Planning Your Trip

A great trip starts with some behind the scenes planning. Your personal travel style greatly guides the way when it comes to pre-travel research. Some people like to know what they’ll be doing every minute of every day while they are gone. Others like to hop in the car with a general destination and see where the wind takes them. I’m somewhere in the middle and will be writing this post with that as our compass.

First off, we obviously have to pick our destination. This can be as specific as a certain city or as broad as a particular country. Let’s go with a city for the sake of simplicity. The Web has made researching a destination SO much easier. By simply typing in ‘Top Things To Do in [insert your desired city], a whole list of possibilities comes up at your fingertips. I was recently featured on the Top 25 Columbus Blogs and Websites To Follow in 2020 . Sites like this are common for most major cities. They feature a lot of bloggers who have currently visited local destinations along with tourism groups who are promoting their city. I’m a bit biased toward bloggers because they are writing about what they love and tend to only share their favorites. However, city tourism groups can cover more than a specific blogger would. They often have magazines or brochures they will mail you that have more detailed information and coupons. Be sure to request those!

What to do with all of this information

With all of these great websites, you’ll need to start sifting through them and organizing the information. Does a blogger really jive with you? If so, sign up for their newsletter or, at the very least, bookmark them in a labeled folder for future reference. The newsletters will give you current information that can be applied to your trip right up to the day you leave. I like to create a notebook of ideas for each trip. As I read through the blog/website, I make note of certain restaurants, shops and destinations that pique my interest. This saves A LOT of rereading down the road.

Gathering all of this information may seem like a lot of work but it will pay off in the long run. It will help guide your budgeting, packing and lodging decisions. Sometimes you know you’ll only have a day or two in a location because it’s a work trip or something else is taking you there. On the other hand, if you are planning this as a sole destination, knowing the who, what and when’s are of utmost importance.

Travel Guide Books

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Investing in a good travel book will pay for itself ten times over. I like to pick these up at yard sales and library sales. They are not always the most up to date but they at least give me some direction. If I’m for sure going on a trip, say to Costa Rica, then I will go ahead and buy the latest version. Destinations don’t change that much but there can be a high turnover for lodging and restaurants. Along with recommendations, these books usually give various itineraries to follow. You might not want to do everything they suggest, but they give a general idea of how many days you should plan your stay.

Where to Begin

I LOVE this part of the planning so I tend to read the entire book but by no means do you need to do the same if it’s not your thing. This should be fun, not daunting. As you sit down to read through the chapters, have your notebook, pen and sticky notes there with you. Some things you may want to take note of, and add them to the notes you have from online research, while other things such as contact information and location of a Bed and Breakfast would be too much to write and a sticky note makes it much simpler.

There are five big publishers when it comes to travel books and each has a distinct personality: Rick Steves, Foder’s, Lonely Planet, DK, National Geographic. I’d recommend looking through them at the library or at a bookstore to see which one fits your personality the best. Along with those, there are specifics that focus on thematic or regional travel. They are a treasure trove as well so don’t forget to look into them. Here are some of my favorites: Travel Goals, 1000 Places to See Before You Die, and Kids Love Ohio (they have several states available).

This can be time consuming, but I promise you that it will be time well spent. You will feel knowledgeable and prepared. Happy reading!

Fun with Pinterest

Ok, so this has to be one of the greatest inventions when it comes to researching and organizing. If you haven’t logged onto Pinterest, you are missing out. Yes, I know it can be addicting and you can get off topic, but it is too big of a resource not to take advantage of. A key componet is to keep your Pins organized by creating folders. If you are planning a trip to Disney, then have a Disney Folder. If you also want to go on a couple’s weekend getaway, then create a destination folder for that event. I don’t recommend putting all of your destinations in one ‘vacation’ folder because it’ll get too bogged down.

Once you have created your folder, then start Pinning away. Remember to have your notebook with you so you can continue to add notes to what you’ve already written down. What I find after looking at several Pins is that the same destinations start coming up. Those are usually your ‘must do’s’ since they are repeatedly being mentioned in a positive light. Alternatively, unique things pop up this way too. I’ve found cool places to stay, amazing trees to climb and crazy restaurants to enjoy by reading through these websites. I don’t really read through all of them, mostly skimming for cool pictures if I’m being totally honest. Below is a picture of a jaw dropping ficus tree we found in Costa Rica that typically only the locals know about. We had to go down a steep slope, over a bunch of branches, rocks and water but it was oh so worth it. I found out about it on Pinterest.

Sifting through Pinterest

You can always type in ‘Las Vegas’, or whatever your destination is, and have pretty good luck. If you want to dive a bit deeper you can add ‘Where to stay in ‘Las Vegas’, ‘Las Vegas on the cheap’, ‘Best food in Las Vegas’… you get the idea. Different Pins have different headings so be creative in your search depending on what you’re going after.

In summary, have fun but try to stay organized with your discoveries. You will probably reread your saved posts before the trip but having them all in one place makes life so much easier. Also, having notes in your notebook helps you remember where you found the information. They are both key details when figuring out how long you’ll need to stay and to help you map out your itinerary.

Apps/Websites

The Web is great but it can be a bit overwhelming. Many travelers have gone before us. Use that to your advantage. Their first hand experiences help to give us the upper hand. So, you may be wondering, “Where do I get their advice?” My two favorite apps are TripAdvisor and Yelp. When using Trip Advisor, you can look up recommendations for hotels, restaurants, and things to do. Specifics are ranked and testimonials are given to help guide you. Yelp is used mainly for restaurant recommendations. Food may or may not be a priority for you when traveling. If it is, then this app will be very useful for you.

Downloading apps prior to departure

There are endless apps out there to help you navigate your travel plans. AllTrails (Hiking trails), TrailLink (bike paths), Roadtrippers, Voice Translator, and My Disney Experience are a few others that help guide you depending on your interests. Downloading these, along with your transportation apps prior to leaving, will make your trip that much more streamlined. You don’t want to have to worry about downloading the subway app prior to getting on the subway in case the wifi service isn’t working well or you’re just pressed for time. Lyft (use #travelwithjodi for a $5 coupon off your first ride!), Uber, city transportation, and Air B&B are additional apps to consider. I put all of my travel apps in one folder on my phone. This allows them to be together when I need them but they don’t take up a lot of screen space when I’m at home.

In conclusion, let technology work for you. The key is keeping it organized, enjoying the research and keeping your options open. Happy planning! Please email me specific questions you may have about what was discussed. I’ll be happy to answer to the best of my ability.