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Your Stories #4: Brook McAllister

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We put together a set of questions to ask travellers whether they travel short or long term. Be inspired as Brook tells us about tarot readings on a beach in Bolivia, Argentinian empanades and the realities of forgetting your experiences…

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After recently turning 28, bubbling under the surface is a need to hit the road, travelling across another continent, exploring the sights and sounds it has to offer (it’s been too long)! Since returning from a round the world trip in 2011 with my girlfriend Rebecca, I have been living in Bristol working as a cameraman and editor for Immediate Media. The content of my job is very varied and I enjoy working across subjects such as astronomy, history, triathlon and weddings. The aim is to film two personal documentary projects next year, one for my Mum’s charity http://www.himalayanchildren.co.uk/ and another for a yet to be decided subject. Watch this space.

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Pros and Cons: Off Season Travel Part 2

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The battle for the Mona Lisa! Photo by Steve Collier.

The battle for the Mona Lisa! Photo by Steve Collier.

In the first part of our look at off-season travel to major tourist destinations we examined the upsides of visiting a place when the tides of tourists are at their lowest levels and prices, crowds and stress levels allow a degree of extra freedom to our exploration of the planet.

In this post we get real (we’re down with the kids) and talk about the factors concerning off-peak travel that are sure to bum you out and make you wish you travelled a few months earlier or later. Again, these are points which we’ve discovered so if you have a different perspective on the subject don’t hesitate to get in touch as you may put forward points which are of use to us!

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Pros and Cons: Off Season Travel Part 1

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Photo by Nicola Attridge.

Photo by Nicola Attridge.

“You should have waited until summer!”

Here’s a phrase that many travellers have heard too often and usually occurs after a comment about the weather or an attraction being closed until the peak season for maintenance and after the first dozen times hearing it you’ll probably become desensitised, smile and accept that yes, you probably should have arrived during peak season when the weather is perfect, every attraction is open and more facilities are available to you. Sometimes you simply can’t help when you need to arrive at a destination. There may be that month you need to fill before a major event in a different country and the only ways to fill it is to stay later at your current location which may not be possible, travel on tangent to a completely different location or to simply turn up early at the location you’re going to be. Or, you could be that cunning adventurer who looks past the cons of off-season travel and experience the destination in a completely different way. In New Zealand, this is definitely what we did. So, what are the pros and cons of off-peak travel?

In the first part we’ll look at some of the benefits of travelling off-peak…

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