So you have decided to take the plunge and take a trip. Congratulations! But, where do you begin? In my experience, this is often the step most people get overwhelmed and bogged down by. Not me! I relish this part of travel. Being the planner that I am, I love researching and getting as much information about a place as I can before I set off. This way I am not stuck caring around the ever fashionable travel book that screams "look at me, I'm a tourist!" It also helps relieve any stress of the unknown. Here are a few of my favorite tips and tricks for planning a successful adventure.
I really only look at the "Things To Do" section for whatever city I am planning on visiting. It ranks sights and events in order of user reviews and comments. Another cool feature of this website is the trip planner. If you sign up for a free account, you can take advantage of a feature that allows you to "bookmark" attractions, hotels, trip journals, etc.. Hit print and you have an outline of your trip ready to take with you.
Once I have a general idea of the things I want to see, I start looking for a central location to call home for the trip, for this I go to Venere.com. I describe it as the European version of Expedia.com. I always double check all hotels by looking at reviews on tripadvisor.com. I like it because there are smaller hotels to choose from. I like to stay away from the well known chain hotels.
Since I usually rely on public metro and city airport trains to get around, I normally start my search within walking distance of the main train station if possible. This way I am not forced to pay taxi fares or walk a few miles dragging a suitcase behind me.
By the way, when I travel, I travel light. One small carry-on. That's it.
More on this in a different post, but hence the title of the blog came from.
Now I know I am about to contradict my opening statement about never carrying around the "ever fashionable travel book," but once I am on the ground in a city, I always have "Uncle Rick" tucked into my bag. Now I don't actually have an uncle named Rick-- I am referring to the one and only travel expert Rick Steves. I absolutely hate his travel shows on PBS, but I LOVE his travel books. A good friend introduced me to these books three trips ago. They are a gold mine of practical information, self guided walking tours, and everything else you never knew you would want to know about the place you are visiting. His humor is also a highlight for me.
Now I challenge you, go off and start planning the trip of your dreams. Even if you have no intention of actually going on a trip, plan it. You never know....
Be brave.... comment below and share your travel dream.
Up next ... Washington D.C. during cherry blossom season.
(See, I still travel within the USA)
Interesting post. I like the ideas for planning that you've provided. Most of the travel that my wife and I do is midwest, but we'd love to move beyond that at some point. I'll have to remember the guides that you've talked about. I'm also curious to see what you have to say about Washington, D.C. That's one that we have in mind for a family trip when our kids are a few years older.
ReplyDeleteI love your blog and you provide so many great resources to use! I will definitely keep these resources in mind whenever my husband and I plan our next trip! We love to travel too when we can so it's great to hear tips from an expert traveler like yourself :) Thank you!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great way to plan trips! I have always used Trip Advisor, but I love to hear what other people use. I will have to try the igougo planner. I won't lie, sometimes the planning gets me stressed because there can be a lot involved! Hopefully this planner will help me with that!
ReplyDeleteSo now I'm thinking that I should look at your IgoUgo before we head to Colorado. Just out of curiosity. I walked past travel guides at the book sale free day and just felt overwhelmed. No clue what to pick for you! Can't wait to plan our journey someday!
ReplyDeleteUncle Rick!!!
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