Drawing up programs for servicing weekend tours. Drawing up service programs for weekends Traveling on weekends: in what season to organize trips

* The calculations use average data for Russia

100,000 ₽

Investments

6 months

Payback

50-100%

Profitability

Organizing horseback riding and hiking tours is a relatively new direction in the field of tourism in our country, which, nevertheless, is assessed by experts as promising and profitable for beginning entrepreneurs.

The main disadvantage of this type of business is its pronounced seasonality. But, on the other hand, such a business, as a rule, “grows” out of a hobby, which allows you to combine business with pleasure. And, besides, it does not require a large start-up capital to start it. So at first it can be combined with work and considered solely as a hobby.

Classification of tourist routes

So, if you are going to make a living by conducting tourist trips in the format of a “weekend tour” or a multi-day trip with a rich program, first of all, you need to decide on the routes. There are several different classifications tourist routes for various reasons.

thematic routes, in which excursions are provided and, in general, educational orientation predominates;

physical education and recreational activities with mandatory inclusion in the program of sports and physical education and recreational activities (these also include the now fashionable yoga tours);

combined, which combine elements of the above types of routes.

Routes are also divided according to seasonality into year-round, or off-season and seasonal (for a certain time of year - skiing, mountain, water, etc.). According to the structure of the route, routes can be divided into linear with a mandatory visit to one or several points along the way from the point of departure to the destination; radial (stationary) with a visit to one point on the route; circular (crossing tours) with the same starting and ending points of the route and visiting several points along the route.

In addition, experts divide routes by duration into multi-day routes (from two weeks to a month), weekend routes (1-3 days) and excursions (lasting several hours). On the route you can use your own transport, or transport rented from other organizations, or personal transport tourists (for example, if we are talking about bicycle trips, then providing each tourist with a bicycle would be quite expensive).

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Depending on the type of movement, pedestrians are distinguished tourist routes or walks, the length of which can range from 2 to 50 km, depending on the preparation of the participants; routes with transportation by animals (for example, horses, less often - deer and dogs); railway routes(the least common option now, when travelers live on the train, spend the night in carriages, and visit places of interest during the day); air transport(the most expensive tour option), water routes on boats of various types, yachts and other small watercraft, as well as watercraft, including rafts and rowing or motor boats. There are also combined types of transportation using several at once within one tour. various types transport.

It is advisable that your campaign has one goal, clearly and clearly formulated. This could be, for example, hunting or fishing, visiting certain memorable places, relaxing in the mountains, etc. One of the promising, although difficult, areas for work is extreme tourism, which involves active modes of transportation (sports games, rock climbing, rafting, underwater tourism, safaris, etc.).

The difficulty lies in the increased risks - danger to the health and even life of the participants in such a tour. One of the types of active tours is adventure travel. Such tours are rare in our country, due to the complexity of their organization. These include, for example, visiting various exotic places, often using non-traditional Vehicle. Of course, in our country there are many options for adventure tours. Folk tales, tales and legends, local legends, etc. can be taken as a basis for developing a program for such a trip.

Depending on the main purpose of the trip, the following types of tours can be called: a tour for hunting, fishing, trips to nature or to nature reserves to observe animals in their natural habitat, photo hunting; tour with visits to military facilities, training grounds, prisons, etc.; disaster site tours; tours for the purpose of searching for various treasures (refer to adventure and entertainment tours).

Ecotourism program

Make a detailed program for it, down to the hourly schedule. Of course, you are unlikely to be able to keep it as accurate as possible, but your participants will have an idea of ​​what they will get in the end. Adequately assess the level of training and capabilities of people. We must strive to ensure that this level is approximately the same for all participants.

In practice, this turns out to be difficult to achieve, especially when it comes to trips with a more general theme (for example, to places of interest or in the case of weekend tours). Among your clients there will be both young active people and older people; more resilient and physically prepared and people not accustomed to increased stress. You need to try to make sure that both are equally interested in participating in your hiking trips.

Ready ideas for your business

Weekend tours, as a rule, are held either in the same area where you live and where you will recruit like-minded clients, or in nearby regions (so that the journey to your destination does not take more than 3-5 hours). “Full-scale” trips are carried out outside a certain region and usually take ten days or more. The latter option requires more serious preparation, as well as good knowledge of the chosen routes and/or the presence of a reliable guide.

Groups for participation in tourist trips are recruited in two main ways. In the first case, the purpose of the hike is first determined, and then the search for participants is carried out. You can search for them through travel companies, by placing advertisements in print publications (not the most effective and at the same time quite expensive way), through local websites, forums, groups in in social networks(best option). In the second case, one or several groups are first recruited, goals are outlined for each of them, and a schedule of trips is drawn up. This option is suitable if you have several partners - guides who can replace you. In this case, you perform mainly the functions of an organizer.

Ready ideas for your business

The program of your tour should include detailed information about the purpose of the trip, route, duration, conditions and, of course, cost. In amateur hikes, as a rule, there is one organizer, and the participants have equal responsibilities. In commercial hikes, the organizer not only takes care of all organizational issues, but also tries to provide the most comfortable conditions for the hike participants.

For example, instead of setting up camp in the most suitable location, campsites or even guest houses are rented. Don’t be confused by the fact that professionals who have extensive experience in participating in hiking trips consider such events more like a parody of a real hike. In most cases, among your clients there will be beginners and amateurs who have been hiking in their youth and are not ready for either difficult living conditions or serious physical exertion.

After you decide on the purpose of the hike and the composition of your group, you need to choose and develop a route. If you do not have much experience in organizing hikes, then it is better to start with short excursions and trips around native land. To begin, carefully study the tourist resources along the selected route of your route, determine the type of route, build its sketch model and route, draw up a travel schedule and a group movement schedule. Think about where your group will stay, where you will prepare food and spend the night. Be sure to take a test hike along the chosen route, making changes to the program of your tour based on its results.

Start with routes that go along good roads, does not require special equipment and cartographic material (so that there are enough road signs and overview diagrams for orientation on the terrain), without long rests. In the future it will be possible for more experienced travelers offer routes along forest paths and clearings, river banks, through swamps, mountains and passes with long halts and overnight stays.

Ready ideas for your business

Carefully approach the issue of planning your travel route. To do this, you can and should use several sources at once - reference books, guidebooks and cartographic material. Even if you use ready-made schemes, try to find some additional “tricks” of your own. The routes you choose must necessarily be consistent with the transport schedule, operating hours of museums, admission to nature reserves, etc. If you decide to open your own travel company, then you will need to coordinate and approve the route passport, which is used when creating tours.

Rules for organizing a successful trip

First of all, the route you choose for a day's trek should be suitable in complexity and length for all members of your group. Ideally, it is better to use your own transport to move between objects (this will help avoid annoying misunderstandings and conflicts), but you can also use local transport.

Places for long halts and overnight stays should be equipped with a supply of fuel and food, and should also preferably be equipped with emergency communications. If possible, give preference for long stops to guest houses and hotels where you can relax. When planning your route, be sure to take into account the reserve time in case of various unforeseen circumstances and delays on the road.

To organize hikes you will need special equipment, which is divided into personal, group and special. Personal equipment includes wearable items - sleeping and washing supplies, other personal items (backpacks, mugs, bowls, spoons, etc.). Group equipment includes tents, tools (for example, axes), cooking utensils, route materials, etc.

Special equipment includes items determined by the specifics of the route you have chosen - from life jackets and ropes to ice axes and insect nets. You will have to purchase group and special equipment yourself based on the number of group members plus 1-2 people (if something suddenly gets lost or breaks down during the hike).

Ensure the safety of your participants, especially if you are hiking in areas where dangerous wild animals live. However, people can also pose a danger, which also needs to be taken into account. If you are doing multi-day hikes, you will need at least one (or preferably two) assistants.

As your business grows, you should think about expanding your staff. So, you may need rescuers, medical personnel, additional guides, translators, experienced hunters and fishermen. Additional expenses will be required to provide transportation, from SUVs and boats to bicycles and horses. All this is usually rented at the starting point of the hike.

The most promising place to start such a business is villages near closed protected areas. Some companies organize campsites or even entire mini-villages for tourists with log cabins, the rental of which can become an additional (and very significant) source of income.

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Introduction

tour recreational hike weekend

Tourism today is one of the growing and developing sectors in the global economy. It is the glue of world unity, the key path for socio-economic progress throughout the world.

At the moment, there is a quick way to identify more and more new tourist destinations.

Weekend tours are becoming more and more popular. If the vacation is still far away, and the fatigue accumulated during work makes itself felt, then weekend tours - The best way take a break from everyday work and plunge into a completely different world for a short period of time, add a little variety to everyday life, without leaving important matters. This type tourism includes trips with the whole family, with a group of friends, with colleagues, or even romantic walks with your loved one. Weekend tours are ideal to celebrate a birthday or company anniversary.

The increasing workload on a person during the working week and the desire to have an interesting weekend make weekend tours more and more popular. This expresses the relevance of our chosen topic.

The purpose of the course work is to identify the essence and features of weekend tours, to organize the development of this type of recreational trip.

To achieve this goal, the following tasks will be solved:

1. Reveal the essence of weekend tours;

2. Analyze the process of developing and preparing a program for a tourist trip;

3. Describe the procedure for conducting a tourist trip;

4. Distribute responsibilities in the tourist group;

5. Indicate the basic tourist documentation required for the tourist trip.

The object of the study is weekend tours.

The subject of this course work is the creation and technology of developing weekend tours.

The methodological basis of our work was provided by regulations and documents in the field of tourism, the work of Russian and foreign tourism researchers, and data from information resources.

Theoretical aspects of weekend tours

The essence of weekend tours

The main directions of tourism development were educational and recreational in nature; significantly contributed to the education and spiritual enrichment of various segments of the population, contributed to the knowledge of the fatherland and the formation of national self-awareness.

Recreational trips were originally developed for business people who did not have enough time for vacation. Thus, from 1890 to the October Revolution, a tourist infrastructure (transport network, restaurant and hotel industry) was formed, numerous travel agencies, clubs, bureaus, and companies appeared. Two main components of the tourist market are being formalized - elite tourism of the wealthy strata and excursion and recreational tourism intelligentsia.

In the modern pace of life, many people have no time to spare time for an excursion or tour. A great solution could be tours that can be done on a weekend. These tours provide an opportunity to get acquainted with the main attractions in just one day and have a wonderful weekend.

Weekend tours are a 2-3 day vacation, usually covering only one working day - Friday.

Weekend tours have different directions:

1. educational tourism - does not depend on the age of the participants, only on their range of interests.

Educational tours are divided into:

· stationary tours (stay of tourists in one city, tourist center);

· route tours (visits to several settlements, attractions, built in the form of a travel route);

· entertainment tours (entertainment during a tourist trip. The main programs are excursion and entertainment.

Entertainment tours can be:

· periodic or one-time - organized on holidays, during vacations or on traditional festivals;

· regular - tours to specially created places of permanent entertainment.);

2. Eco-tourism - includes both small educational tours for schoolchildren and regular tourist programs in national parks and nature reserves;

3. Business tourism - tourist trips for business purposes.

Despite the wide variety of types of tourism, recreational trips on weekends are in greatest demand among the population.

A weekend hike is the simplest form of active tourism , it is especially attractive to residents of cities and towns. Urbanization, the movement of people within a limited space, the lack of interpersonal communication and direct contact with the natural environment all lead to a person’s isolation in his own world. One of the possible solutions to this most pressing problem of our time could be weekend hikes.

This form of spending free time is especially important for children, because During the hike, they have the opportunity to communicate, learn, prepare for work, and gain social experience. On such trips, children will learn self-service, collectivism, discipline, and responsibility.

Another distinctive feature of weekend trips is the increased degree of freedom of action of the child in a group and direct contact with the natural environment, which contains a storehouse of knowledge and unforgettable sensations. At every step something new, previously unknown, awaits him, something that teaches and educates.

A weekend hike includes: the preparatory stage, the actual implementation and summing up its results. All this constitutes a cycle of tourist activity.

The first part of the cycle consists of preparatory work:

Selecting an area and developing a route. Drawing up a travel schedule.

Group recruitment. Distribution of duties.

Calculation of the trip budget. Menu creation.

Preparation of trip documentation.

Preparation of group and personal equipment. Purchasing food.

The second part of the series includes:

Overcoming the intended route.

Maintaining a traveling lifestyle.

Self-service for hikers.

Collection of educational and local history material (photos, videos, etc.)

The third part of the series includes:

Processing of collected educational and local history material.

Preparation of written reports, design of photo newspapers, etc.

Discussion of the results of the trip.

Preparation for any hike begins with determining its goal. And although the main goal of a weekend hike is active recreation in the natural environment, nevertheless, the goal of the route for the participants should be something interesting, special from the point of view of knowledge of the surrounding world or obtaining aesthetic impressions of the beauty of the places visited.

The purpose of a weekend trip depends on the composition of the group and the tourist opportunities of the native land, knowledge of which is necessary for everyone, regardless of age and profession. Visiting historical or natural monuments, picking mushrooms, berries, medicinal herbs, observing flora and fauna, combined with games, competitions, competitions will make a weekend trip meaningful and memorable.

When developing a weekend hiking route, you need to consider the following important principles:

1. The hike must correspond to the preparedness of the leader and the preparedness of the group to complete the planned route. There should be no rush to include complex obstacles in the route that pose physical and psychological difficulties for travelers (large climbs, water obstacles, swampy or difficult areas, etc.).

2. The route should pass through the most beautiful places. The presence of interesting tourist sites will contribute to the emergence of positive emotional arousal, which in turn will relieve accumulated fatigue. A difficult route through unattractive places will not contribute to the development of children’s interest in tourism.

3. The route of the hike should teach and educate. Therefore, when developing a hiking route, it is necessary to provide for everything that would contribute to the replenishment of children’s knowledge, their education (diversity of flora and fauna, places of military and labor glory, places of life and work of outstanding people), the development of self-service and self-sufficiency skills when performing bivouac work, collecting firewood, working by the fire.

4. The hiking route should be designed so that its end point is as close as possible to transport communications. The return home after a hike for tired travelers should be short so that the positive impressions of the hike are not spoiled.

You can go on weekend hikes with overnight stays when the participants have experience of country walks and long-distance weekend hikes without an overnight stay.

In preparing for a weekend hike with an overnight stay, participants must take an active part: prepare group and personal equipment for the hike, purchase food, ensure its safety and transportation.

The selection of a weekend hiking area is carried out on the basis of an analysis of topographic maps, diagrams and other information documents containing information about excursion sites in the hiking area, natural monuments, tourist sites, etc. From this point of view, the most optimal areas for a hike are those with the greatest recreational potential.

These should be territories not polluted by economic activity, containing large forest areas (light pine forests, broad-leaved forests), picturesque landscapes, with well-defined relief and observation points, hydrographic objects (rivers and lakes suitable for swimming and recreation).

In the hiking area there should be convenient starting and ending points for the group from the point of view of the group’s arrival and departure by public or charter transport. The area should contain a set of convenient, not tiring forest or field roads and trails for walking.

From the point of view of preserving the environment and maximum comfort for participants in a weekend hike, the advantage is given to the area that contains equipped places for tourists to spend the night and rest. Moreover, such tourist stops are usually arranged in the most picturesque places suitable for recreational purposes with the presence of sources of clean water.

An important factor when choosing a weekend hiking area is the amount of free time that the participants have and their potential material costs. A hiking area located as close as possible to your place of residence will reduce travel time and financial costs.

Protected natural areas with the possibility of hosting tourist events - national parks - best meet the above criteria for choosing an area for weekend hikes. It is there that the development of tourism activities is as important a task as the conservation of natural recreational resources. In the territories of national parks, marked hiking routes are laid out, there are educational objects of interest with the possibility of conducting excursions by qualified specialists, equipped tourist bivouacs and lunch stops, etc.

After choosing a hiking area, based on available cartographic material and other information, tourists develop a specific hiking route (route thread). The route thread, plotted on a topographic map of the hiking area, represents the following sequence of landmarks: the starting point, reference points for the day's marches, places of tourist bivouacs and the finishing point.

When developing a hiking route, the following creative work is performed:

the required length of the route and duration of the hike are determined (taking into account the composition of the group and the intended goals of the hike);

from all those present in the hiking area, specific target recreational and educational objects of visit are selected (“highlights” of the trip);

the points of arrival and departure of the group from the route that are convenient for reaching the intended recreational and educational sites are determined;

places for organizing bivouacs and large halts are determined, which should maximally satisfy the tasks of safety, recreation and health improvement of participants, as well as the implementation of excursion and educational tasks;

the tactical route scheme is determined (linear, circular, with sections of radial movement);

the ways to reach the intended main recreational and educational sites and points for organizing lunch stops and bivouacs are determined (the group’s route);

the route, as a result of the above actions, is divided into separate, feasible for the participants, day trips of a certain length;

During daytime crossings, reference landmarks are outlined for precise movement along the route (point, linear, area).

As stated above, the length of the route is determined by the composition of the group. Along the route of the hike, the most convenient and suitable points for lunch stops and the organization of field camps for overnight stays (bivouacs) are outlined. Having identified bivouac points in the hiking area, the route will automatically be divided into a number of day trips, which should be feasible for the participants and not cause them excessive physical and mental fatigue.

Based on the location of target recreational facilities in the selected area and convenient starting and finishing points of the hike, tourists determine the optimal tactical route design: linear, circular, combined (including circular sections and radial sections).

The linear route is not closed, and has different start and finish points, distant from each other.

In the case of a circular (closed) route, a single start and finish point is assumed.

Hiking often uses a combined route scheme with the inclusion of circular sections on a generally linear route or sections of radial movement. Radial exits are carried out from bivouac or rest areas to target objects with subsequent return to the starting point along the same path. The use of radial movement along the route allows tourists to effectively conduct sightseeing and more fully enjoy unique natural sites, since they are not burdened with traveling cargo and can cover considerable distances.

When choosing the optimal route to the locations of bivouacs and target objects along the route, forest and field roads are marked on the map (it is recommended to avoid traveling on highways and highways), going in the required directions, and other linear landmarks for movement (clearings, river banks, etc.) .d.). The length of crossings along clearings and off-roads should be limited. Overcoming obstacles is not the goal of a weekend hike. Thus, a specific route for each day's journey is determined on the map.

Within each day's transition, a number of reference points for movement should be outlined. These landmarks will be needed for the purpose of confident orientation and adherence to the intended route. Various terrain landmarks serve as reference points for the route: point landmarks (road intersections, individual buildings, bridges, etc.); linear (roads and clearings used for movement or crossed during movement, river banks, boundaries between forests and fields, etc.); area (settlements, lakes, small forests).

In conclusion, you should evaluate the intended route as a whole: the distance of the starting and ending points of the route from transport routes, the attractiveness of the selected recreational and educational objects, the convenience and reliability of the chosen routes to them, the logic of the chosen tactical route scheme, the places where bivouacs will be organized, etc.

Based on the scale of the map, it is necessary to once again carefully (strictly along the line of the intended movement) measure the length of all planned daily crossings; determine the total length of the route and compare it with the intended parameters for a specific group of tourists. If necessary, the necessary adjustments are made to the planned route.

The next step in preparing for a weekend hike is collecting group equipment. This includes: food, plastic film, an axe, a saw, buckets or pots, a ladle, matches, a compass, a route map, a first aid kit and sports equipment. All group equipment is distributed among the participants of the trip. Matches and a map should be stored in a plastic bag during the hike.

Such a set of equipment is necessary if you plan to cook hot food over a fire, and if you plan a “buffet” of products taken from home by all participants in the hike, then there is no need for this. But the romance of travel involves smoke, fire and hot tea. In addition, during hikes, a variety of situations can arise, including extreme ones: it started to rain, a participant rubbed his leg or burned his hand, or even got completely lost in an unfamiliar area...

When choosing personal equipment, the following recommendations should be followed.

Weekend hikes take place depending on the season: comfortable clothes(sports or trouser suits) and loose shoes (sneakers, sneakers, hiking boots). Shoes must be worn, otherwise abrasions and calluses on the feet are inevitable. Wool and cotton socks are also a must. Socks made of synthetic threads are unacceptable for hiking, because they do not provide adequate heat and air exchange when walking. Feet sweat quickly and calluses may form.

A hat made of synthetic fabric is also undesirable, as are fur hats for skiing and hiking. A headdress for summer hikes should be made of simple light-colored fabric; for autumn-winter hikes, it should be made of woolen fabric of varying thicknesses. Depending on the time of year and weather, take with you woolen sweaters, windproof suits and spare cotton T-shirts, although experienced tourists never rely on the mercy of nature, but rely only on themselves.

A mandatory attribute of personal equipment is a backpack. The use of sports bags is not advisable, since the design of the backpack optimally distributes the load along the body, which allows you to comfortably cover the route.

Warning! Everything written here is based on our experience and verified, but still do not forget to think with your own head.

Where to go on weekends to travel: choose a direction

Over the weekend it is quite possible to visit cities, towns, villages, hamlets or see other interesting objects, remote from your place of residence at a distance of 1 to 500 km. And in some cases you can manage to visit more remote places, but, however, already on the plane, but more on that a little later.

The luckiest people, of course, are the residents of Moscow, St. Petersburg and major cities, near which there are many interesting places. For example, a weekend trip from Moscow can be organized to a huge number of places famous throughout Russia, which are no more than 500 km away from the capital: these are the cities of the Golden Ring, the cities of the Moscow region, regional and district centers of neighboring regions. There are so many interesting places around Moscow that it could take several years to explore them if you do it every day.

How to organize weekend trips for residents of non-metropolitan areas? In other places, there are slightly fewer travel destinations, but with proper research you are sure to find something interesting. Open Yandex and explore. We are constantly faced with the fact that people often do not know that near their place of residence (1-500 km) there are worthy of attention things. And sometimes it gets ridiculous when locals don’t even suspect that there are interesting sights nearby, or ignore them, while tourists from other regions specifically go there to see it.

Where to get time, or proper planning

Traveling on weekends means having only two days off from work: Saturday and Sunday. We act differently depending on the distance to an interesting place. For example…

• 1-100 km. Typically, one day off is required. We use Saturday more often to devote Sunday to household chores. Trip without an overnight stay.
• 100-250 km. We most often use two days: Saturday and Sunday. One overnight stay required.
• 250-500 km. In this case, we most often leave on Friday after work. Two overnight stays required. We arrive home on Sunday after nine in the evening. We have time to have dinner, take a shower and go to bed.
• 500-2000 km. This also happens, but you need to take an extra day off, or even two. This, of course, is not a weekend tour in the full sense of the word, but such an opportunity should still be mentioned. In fact, weekend travel benefits greatly from just one day of vacation. Typically (but not necessarily), we take an extra day or two because we most likely bought cheap plane tickets. In general, this is a rather interesting way of finding time for citizens working for their uncle. Just think about how much additional features you get by taking only one day off on Friday. Agree that doing this from time to time, say, a couple of times a year, is quite possible.

Weekend Travel: Additional Sources of Travel Time

• May holidays: three and sometimes four days on May 1 or May 9.
• May holidays (combined): you can take a weekend in between May holidays- it turns out to be a whole vacation.
• Three days holidays- these are socially beloved holidays, which, due to the postponement of the working day, give three free days off: February 23 or March 8, Russia Day in June and National Unity Day in November...
• New Year holidays– more than a week of free time.

Weekend travel: what season should you organize your trips?

How to organize weekend trips depending on the season? When is the best time to go? You should travel at any time of the year. We do this in winter, summer, autumn, and spring. Now, for example, we most trips were planned for winter and autumn. Firstly, because in spring and summer there will be a lot of things to do in the village, and secondly, because winter and autumn are the period when cheap air tickets are on sale. An additional advantage is that this is not the season for summer residents, and they do not create crowds on trains, and you also benefit in price, because at this time everything is somewhat cheaper than in the warm season.

Where to sleep

We use the following overnight stay methods (listed in order of frequency of use).

• We most often use it when we go to festivals or interesting places Outdoors.
• Couchsurfing or other Implies no payment for overnight stay. A plus, as a rule, is interesting communication with the owners of the home and the opportunity to prepare food in the kitchen. A sleeping bag may be required.
• We rent private housing through the airbnb website. It’s a very cool thing, I highly recommend it: This is especially true for large cities: you can find housing to suit different budgets and tastes. We try to search through it budget housing. An additional plus is the ability to prepare food in the kitchen.
• Hostels and hotels. We don’t shoot often, but we still have to use it sometimes. Looking for on the site www.booking.com. In hostels it is possible to prepare a full meal, but in hotels this is more difficult.
• With friends and relatives. Great way. Well, let's remember where your relatives, classmates, classmates, and colleagues live. Get on social networks and look for them. This also helps us a lot, which in itself implies communication with relatives.

How to navigate

How to organize weekend trips taking into account transport options? For example, we try to travel in different ways: on foot, hitchhiking, by train, by train, by bus, and if we find cheap air tickets, then by plane. For example, at the moment we are preparing weekend trips to cities where it is most convenient for us to get there by train, but for December I’m going to Grozny, and for the February holidays - a cheap air ticket to Arkhangelsk.

Things for the road

For weekend trips you need very few things. As a rule, a city backpack is enough for one person, unless, of course, you need to carry a tent and other equipment for spending the night in nature. Here's what we take with us...

• Cloth– the one we wear seasonally. Additionally, we take as a plus: if it’s cold, warm pants, a second fleece or sweater, if it’s warm, an extra T-shirt. Another pair of socks and underwear.
• Camera– sometimes I additionally take another lens for it.
• Telephone– we use a phone without Internet, but probably we should already buy at least one smartphone so that we have Internet on the road.
• First aid kit– the amount varies depending on the duration of the trip and the composition of the travel participants.
• Penknife– cut bread, cheese or other tasty products bought in the store in their original whole form.
• Food for the road- water or tea in a thermos, cookies, sweets, sandwiches with cheese or sometimes sausages. Apples, cucumbers or something else. More details about nutrition are written below.
• Small boiler– heat water in the hotel for tea and instant food.
• Metal mug (250 ml)– in order to heat the water with a boiler, you can brew instant oatmeal in it, and, of course, drink tea.
• Tea bags, in winter - rose hips for a thermos, and we also take sugar.
• Small plastic plate and teaspoon- take up little space, but make you more independent in terms of food.
• If with children, then a couple of books and a couple of toys.
• If it's cold then a thermos for tea; if it's warm then plastic bottle with water.
• Printouts With useful information about the places visited.
• Good mood- an extremely useful thing, more important than a boiler and a pocket knife.

Meals on the go

How to organize weekend trips and not die of hunger? Our philosophy on this issue is this: in normal settled life, we spend almost 500 rubles a day on food for our family. That is, it turns out 125 rubles per person. Ideally, we try to maintain this figure during travel, although we still introduce a certain correction factor. Firstly, because children and we ourselves love to chew something on the road, and secondly, because sometimes we have to eat in canteens.

For a normal healthy existence, you need to eat a nutritious hot meal at least once a day. Now we strive for this type of nutrition on the road.

• Breakfast. Adults: Instant oatmeal or instant oatmeal. Children: dry breakfast, diluted with milk. For everyone: tea with cookies.
• During the day and lunch. Dry snacks with sandwiches, cookies, inexpensive pastries with tea from a thermos. Instant oatmeal, brewed with hot water from a thermos. If finances allow, you can look for cheap canteens or cafes. Lately, we constantly come across all kinds of catering establishments with Uzbek cuisine, where tasty food, large portions and good prices.
• Dinner. As a rule, we prepare a substantial dinner with hot food: soup, boiled or fried potatoes, pasta, buckwheat. If we spend the night in a hotel, then it is quite difficult to prepare this; in this case, we try to at least eat hot soup for lunch in canteens or cafes. But I want to note that of all the methods of spending the night that we use, it is only in a hotel that it is difficult to prepare a full meal, in other cases it is possible.

The main principle is not to show off, but to eat what you are used to eating at home. We choose to eat the same foods as at home, but travel more often, rather than eat delicacies, but travel once a year. Of course, anything can happen, and if you really want it, we can buy different treats.

Weekend tours - a short educational program on the “Subtleties of Tourism”

Weekend tours are a great type of vacation that allows you to shake off office dust in the shortest possible time and “without interruption from work,” eagerly breathe in new impressions and gain a boost of energy in anticipation of a full-fledged vacation. In two and a half days of the weekend (which can be expanded to three if the vacationer wishes), you can fly to the seaside, get a dose of painting, sculpture and architecture in European capitals, visit an exhibition in Shanghai or an opera performance at La Scala, and finally, just relax in the hot springs of Yalova or rejuvenate at a clinic in Lausanne. And when modern development air transportation market, railway communication and road traffic, even the most remote corners the planets are at arm's length! So, if you are thinking about the possibility of “taking a weekend break”, but don’t know where they usually go and how much it costs, pay attention to our promotional educational program.

The advantages of weekend tours are obvious - the opportunity to fit into the two days off a week allotted by the state, unwind and not go down the drain.

Change the scenery

Weekend tours are a phenomenon that appeared on tourist market relatively recently, but has already managed to gain entire armies of admirers. Such a short vacation is especially relevant in the context of a constantly busy metropolis resident: taking a vacation twice a year for two weeks is considered the norm. So it’s not surprising that you want to spend your weekend excitingly: not just lying on the couch, but getting saturated with new impressions and feeling a surge of strength for new achievements. And in terms of the cost of weekend tours, I can’t say that they hit your pocket hard: of course, it’s cheaper to stay at home, but if you are used to going out with your family or friends, the cost of such a “trip” will be approximately equal to a weekend trip to the cities of the Golden Ring or budget bus tour to the nearest European capital.

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About the pros and cons

Like any other type of vacation, weekend tours have their pros and cons. The advantages are obvious - the opportunity to meet the two days off per week allotted by the state, unwind and not go down the drain. However, there are also disadvantages. First of all, it is the inability to fully relax: to get rid of accumulated stress, thoughtfully walk around the sights and really feel the unique pace of life in another country. Secondly, you should be prepared for the fact that on a weekend tour you will have quite serious activities: a flight or transfer, hotel accommodation, excursions... You will be able to relax more mentally than physically, and it may happen that after the weekend, After spending time on a trip, you will want to relax, and not go into the work week with new strength, which, alas, is not there.

Expanding the geography of weekend tours is a characteristic (and pleasant) feature recent years.

Where we go

Expanding the geography of weekend tours is a characteristic (and pleasant) feature of recent years. And this is connected not only with the development of tourism in Russia, because today in almost every interesting and ancient city You can comfortably stay in our immensity for several days. A significant contribution is also made by the expansion of the geography of flights of Russian and foreign airlines, an increase in the number of flights in a certain direction per day and a reduction in the cost of air tickets. All this allows you to literally gallop across Europe without any hassle - and at such a speed that the hussars never dreamed of! Of course, it is still not possible to “go for a couple of days” to more remote corners of the planet (I would like to believe that science will allow us to do this in the foreseeable future), however, there are many countries located at a distance of up to 4 hours of flight from Moscow, and there are definitely enough of them not just for one weekend.

Important little things

If you are planning to visit any place over the weekend visa country, you should take care of the documents in advance. Holders of multiple Schengen visas have an undoubted advantage here: the countries included in the Schengen zone will be enough to study over the course of a weekend for more than one year!

In addition, air traffic between Moscow and European capitals developed to a solid five: the abundance of flights throughout the year will allow you to plan a weekend tour without any hassle.

It’s also worth listening to your body: whether it’s a train or an airplane, the load on it is considerable - and this in a short period of time. At the same time, upon arrival at your destination, you are unlikely to want to relax without moving in your hotel room - there are sights, excursions, walks around the city ahead. So if you don’t feel strong enough to undertake forced marches, it’s better to think in advance about the advisability of such a vacation. Well, a separate topic is a sharp climate change. If you fly for three days from snowy Moscow to hot Egypt, and then return again to cold weather and snowstorms, get ready for a cold, which, alas, will negate all the mental and physical results of the trip. Therefore, for such a short period as a weekend, it is better to choose countries with a similar climate or travel to nearby Russian cities.

The flight duration to the Mediterranean resorts is no more than 4 hours, to the Adriatic - about 3-3.5 hours, and to all year round warm resorts Red Sea and Persian Gulf - 4 hours “with kopecks”.

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Price issue

The price range for weekend tours is quite large. Weekend trips to the nearest cities of the Golden Ring will cost from 5,000 RUB when traveling by bus. Exotic modes of transport will cost more: for example, Tolstoy’s Yasnaya Polyana estate can be reached by a retro train pulled by an ancient steam locomotive from Moscow’s Kursky Station - such a one-day trip will cost from 6,500 RUB.

St. Petersburg is one of the most popular destinations for weekend trips. A round-trip ride on the branded Red Arrow train, which turns the road itself into unforgettable journey, will cost from 7,000 RUB, the high-speed Sapsan travels faster, but is much less romantic, which is why it costs about 6,000 RUB in both directions. To the cost of travel, add accommodation in a hotel in St. Petersburg, as well as food and the cost of entrance tickets to attractions or excursion support - such a tour will cost about 15-17 thousand RUB minimum per person.

Weekend bus or train tours to Eastern European countries are also relatively inexpensive - costing the most budget options starts from 250 EUR. Typically, such programs include one or two nights in a hotel. Tour operators expediently use the first and last night for moving, so as not to waste precious time.

And of course, on the weekend it’s quite possible to fly to the gentle sea. The flight duration to the resorts of the Mediterranean Sea is no more than 4 hours, to the Adriatic - about 3-3.5 hours, and to the year-round warm resorts of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf - 4 hours “with kopecks”.

The cost of weekend sea tours starts from 350-400 EUR for the most budget accommodation.