nzlowie

Hi all. After a couple of false starts we're starting get moving on our first real OE adventure. The wife and I have just turned fifty, we're kiwi's living and working in Australia and plan to visit Scotland and England in August, trouble Is where do we start!

I have a cousin in Scotland so I think we'll use his place as a base but we don' t really know what we want to do.... We see all sorts of tv shows with great events and scenery but now that its our tern to see it for real we're a bit overwhelmed ....

So all..... Any ideas to help with our initial planning? We would like to see the real country, people and events.....ll

Any ideas would be most welcomed.

THANKS Dave

Ackislander

Close your eyes. Think "Scotland"; do the same for England. Write down what you see. That's your first priority in each place. Have your wife do the same. That's four places.

The places you see when you close your eyes are the places you would feel bad to miss. If I were to go to Australia from America, for example, I would want to see the Sydney Opera House and one of those truck "trains" which go like bats out of hell pulling four trailers!

phieaglefan

I always start here at Fodor's. I read a bunch of trip reports for the destination I'm considering. I read about where they went, how they got there, and also their impressions.

When they mention a place I'm unfamiliar with, I google it, or better yet, look it up in google images. I follow the links they give for tourism sites. I often look at the hotel websites as well.

I'm not saying I copy anyone else's trip, it's just a good way to see what others found valuable. Another idea is to look at some tour operator sites just to see the itineraries they have put together.

Once I have the destinations narrowed down, I get a blank calendar page and put my arrival and departure on and start filling in which days I'll be certain places.

Hope this helps!
H

nzlowie

Wow, thanks all. It all seams so easy until you get down to the detail. I suppose it's like anything new, start with the basics and fill in the detail..... Should we plan every detail or just plan an over view and fill in the detail when we get to each area? The limited travel we've done so far we just rock up see what's going on. Can anyone recommend any festivals in August they we should put on the must see list?

Ok that's about it for now, I'm sure there will be many more questions to come....

Thanks for Your Help.

LSky

Ackislander, that is perfect! It's what I've been wanting to say to people and you have summed it up. Do you mind if I use that in the future?

suze

Everyone has different levels of detail they plan to. For myself, I only work out a general itinerary of order of places I'm going, buy the plane ticket, and make hotel reservations. I do research in advance, but leave my daily schedule open and plan that part after I arrive.