Now that I’ve built my career as a travel planner, my itineraries are naturally more structured than they once were. Flights need to connect, transfers need to work and hotels, guides and experiences all have to come together seamlessly. But no matter how carefully I plan a journey, I always try to leave a little room for the unexpected.

Some of my best travel memories have happened that way. A conversation with someone I’ve met along the way, an invitation I wasn’t expecting or simply deciding to say yes to something that wasn’t part of the original plan.

Around twenty years ago, I joined a three-night boat trip across Indonesia. Like everyone else, I'd planned to head back to Bali once it finished, but towards the end of the trip, two people I'd met on board asked if I fancied joining them on a guided trip across Flores instead.

I hadn't planned to stay (if I'm honest, I knew very little about Flores at the time!) But I remember thinking, why not? So I changed my plans and went with them.

It turned out to be one of the best travel decisions I've ever made.

We travelled slowly across the island, staying in simple family-run guesthouses and seeing a side of Indonesia that felt a world away from the Bali I'd just left behind. It wasn't luxurious and I don't remember everything going particularly smoothly, but that was part of the adventure. We were just travelling and seeing where it took us.

One morning, before sunrise, we drove to Kelimutu. There were only a handful of other people there and, as the sky slowly began to lighten, the three volcanic crater lakes appeared. One was an incredible turquoise, another a rich green and the third much darker. Surrounded by volcanic rock, with barely anybody else around, it was unlike anything I'd seen before.

The colours aren't permanent either. The volcanic minerals are constantly reacting and the lakes naturally change colour over time, so what I saw that morning won't necessarily be what somebody sees today. Apparently they were pink the week before our arrival!

I think about that travel memory often.

I think part of the reason it stays with me is how completely unplanned the whole thing was. A few days earlier, I hadn't even known I'd be going to Flores, and suddenly I was standing on the edge of a volcano at sunrise looking at three remarkable lakes I barely knew existed.

We have actually spoken about going back as a family, although these days I'd undoubtedly do the journey slightly differently. I'd start with a few nights in Labuan Bajo and check out the new luxury hotels (which didn't exist when I was last there!), spend some time diving at Manta Point again and then travel east through Flores.

The roads are better now, there are some beautiful places to stay and I suspect the whole journey would be considerably more comfortable than it was the first time around. But I'd hope not to plan every minute of it. Part of what made that first trip so special was not really knowing what was coming next.

It's something I've carried into the way I plan travel for other people. Of course I want the important bits to work perfectly, and there will always be places or experiences worth planning a journey around. But I don't think a brilliant itinerary needs to account for every hour of every day. Sometimes the best thing I can do is leave enough space for you to find something I couldn't possibly have planned for you.

That's really what our Discover Collection is about. We'll take you to the places you've dreamed about seeing, but we also want you to have time to wander, change your mind, follow a recommendation or take a road you hadn't intended to travel.

Experience it yourself

If Kelimutu has found its way onto your travel wish list, I wouldn't recommend simply flying in and out to see the lakes. Flores deserves more time, and I'd allow around eight days to travel across the island without rushing.

I'd begin with a few nights at Ta'aktana, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Labuan Bajo, with time to explore Komodo National Park and get out onto the water before travelling east. The journey then takes you through Flores' volcanic interior, the traditional villages around Bajawa and the remarkable spider-web rice terraces near Ruteng, finishing near Kelimutu in time to see the crater lakes at sunrise.

We've included Flores in our From Bali to the Wild East itinerary, alongside Bali and Sumba, with part of the journey spent sailing through Komodo National Park on a luxury liveaboard.

It's a very different way of seeing Indonesia from the traditional Bali holiday, and probably one of my favourite itineraries we've put together.