Modern Austen's Guide to Travel
If adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad. — Jane Austen
Every modern heroine deserves a little adventure. Travel gives you a chance to take a break from your daily routine, to explore a new place, to free yourself of responsibility. But your travels are only as worthwhile as the time you put into planning them.
There’s a lot to consider when planning a trip, but don’t let this keep you from taking some well-deserved R&R. With the practical advice in this guide, you can travel anywhere—from the seaside to a gothic castle—with ease.
Tag along on someone else’s trip
Traveling is much easier when you don’t have to plan anything. If you happen to have a friend or acquaintance who’s about to leave for an exciting destination (e.g. Bath or Brighton), see if you can get yourself invited to join them.
Apart from a new wardrobe and perhaps a little pin money for buying souvenirs, this shouldn’t be an outrageous expense for you or your parents. Rich older relatives and neighbors are particularly fond of taking young, single heroines on long trips.
Pro tip: Don’t accept an invitation to travel with people you cannot stand.
Decide how long your trip should be
This will largely depend on how long your family can spare you, who your travel companions are, where you’ll be lodging, and who you’ll be visiting. But the length of your trip is ultimately up to you. Obviously, you don’t want to spend 3 months in Bath with people you can’t even sit through a dinner party with.
If you’ll be staying with people you’re not particularly excited to visit, come up with a compromise that’s long enough to satisfy your hosts and short enough to keep you from ripping all your hair out.
Pro tip: If you need an excuse to shorten your trip when your escorts are pressing you to stay, have your favorite sister send a letter begging you to rush home for any of the following reasons:
Your father’s ill
Your sister’s eloped
Your mother’s having a nervous breakdown
Tour some large estates and gothic castles
Servants of large estates are always willing to give people tours when their masters are away. Just be sure to call ahead to confirm how long the estate owner will be gone, so you can avoid awkwardly running into him.
Pro tip: If you’re invited to stay in someone’s gothic castle, refrain from wandering around on your own or making up stories about how your hosts’ father murdered their mom.
Make new friends, keep your heart open to love
Is there anything more romantic than traveling? It allows you to discover things about yourself that you’d never uncover walking around your own village, and self-discovery is romance itself. But traveling also gives you the chance to meet new people or even fall in love.
You’ll want to be cautious about who you choose to talk to, as there are plenty of fake friends and cads who will try to weasel their way into your life.
Pro tip: If you’re friendly and open (and careful with your heart), there’s no reason why you shouldn’t meet a nice walking companion or suitable dance partner.
Try to return home under happy circumstances
Not a lot you can control here….
But if at all possible, you should return home from your travels under normal, happy circumstances. Of course this greatly depends on the whims of other people. Your younger sister might do something stupid, requiring you to bring your vacation to a halt. Or your host might kick you out of his home when he discovers you’re not who he thought you were.
Pro tip: If this happens, make the most of it. Otherwise, take every precaution to ensure you get through your trip undisturbed.