Whenever we plan a holiday, or arrive in a new
place, I like to take time to read about every detail so time won’t be wasted
looking for things, or time wasted once there ‘reading’.
This trip has been 5 years in the planning, and
although we used a travel agent for part of it - due to me being time poor,
working - I have still spent hours and hours researching each place, and each
mode of transport, each hotel, each activity, where to eat ....... and you know
what? I like doing it. It’s our holiday and I want it to be the best holiday. I
want to know the history of each place. I want to know what makes different
places what they are. For me it’s part of the fun of travelling. So here are
some of my travel planning tips:-
PLACES
Places to visit are the easiest to choose. Our
last overseas trip – 5 years ago – was to see the autumn leaves in the
north-east of North America, and that we did via Disneyland for Jonnie and
Heartbreak Hotel, Memphis for Peter. We had the most wonderful time and we
would go back to exactly the same places again if we could. This trip was to be
a spring trip, but that didn’t fit in with my work commitments, so we are going
in summer, not ideal - more crowds and more expensive – but it is what it is. Spring
west coast North America turned into Summer west coast North America.
HOTELS
First thing I do is look at a Google Map of the
place. I look at all the choices of accommodation. Price is important,
especially when on a budget.
We also like a hotel that includes breakfast in
the price. Other inclusions may or may not be important. Free WIFI, although
not a necessity, like breakfast, was preferable. If we hire a car, we prefer
free parking. Location - If we are doing a lot of walking in a central place, a
hotel there would be preferable. If doing bus tours, a hotel near the pick up
point is a must – saves money on transport to ‘get to’ the transport.
For example, in Seattle we preferred a hotel near
the Space Needle – lots of walking we can do around there. There were many
hotels, but we chose one that included free hot breakfast and free WIFI and
free transfers to and from the cruise ship.
I like to check TripAdvisor to read other
travellers hints and see their photos. I read the good and the worst and the
most recent reviews. Reading the traveller hints on a particular hotel can make
the difference between an ok stay and an enjoyable wonderful stay. Also
remember when booking to state the bed configuration preferred and floor or
area of the hotel.
TRANSPORT
Of course in overseas travel, international
transport is by plane. We like to fly QANTAS, and we were going to until our
Travel Agent told us to wait for the Travel Show specials. We did and we are
now flying Air New Zealand.
Transfers from airports to hotels need to be
researched as does the types of tours one wants to do. As I said above, we like
to stay in hotels near where the transport is. So hotel and transport and tours
all go hand in hand and we don’t book any until we have a plan of what it is we
want to do.
TOURS
Once we know which city / town / village we want
to visit, we look at all the different types of tours available. We do like the
Hop on Hop off buses as that gives us freedom to do what we choose to do.
However, they are not the only tours available. I compare different tour
companies that offer the same tours and choose what suits us. Hours and hours
are sometimes needed to research each place. We need the tour pick up to be close
to our chosen hotel and we needed to take into account the tour times. Sometimes
we do our thing, but the information gained from researching the tours is very
helpful.
SIGHT-SEEING
A lot of the tourist sights are well known, but
sometimes while researching a place one will find interesting, but little known
places or sights that would be good to see. Research is the key. I like to use
a Google map to show all the sites of each place.
FOOD
We all have to eat, and when travelling one needs
to be aware of what the availability of dining venues are. If we are staying in
a hotel that does not include breakfast, or have a restaurant, we need to be
near food outlets. Lunch can usually be purchased at or near many of the tourist
sights and dinner can be purchased on the way back to the hotel. So, on our
Google city map I would ‘pin’ places that have a reasonable menu – after of
course checking their websites. Even though fast food is convenient, it gets a
bit tiresome if eaten many times during the weeks away, so we try to only have
fast food when nothing else is available. We also buy fruit, cheese, biscuits
and butter to have just in case ..and we do travel with our Vegemite.
Research pays off.
No matter where we roam, travel is our destination.