Is using the internet for all our travel needs killing off the spirit of adventure?Credit: Patrick Cummins
I have no idea how I survived without the internet.
I don't know how I did half-arsed research before Wikipedia came along. I don't know how I watched people hurting themselves in a hilarious fashion before YouTube came along. And I have no idea how I travelled before... Well, before everything came along.
I use the internet for pretty much every aspect of the travel experience. I use it to search blogs and various websites to decide where I'm going to go. I use it to book the flights, and the accommodation, and the transfers, and my insurance. I use it when I'm on the ground to find out what's going on around me. I use it to communicate with other travellers. And I use it to post photos when I'm done.
I use Google Maps. I use TripAdvisor. I use Hostel World. I use Expedia. I use Priceline. I use Sky Scanner. I use Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree. I use Wikitravel. I use literally hundreds of others.
In fact, I use so many sites and interweb-based gadgets that I've never found the time to figure out whether all this usage is actually such a good thing (and don't worry, I see the irony here).
Let's look at the pros first. For starters, an internet connection and a bit of nouse makes travel agents redundant. That's not good for travel agents, granted, but it is good for people trying to save money on their holidays. No middleman means less to pay.
(Of course, no middleman also means no one to call when things go wrong, but we'll get to that later.)
The internet puts you in charge when you're organising a trip. It lets you find out all the options available, and lets you book them when you want to.
It gives you other travellers' opinions on places to go, stay and eat (although that mightn't last forever), and it lets you book those things in advance of your stay – whether that's a day, or a year.
In fact, with the right apps on your iPhone, you can pretty much switch your brain off and let the internet run your entire holiday.
And that's one of the problems. Our lovely interwebs might just be killing the spirit of adventure.
The point of travelling is to see things you've never seen before, and have new experiences. But just how new are they when you've read all the reviews on TripAdvisor, you've checked out what the city looks like on Google Street View, and you've already figured out everything you're going to do?
It's so tempting to lock yourself into things when you've got the internet at your disposal. You can plan the minutest detail from your loungeroom – but that doesn't leave much room for discovery when you're on the ground in a foreign land.
It's all about finding a balance, of course. I'm not suggesting you go old school and ditch the internet as a travel tool altogether – it just mightn't be a bad idea to ease back a little.
The other problem I've found, and this relates to the travel agent thing, is that you're left to fight your own battles when things go wrong with your own bookings. I've had a few protracted email battles to settle issues, which I would have avoided if I'd booked through someone else.
I warred with a Brazilian airline for months after they charged me twice for a single flight. You think it's tough dealing with Jetstar customer service? Try battling it out over email in Portguese with the help of Google Translator. The biggest surprise was that I won. Eventually.
I also thought I'd botched a ticket order to see FC Barcelona play once (actually, I was convinced I'd used a dodgy website). Several phone calls and unanswered emails later, I finally had the tickets secured. Worth the hassle? Yes.
And without the internet, I doubt I'd have had the chance to buy those tickets at all. So I can't complain too much.
Do you use the internet a lot for travel? Have you had any bad experiences?
Hope you're enjoying the Backpacker blog – there will be a new one published every Tuesday and Wednesday on the Fairfax Media websites. To contact me with any topic suggestions or personal abuse, visit my website, or email me at bengroundwater@gmail.com. I'll do my best to get back to you (if you're nice).
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