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)
