Not many days go by that I don’t think about travel. Where we have been, where we might go, when we could go, who we might go with. This might be BIG (top of my “bucket” currently is Galapagos Islands or the South Pacific (Tahiti, Bora Bora, I am not picky…) or small (a visit to a relatively local state park for a hike or camping).
No matter where it is, I start with relatively the same process. I search for information online. I read reviews (almost obsessively), look for deals, google others’ blogs on the same or similar destinations.
Two big things I want you to hear me say:
- There are MANY deals to be had. You don’t have to find the “best” or most expensive place to really find your adventure. As a matter of fact, although my very favorite hotel experience EVER was expensive (and as a teaser for that upcoming blog entry, it was on the Big Island of Hawaii), most of our BEST adventures were much less expensive places that happened to be near a desired location, or had the correct number of beds for a family of 5, or simply were available when I was looking. So to summarize, PRICE does not (always) = “BEST”.
- I ALWAYS (well sometimes I falter, and I am always disappointed in myself) try to go with which spot has the better reviews – not the one that looks the fanciest in the pictures or the one that costs more. It is like asking the server at a fine restaurant what she recommends then going with the choice she claimed was mediocre. Of course, you will have a mediocre meal. Same goes for travel. I like to find a balance between my gut instinct, my budget, and others’ reviews. If 2 things are tough to choose between, always go with the one with a 4.9/5 even over the 4.8 – I promise this is nearly absolute!
Let’s take our annual family vacation for instance, I typically approach my family with a short list of destinations. I give a brief overview on each of how we might get there, how long we might stay and what we could do/learn/see while there. We vote, and more often than not, I begin planning a trip for a destination that did NOT get my vote. Admittedly the sooner you can do this (like a year out) the better, but that rarely happens at my house with 3 teens.
First things first, I lay out a general plan and seek out lodging. I REALLY like to book lodgings that are cancelable at first because the plans fluctuate a bit in the beginning. Sometimes we end up a slave to wherever has a place for us to lay our heads – those turn out just great! Other times the adventure we are seeking sets the tone, and we are able to find places along the way that fit in the plan. My family really does NOT like to wake up at the crack of dawn each day and run out the door. Our “big” trips typically have some of that – scheduled days that are jam packed, but these are interspersed with days that they can sleep in while I drink coffee and read my book until noon. Having said that, we also do not like to change accommodations every day. We like to be settled and enjoy being just where we are sometimes. I point this out because there are some trips that are just going to be busier than others. That is ok – you can rest when you get home. But I encourage you to not only be aware of this, but also try to be real about how your travel companions deal with busy vs not busy. We have some friends and family that need to be “entertained” much of the time, where others can relax a bit more and enjoy a coffee on the deck. Neither of those is bad/right/wrong, but it will pay out in the long run if you are honest about who likes what before investing your effort in the planning stages.
Back to planning, once I have a general destination/plan, I start by surfing the internet using the destination and terms like “Best things to do in..”, “best places for teens in…”, “best accomodations in …”, “unique experiences in…”, or “family activities in…”. This helps me both broaden and narrow my search. More often than not, I find something (or many things) that I did not even know existed in the locale we are to visit. This might be a side jaunt to a bubble gum wall (yep these exist in more places than I prefer to think about) or an excursion that is from a local company with a small advertising budget that you might not have found otherwise.
At this point, I lay out on paper (or actually a combo of paper/pencil and my google doc that will turn into my travel bible), the days we will be traveling. For example:
Sun, May 20 fly EVV-XXX (as soon as settled I add all the flight info and costs)
Check into xxxxx hotel- confirmation #122334 ($150/night incl wifi breakfast pool X3nights)
After check in near hotel could walk to xxxx, dinner at xxxx (reviews great for the salmon..), ask at xxx about tour for xxxx
Mon, May 21 free hotel breakfast, then leave hotel by 9am to arrive at the xxxxx for our tour at 10am (take the signed waivers)
Tues, May 22 ???could hike XXX or try YYYYY
And so on – I fill in each day with the “for sure” things and the “maybe” things on each day so I can cut and paste as the days evolve into actual all “for sure” plans. I add costs when I can – this is a new thing for me. I used to just put the info, but then as I went back to share and/or tried to compare to other trips/destinations, I appreciated the costs at my fingertips. But you do you! Sometimes I have 3 rental car info’s on the page until I settle on which to keep then cancel the others. The google doc helps me to keep it all straight, keeps it all in one place that I can access anywhere, and gives me all the data I need for cancellations/confirmations/future sharing in one spot.
This is where our trip takes on its own “lifeform”! I spend hours – in shorter bits of time along the way – researching, planning, and seeking out the best way to enjoy the trip both for me and the individual preferences in my family. I cut and paste, add and delete all the aspects of our trips. Food/restaurants (we look for local donuts EVERYWHERE WE GO – I am planning a separate blog entry just on DONUTS), excursions, hikes, weather, clothing we might need, closest groceries/laundry – you name it, it is probably on my google doc!
I use several sites to help. My favorite “go to’s” are TripAdvisor, Expedia, and AllTrails. But I also use search engines on Facebook and Google with key words. This scores some GREAT but under appreciated/advertised things that may otherwise go unnoticed. For instance, we recently took a trip to SD to camp and visit several national parks along the way. I am a member of a couple different NP groups on FB where I could ask general or specific questions about the locations we were going to see. Word of mouth is ALWAYS BEST – BUT!!!! Make sure your word of mouth information is current. Especially now with Covid. It is always possible that seasonally or just randomly food/accommodations/excursions change in quality so do the work and be sure it is current.
One last thing for now. Don’t be afraid to call and ask questions. Or if you don’t see what you are looking for – CALL and ask. MANY times I have called and ended up able to book a private or customized adventure (for the same or similar cost) by simply calling the company and explaining what I am seeking and what I hope to see/experience/gain from the trip. My best example of this was from our Europe trip. There were 10 of us – including 6 kids aged 9-16. We were on a 2+ wk adventure mostly on a cruise ship, but we had multiple days that we wanted to do tours of locales. We did NOT want to pay to take our kids on excursions that were designed to appeal to adults. I researched the options online (from the cruise line, tripadvisor, and google) and called a few places offering tours. In doing so, we were able to book private tours in Barcelona, Athens, and Rome that just included the 10 of us seeing what we wanted to see with a private guide that could help us learn about the area. We could never have had as meaningful experiences if we had been in a large group with a day geared to 50++year olds and not teens. AND each of those was less expensive than the cruise line’s offerings.
I hope this doesn’t make it sound like crazy work and daunting hours. I LOVE it so I do it. There is so much information out there to make it easier!
Stick around!! I will be sharing our trips – the good, the best and the not so good here to help guide particular trips. Hopefully you will find a bit of ease and excitement to spark your own love of travel!