Trip Planning - how do you do it?
 

I will soon be in-between jobs and am taking 2 months to decompress by doing some heavy duty traveling. Well... heavy duty for me :) I have 4 trips that I plan to take.

As I plan these trips, I find myself becoming a bit anxious when considering the details. There are so many details to hammer out - where to sleep each night, how to get from point A to point B, etc.

I've traveled extensively for work. That seemed comparatively easy. I had a list of pre-approved hotels to stay in and a single place to rent my car - end of story. However, I'm surprised to find that these planned personal trips seem like a different beast.

What's the best way to plan a "big" trip without being overwhelmed by the details of the trip? Do you use travel coordinators or purchase travel packages? How do you know when you are trying to pack too much into a trip? When the trip details seem to be too much, do you end up scaling back?

I'm also afraid that I'll never have 2 consecutive months of unemployment for a while (knock on wood), so my desire is to pack *everything* into these 2 months.

Finally, I think I'm also afraid of being bored on some of the bigger trips. So I end up planning to do more things on the trip.

Different people have different trip-planning styles. If you want, come to the SF mega-DO and talk to various people about how they do it.

My "Normal" Trip Planning Routine

I start with a good air fare. Then I get a good guide book and figure out where I want to go and approx. how many days I want to spend there. I do not, however, write out what I want to do each of those days. That is left later for the plane trip.

If it's Europe -- I take trains/buses. Get a rail pass -- it allows for flexibility.

Usually I like to book all my hotels in advance, although not right after making my preliminary calendar. I wait until about a month or less out and then book. If you know there will be a problem with availiability (holidays, events, etc), book ASAP.

I then book hotels.

On the plane, I take my guidebook and a piece of paper, draw a calendar (or get a pre-printed one), and write specific things I want to see in each city/place on which days. I usually try to overpack my days with things to see, just so I have something to come back to if I ever go to the same city and if I don't want to see something, I can let it slip. It's much better than not knowing what to see/do.

I always do the trip coordination myself, as that's a part of the fun, making sure everything fits, and if it doesn't I have only myself to blame.

If your trip is heavy on sightseeing (like mine tend to be) make sure that you take "off" 2 days every 2 weeks (your number may be different) and just sleep in, enjoy yourself, wherever you may be, and take a break from your trip. This is essential in keeping your trip great.


Where are you thinking of going?

I think of a geographic area, and look at tour packages for the area.

I don't actually take the tour, but it gives me an idea of the highlights, and how best to package them together.

I'll typically fly into whichever airport is less expensive.

Before leaving I'll buy a guide book for the area - because I like having a map and written details.

Use internet cafes on your trip to keep in touch and research items that you'd like to add/remove from your itinerary.

Good 4 u...remember the Lonely Planet motto: Quit worrying about whether your trip will work out. Just go.

Am glad I took that to heart back on my sabbatical-of-sorts some time ago. Started out by going to Thailand and the Philippines, where I had some familiarity and costs were cheap (VERY important for longevity of my trip). But this was back when the Internet was just starting to spread and boredom was much more a threat than now. Had some friends from the U.S. in Thailand and they were good to hang out with, but not very intrepid about trying other places.

Best thing I did that summer was decide to still go out on my own. Took a trek near Mae Sariang that wore me out, then flew to Bali for the first time.

That turned out to be a great confidence-builder, as within the next 18 months after that I tackled Cambodia (much wilder then), Nepal, Palawan, Vietnam and a spur-of-the-moment cross-Indonesia trip that got to the Bandas in Maluku and the Baliem Valley in Irian Jaya. Was the best trip I have ever taken.

I use checklists on the items to bring, but many places have tons of stuff you can buy there; it's when you get deep into ones like Laos that your preparedness or lack thereof can really bite. If you stick to places like Thailand or Malaysia you have almost as many options as in the U.S.

Lonely Planet guides are definitely a help.

If you're traveling on awards, also pay close attention to stopover and open jaw allowances, as it's one of the few cases where the fine print gives you something. Have stopped over in Hawaii something like 10 times on Asia trips, as well as spots in Micronesia and the South Pacific, all on the theory that it's better to see 2 places or more if the fare is the same as seeing one.

Guidebooks... of course! I forgot all about them :o

I'm planning my biggest trip to Australia. The rest of the trips will likely be domestic (Grand Canyon, Texas/Louisiana, and Atlanta).

I like to travel with a group of people for several reasons- being able to share the experience, makes for fun conversation, I don't have to drive and for safety in numbers. So when I book personal trips, I like to see what group tours travel companies are offering and pick one. The nice thing is that most of the details are figured out for me- I just have to get myself out to wherever the tours start. It's a lot less stress on me which means I enjoy the trip more.

Enjoy your visit to the Grand Canyon- I went there for the first time this summer and it was gorgeous! If you can, try to get out there for either a sunrise or a sunset (or both, as I did)- it's breathtaking with all the colors and shadows in the sky and the canyon.

>What's the best way to plan a "big" trip
>without being overwhelmed by the details of the trip?

1) Don't sweat the small stuff: Know that, wherever you go, someone will have found a better / cheaper hotel, or will have paid less for a taxi fare, or has a better tour guide. Don't worry about it - Just enjoy where you are.

2) Buy and read, and re-read the guide books. I'm personally a big fan of the Rough Guide books - I find them a little more "well-rounded" than the Lonely Planet books. Or even better, read both.

3) Start making your list of things you want to take today. Keep refining the list, refining and refining. For me, travelling is all about good lists.

I break it down into three or four areas.

• get there
• sleep there
• get around there
• get home

that's the major stuff I worry about for any trip. The rest will fall into place even if I don't do anything else. There are always things to see, places to eat, wine to drink, etc.

So I get the airfare first. Then the hotel, usually with the chain I'm with, but not always based on the location.

Getting around may mean renting a car, getting passes for local systems, etc
Getting back is usually arranged with getting there.

For the rest I'll look at guidebooks, I'll search what other people have said over at tripadvisor (which I've found some excellent restaurants on for example) and some general internet searches.

And of course, the totally invaluable information available using the search function here, and asking in the appropriate forum, and in just asking. Ask for a hotel in Venice on most any forum and you will get some answers. Ask here, and you will get the owner's name, who to ask for, which room, etc.

Tivo is also great if you have the time, set a keyword search to automaticailly record any show that has that as a keyword for places you are visiting. Most of it will be garbage to delete, but you may get some real gems in there, travel shows you never heard of on channels you didn't know you got.

But don't sweat the details at all. Don't overplan what you are trying, it sounds like, to be a relaxing trip.

You are getting some good suggestions. Here are a couple more. :)

Guidebooks. I rarely follow the suggestions for restaurants or hotels but they almost always have information on things to see or do that I wouldn't have thought about. My preference is Frommer's Guides because they normally have decent maps and suggested walking routes. Everyone's likes and dislikes are different and you may prefer the style of another guide series. Try browsing the travel section in a large book store to get an idea of which guides you might like.

Don't forget to scroll down to the "Travel & Dining: Destination >> ??? section here on Flyer Talk. Some of the subgroups are pretty quiet but others have a wealth of information about specific destinations and some very savvy FTers who can give great advice hang out there.

JR