I think I'm a little OCD about it. I find myself at work looking up things about my upcoming trip and jot them down on post-it's. I seriously must have a gazillion!! But it's so much fun to plan things out!

Hmm ... am I obsessed? A six week trip leaving June 2009 and I've already chosen itinerary and accommodation. It's hardly a day that I don't peek at this and every other travel site. Isn't is mad?? Now I'm thinking will I take a day off Greece and add it to Cinque Terre.

I completely obsess and start planning the next trip before I've even returned from the current one. We leave in 13 days to go to Spain for 10 days. I'm already thinking about Amsterdamn for spring 2009.

I obsess, but only to spread the fun out, and I am always on the look out for a perfect hotel find, I have cancelled and rebooked once already for my July trip. I don't obsess over it. details, like which day I go where, I just obsess about obtaining lots of info,, I love the travel forums since even though I have been France numerous times, I STILL learn at least one new thing every few days ,, you can never say you " know" a city like Paris completly!

I think I'm beginning to become an obsessive planner. We will soon leave on our 4th European vacation, 7 days in London, which is sponsored by DW's employer. There will be hundreds of others on the same trip - but most of our time will be free to schedule as we please. For ourselves and for sharing with others who haven't been to London before, I've assembled a set of 3 pamphlets focusing on Sights, Shopping, and Walking tours. I've spent many hours compiling the information, cross-referencing locations with Tube stations and map book coordinates (those Knopf Map Guides are great!) and reformatting descriptions found around the internet.

So, is that crazy? ;-)

yes!!

I obsess over the plans and like Suze I also obsess over the packing. Sometimes I start piling up the clothes and editing them 2-3 weeks in advance. I even save certain books to read for certain trips.

I almost blew a vein out of the side of my head yesterday when my family started talking about &quot;hitting the beach&quot; in Spain next week. <i>Beach</i> was never on the itinerary and I thought I made that clear....sheesh...Don't they &quot;get&quot; how carefully I planned every hotel stop around that days activities etc. etc....

I will be flexible,
I will be flexible,
I will be flexible...

gruezi

Like the rest of you, I totally obsess, too. But I don't call it obsessing because it's so much fun for me. Some of my friends make fun of me for all of the research I do and for the detailed itineraries that I put together. But, these same people never go anywhere!!

genabee - I do the post-it thing at work, too, and actually then start inputting the info into various spreadsheets so I don't lose it. I've got spreadsheets going for Germany this Christmas, Costa Rica in Spring 09, and Peru for Summer 09...among several other domestic trips.

misty - My husband hates when I start talking about the next trip before we are even on the first, but I can't help it. I like coming back from a trip knowing there is another one right around the corner.

Thinking about travel is what gets me thru each day!

I obsess only about which hotel to stay in to the point that it even makes me crazy. However, once decided, I never look back.

I go to Europe for long weekends 4 or 5 times a year with a friend. We have absolutely no plan as to what we are going to do once there. We &quot;wander&quot; all day and take things as they come. It's perfect.

A few months ago, I was flying to Paris and the woman sitting next to me asked where I was going to eat while in Paris. I, of course, told her I didn't know and she looked at me as if I had three heads. She had booked every lunch and dinner reservation for her two week trip. Every single waking moment had been planned. Deliver me.

Weekender you are so lucky to live close enough to &quot;weekend&quot; in Paris, lucky you!

I agree with your thoughts on the lady who actually knew where she was going to have every meal. That is way too much for me, I may bring a list with two or three restaurants that I MIGHT eat at( recommended through travel boards or family) ,, if I am in area, etc, but I usaully just eat where ever I am when I get hungary, the menus are always outside so I just check out a few and pop in whereever.
I have had a few very nice meals , with family ( I have French family) and they always reserve since one should actually reserve in nice restaurants , while I usaully eat in bistros and cafes where it is easy to just &quot; walk in&quot;

Bozama: I live in Chicago...

First, I need to apologize for my typo of Amsterdam after reading the &quot;Advise/Advice&quot; thread. LOL!

Second, while I do love to plan and have a pretty detailed itinerary, I don't plan meals down to the detail of that woman on her way to Paris. Nor do I freak out if we deviate from the itinerary, be it because of weather, long lines, train strikes, etc.

Sessa, I'm already driving my hubby nuts too, but his job is pretty restrictive on vacation time so we have to plan early if we wanted to take off more than a few days. That isn't my fault. ;-)

Oh, I totally agree with the comments about obsessive meal planners. I remember reading a post here a couple of years ago by some group that was going to Paris for two weeks and not only had planned out every single lunch and dinner, but every single one of them was at a Michelin-starred or deluxe place. I remember thinking whoa! That's not travel, that's a serious disorder.

I mean, I'm something of a foodie, and I can relate to wanting to make your trip as perfect as can be, especially if you're going for the 1st time or not planning to go back for awhile, but two solid weeks of high-end lunches and dinners??? Be sure to bring a doctor!

I usually do a &quot;PTO assessment&quot; well before the start of the next year where I map out all of our vacation days to make sure we are fully utilizing them. I am probably the only person in my office who never rolls over any vacation time, and I can't stand the people that make me feel guilty for doing so. They give it to us for a reason, people...

I usually do a little bit of research on restaurants and bring along a list of recommended places in the event that all we can find are the touristy places - you know, the ones with pictures of food on the menu that usually turn out to be awful. But a large part of the fun of travel for us is finding those little hole in the wall places that have yet to be discovered.