Websites and YouTube allow us to vicariously explore distant lands from the comfort of the couch, but how hard is it to make them a reality? The answer depends in large part on how picky you may be about travel. There is absolutely nothing wrong with “canned” vacations during which every step is laid out for you. These allow you to go whale watching, climb mountains, or visit exotic ports simply by showing up and stepping aboard a bus or cruise ship.
But what if you long to venture far off the beaten path? Perhaps you want to visit the isolated islands of the South Pacific, trek across Mongolia, or explore the tiny village in northern Italy where your great-grandmother was born. You could simply show up and take it a step at a time, but that’s a recipe for misadventure, as too many things can go wrong. All this is especially true when you venture far from home or abroad.
