Hi,
I'm sitting at my computer gasping for a cup of tea....but I keep on planning my trip!
We leave in about 8 weeks, 3 days and 22 hours for Italy (2 weeks), Cotswolds (1 week) and Paris (1 week).
I have collected so much information, written down so many gems, printed out so many comments...that I am now in overload.
The really funny thing is that although I plan each trip to the nth degree and book way in advance, I actually take each day as it comes whilst on these trips..go figure.

In fact, I'm getting that overload feeling right now!

I'm also on overload. I've had flights and rooms booked for months and have been checking this site daily. Now I'm at the point of printing out train and ferry schedules and trying to figure out how to get from place to place. Just this week I had to make a pile for area we were visiting. Hope to condense it down to a few pages in the next 2 weeks. Last time I did this, I couldn't fine my file once I reached our destination and then had to wing it!

I did very little planning before discovering this site. Now I really enjoy the research here and reading others trip reports.

kimerley -

Information is POWER!

Don't look at is as planning overload, look at it as information gathering.

I'm planning now for a trip to Germany that we probably won't take for another two years. Until then, I will continue to absorb as much information as I can find (thank you Fodors/Fodorites for the wealth of material).

Have a wonderful and safe four weeks touring Italy and France (I'm jealous). Peace.

Robyn

I'm doing the same thing. But it is really helpful on the logistical end =especially in foreign countries. I do however wing much of the restaurants. I like to find my own. I usually book one recommended one and then just explore.

I've found myself doing a lot of research on a destination. I read comments, make copies, etc. I find that it helps just getting in the mode of a trip and being aware of what you might encounter. I've taken piles of paper with notes, but in reality, the pace of a trip, once you have arrived, kind of takes over, and you are just trying to keep up with getting to see the sites you planned for. You don't always have time to read your notes. Also, I have found that as many recommendations you read about for restaurants thinking you will find one and eat at it, well, that mostly doesn't happen. You may not be in the area where it is located at whatever time,--- lunch, or dinner. And so we find that we'll just eat at a place near where we are at the moment. Ha! I've also forgotten my papers once, in the rush of getting ready.

I start about six months beforehand and it seems that I literally live, eat and breathe the trip planning. Overload....yes. But, fun....definitely.

One does have to wonder how we did it before the Internet when all we had was a massive pile of guidebooks.
I planned the details of our last trip to Prague, Vienna and Budapest and as stated before, "the trip took over." I was glad of the planning though, we never would have gotten into the Perle De Prague Restaurant without a reservation and it's the only way to get to the top of the Dancing Building.
So the over-planners get the rewards, as long as we don't get too attached to the plans.

Yes, sometimes I need to just "push away" and just say no. It can be an obsession at times IMO.

Don't worry about it. Once there, you'll find all that research really pays off - enhances your trip enormously.

For sure, you'll never get around to all of it, but you'll be making much better use of your time than those who haven't spent much time, if any, planning.

Absolutely kimerley! Piles of info just tossed into a file folder. I go through the mass of paper periodically and try to categorize it: public transportation, sightseeing, restaurants, shopping, etc. Then gradually I pare it all down until I have a reasonable amount of info to take with us.

Also make up an itinerary incorporating some of the "stuff," listing all the reservation material, including reservation #s, websites, e-mail addresses, etc. I slim this down and leave a copy with people at home, so they know how to reach us in case of emergency.

Sometimes my head aches with trip planning, but eventually I find it is useful and worth the time spent.

All things pass. Have fun.

.........We're not leaving for France/
Spain until September - my backpack
has been packed and zipped since Feb.

Yesterday I came to my senses and
unpacked the darn thing and started
to wear the clothes! Besides, I've
got so many print-outs I have no
room for clothing let alone shoes.

The planning is just as much fun as
the actual trip (at least to an O/C
traveller!

I am there now! I think I had a mini break down yesterday and blew up at my boyfriend because he wasn't helping me with anything. We are flying stand by so that throws a wrench into the equation. We were originally going to fly into Vienna and out of Venice for our Croatia trip coming up in less than 2 weeks. Now the flights are all full so we are flying into Munich and out of Rome! Totally changed our trip plans except for the middle 10 days or so out of a 19 day trip! Still loving it!

Like Statia, I prefer a 6 month cycle for planning. Yes, it is a major part of the fun and the more you plan the more power you can exercise to deviate from the plan on the spot.

"the more you plan the more power you can exercise to deviate from the plan"

Well said, Bob the Navigator!

Thank you, thank you - I just told my husband I am not the only obsessed travel planner. I can relate to each post here. Before the Internet, I would read every out-dated travel book they had in our local library and make many photocopies. The Internet has made the details very accessible. And when I have an "overload", I put the files (yes, one for each city or town) away until the planning is fun again. Here's a question for everyone: how do you carry all of your information? Folders, notebooks? Any suggestions, so that my travel information doesn't take up more space than my clothes?

I am a frequent reader and sometimes poster on travel BBs. But when it comes to planning an actual trip *all* I ever do is pick a city or two, book air ticket and hotels. Maybe if it's my first time in a new place I buy one guidebook for an overview. So to answer the original question~ I can't get planning overload since I don't plan. I get a good map and pick up local papers or free guides after I arrive... besides that am of the take it as it comes school of thought which has served me well so far.

Now ask me about figuring out what to pack and that's another story!! Maybe we all show our obsessions and excitement in different ways?

Marsha, you edit, then you distill, then you edit again until you can get it all into one zippered 3 ring binder along with your travel documents. I call it my " Trip Tik", and it is sacred.

glad I'm not the only one overloaded...I think I can also be boring re trips before I leave so I'm working heavily on that problem!!
Marsha, I file the info on A4 and carry the info in those folders with clear plastic sleeves.
I don't actually walk around with them though! I review them in the privacy of my room!
The packing issue is hysterical...I plan to take very little as will my 15 year old son.
My husband is currently in Europe on a business/pleasure trip. He does not pack light. When I suggested he wash his underwear out each night/or buy 21 pairs of undies for each day and throw them out..he was mortified. He was going to use the hotel laundry service. Well. he has just rung and amongst other interesting news he mentioned that it costs 3 euro for the hotel to wash one pair of undies!!!!He's going out to buy some cheap ones to throw away.
The upside to planning overload is it is the best sort of "problem"
cheers

"Yes, it is a major part of the fun and the more you plan the more power you can exercise to deviate from the plan on the spot."

bobthenavigator, you are soooo right!!

I went to Scotland several years ago and wasted so much time just trying to figure things out (and it was all in English!) I vowed to never let that happen again. We are leaving for Italy in 3 days and I have been researching for 6 months. My plan won't control me but at least I will have a good idea what is going on. And much of the great information I have gotten has been here on this website. I added Montepulciano to my itinerary simply because bobthenavigator made it sound so enchanting....thanks a million