We are looking to expand this service to include more destinations in Europe and Canada. We would love to hear from you on the destinations you’re interested in – please comment below or email us at info@travelroots.ca to share your thoughts.
Start exploring our destinations here.