The free time included in every Intrepid trip is your time to shine. Whether you’ve got an evening at your leisure or a couple of days base-camped in a new town, what you get up to is all you, baby.
Will you cram in as much as you can, or will you see where the winds blow you? Will you venture out solo or find a crew? These decisions can be tough ones!
We’ve got lots of advice around how to make the most of your free time on an Intrepid trip, but what if you don’t know which of those ways is right for you? Answer these seven questions to help cut to your core and identify the kind of free-timer you are so you can choose to spend your time your way.
How do you decide what takeaway to order?
a. Whatever Uber Eats says will get here fastest.
b. Something shareable I can bring to a potluck.
c. Comfort food like mum used to make.
d. Something I can’t pronounce but the guy at the counter said would change my life.
What do you like to do when it rains?
a. Watch the weather radar to see when it’ll pass so I can get on with my day.
b. Send reels to the group chat.
c. Open the windows, lie down and listen to the pitter-patter.
d. Explore a new-to-me neighbourhood – life doesn’t stop when it rains.
What’s your go-to Friday night activity?
a. Get in a workout and a load of laundry before my reso at a new restaurant that just opened.
b. Whatever my friends feel like doing.
c. Hot bath, a good book and asleep before 10.
d. Checking out that Lebanese place that a cab driver recommended three weeks ago.
It’s day one of your trip and you realise you forgot to pack shirts. How do you react?
a. Psshh, I would never forget anything.
b. Ask someone at the welcome meeting if I can borrow one of theirs.
c. Meh, I’m sure I’ll find a shop that sells shirts eventually.
d. Hit up a local tailor and get something spiffy that doubles as a shirt and a one-of-a-kind souvenir.
What’s your approach to planning your weekend?
a. Do you want it in a calendar or spreadsheet? I’ve got both. For the next six weekends.
b. Polling the group chat.
c. Hot bath, a good book, asleep before 10 – times two.
d. Find an unfamiliar band name on a street poster and hit up a live show.
When you land in a new city, what’s the first thing you do?
a. Check in early (I already requested it) and hit up the café I pinned to my trip’s Pinterest board four months ago.
b. Ask a fellow traveller if they want to go explore the city.
c. Sprawl out on the hotel bed and rate my mattress’s comfort on a scale of 1 to mmmmm.
d. Ask the gate agent in the local language about the best spots to watch the sunset.
What show are you binging right now?
a. The Bear. I thrive on a little organised and properly labelled chaos.
b. Friends. Has there BEEN a greater group of pals ever?
c. Our Planet II. David Attenborough narrating slow-mo birds is my kind of ASMR.
d. Street Food. Just to point out the places I visited before they blew up on Netflix.
The results
- Mostly As: Fill-the-day Type A
You’re here for a good time, not a long time, so make hay while the sun shines, explorer. You’ve probably already memorised the local history museum’s schedule and plotted the optimal route between exhibits that gets you out in time to hire a bike to cycle the coastline and back and hit up a pop-up dance class in the city square before sunset. Nailed it, as always.
- Mostly Bs: Join a crew and get lost
As far as you’re concerned, the who matters more than the where or what, so your free time is all about pulling together a crew of new friends so you can ditch the maps and see where the wind blows you. Don’t worry, you’ve been rallying the troops for an epic free day on day six since the welcome meeting.
- Mostly Cs: Relax and roll with it
You’re on holiday, not a mission to save the universe, so your free time is best enjoyed reclined somewhere or venturing out about as far as you can get at a sloth’s pace with frequent stops to smell the roses and any other flowers, fruits – oooh, a bird – you find along the way.
- Mostly Ds: Live like a local
Why trust Google when you can ask those who live it day in and day out. Your best approach to free time is to start by asking your leader… for their phone so you can contact their friends and family and find the best spots.
