W hen you’re in your twenties and thirties before you’ve settled down to have a family, you don’t realise the freedom that you have right now. Only when you’ve got to the stage in life where you have a baby or two will you be able to look back and appreciate the years you’re in now, when going away was just a question of grabbing your wallet, your passport and throwing a few clothes in a bag!
Of course, parenthood doesn’t have to stop people enjoying travelling, but it requires a lot more planning. You’ll look back and laugh at the freedom that you had – or perhaps it won’t feel quite so funny when you’re knee deep in baby and toddler paraphernalia at the airport and everyone else is giving you a wide berth because one of your children is wailing its head off!
Then, of course, there’s the next stage of parenthood when your kids are in full-time school and you’re restricted to travelling when prices are highest and everywhere is at its busiest. By the time your kids are of an age where you want to show them amazing sights around the world and they’re big enough to appreciate them, you have to do it with the world and his wife at Christmas, Easter on in the summer holidays.
So, what’s the message here? It’s to all those people who are still young, free and single. Get out there! Book those flights to Paris, Barcelona, Istanbul, Croatia. Go this weekend if you can. Don’t hesitate to see as much of the world as you possibly can – it’s there for the taking with an abundance of cheap flights to get you there.
Soon enough, you’ll be tied down to life with a family, and spontaneous trips will be a mere memory and a fantasy that is no longer within reach – until your kids have left home, that is!