It's easier than ever to create your own holiday - and here are some suggestions and pointers.
Travelling to foreign lands used to be fraught with danger. Most people booked their travel experiences with a local travel agent. After all, how else would they deal with people in foreign countries who didn't speak English or even eat the same shaped sausages as them?
Today, how things have changed. Just look at the amazing range of holidays on offer.
The old package destinations used to boast they had something for everybody - now it seems there's somewhere for everybody.
And the way in which we book holidays is changing fast too. More and more of us now book directly with tour operators, hotels and airlines. And we don't just have one holiday a year, we have several.
Travel agents have moved with the times too. Now they will tailor-make your holiday - with flights from dozens of regional airports, add-on excursions and multi-centre stop-overs.
The internet has helped this revolution to happen. We can look up a hotel and see what the bedrooms are like. We can email a tourist office to ask about restaurants or find a bargain-priced last-minute deal.
Whatever your age, education and travel experience, it has never been simpler to arrange your own holiday, to take a bold step away from the norm, to be more adventurous. Whatever you want to do, you can do it somewhere in the world. It's just up to you to go and find it. So what do you want to do? Here are a few ideas to get you started.
OK, so thousands of other people have beaten you to it. So what? The magnificent scenery and spectacular wildlife in Kenya and Tanzania are still as breathtaking as ever. Lots of tour operators offer treks and safaris to East Africa. Some take you to the ice-caps of Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, others offer time out on the exotic spice island of Zanzibar. Find the one that suits you best.
The changing face of travel
Volunteer holidays are a huge growth area as more and more of us swap lying on the beach for repairing footpaths and digging wells. The choice is dazzling. Conserve leatherback turtles in Mexico, elephants in Namibia, the rainforest in Costa Rica or whales in the Azores Archipelago. Alternatively, why not teach English in Bangalore or help rebuild areas devastated by the tsunami?
Round the world air tickets have pushed the old Inter-Rail pass into the background. But this all-in-one ticket is still a fantastic way to see Europe, and remarkably good value too. A global pass giving you unlimited travel in 29 European countries costs £405 if you're over 26 and just £285 if you're under 26. Take a look at
www.interrailnet.com
The Imaginative Traveller ( www.imaginative-traveller.com), an adventure tour company that offers over 250 escorted small group tours across the globe.
Also specialising in small group adventure travel tours is Explore (www.explore.co.uk). Dedicated to responsible tourism, Explore uses local-run accomodation and services. This means clients are able to get closer to the culture and people of a country while giving something back.
The Intrepid (www.intrepidtravel.com) range of 'Independent' holidays allows you to travel alone or with a friend. You relax, while Intrepid organises transport, accommodation and guides. Take four days, for example, to discover the Hindu capital of Varanasi on the banks of the river Ganges, India.
One of the leaders in volunteer holidays is responsibletravel.com, the online travel agent. See www.responsibletravel.com
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