does anyone else feel too much information ruins it?
 

Just wondering if anyone else feels that way. I had researched so much for our trip and at times felt dissapointed because a city or an experience wasnt like someone said it would be.Of course there were better times as well. But I wonder if say Venice would have been better had I been 8 years old and really didnt know what to expect? Instead I was overloaded with information re the water taxi, and how to bargain for the gondola,restaurants etc..I like knowing alot about the trip,..just my thought after this one...and starting to plan the next..

Not at all.

I hear what you're saying, Karen. Where are you going next?

No, I think it helps me... maybe not some people....but I love knowing as much as possible about where I am going. Info enhances my trips! Plus I love the planning ;-). Judy

message Jocelyn..ah NY in the fall for a week..that is definately a restaurant lookup for me though !!!

......my DH certainly feels this way!
He's always surprised and amazed on
our foreign forays but that's 'cause
he's got me to do all the research and
planning and fore-fretting!

However, neither of us has ever been
disappointed by any place we've visited.
I like knowing a little of the language,
some of the customs and a lot of the
nitty-gritty details and he (the eternal
optimist) loves being dropped into a
city/country with an empty mind and a
full wallet. So it works out for both
of us. I hope. Fingers crossed.

No....it's called having an open mind. I hope I don't sound rude because I really don't mean to, but by forcing your experience into taking the shape of somebody else's experience is a sad state of mind for travel. I research sites and use recommendations, but go at it with an open mind and let it grab me. I just returned from Yellowstone, a place that I have seen in countless pictures, documentaries, books, etc. It blew me away as if I have had no clue. Tough to explain....

Sometimes because you may be disappointed but other times, after being thwere you will read something that was of interest to you that you wish you'd known. I like surprises. Last September, I found a museum that had the collectd works of a favorite cartoonist. (I have several of his books.) None are for sale;they are collectables.
His name is Raymond Peynet and this accidental find thrilled me. We love serindipity.

I don't enjoy doing research ahead of time. I'd rather go in with only the basics (plane ticket & hotel reservation). And I have been dissappointed or found a place not what I expected... but it was not from knowing too much ahead. Not a very good answer but maybe a slightly different perspective.

I have never been disappointed in any place I have been to. Travel is a driving passion in my life and the research whets my appetite for the fun that awaits. Every trip I have been on has been an absolute joy. There is no aspect of travel that I dislike. As soon as I get back from a trip I am planning the next one. Chomping at the bit to get on the road again!

cigalechanta - If I miss something because I didn't know about it until later (which happens a lot!) then I just have to go back and see it! :)

My short answer to your question is yes. I obsess and plan the hotels b/c I know that I will be really annoyed if the hotel is bad (inconvenient for location or comfort or overall atmosphere) but then I like to--as much as possible--just have the experience of being in the place and deciding things to do once we are there,

kmoncrief: Several years ago I visited NYC for 4 days (my only trip there and would love to go back) and if I had not done a detailed itinerary we would have missed most of the special sites, IMO. We would have gotten up in the morning and said, "now what." By the way, if they still have the boat (as I recall, it's called the Circle Line) that goes around Manhattan, try to do that. You get a really great overview of the island and see areas you wouldn't be walking around, mostly due to lack of time. I went to the restaurants I'd always read about and loved the wander thru Central Park.

So back to any disappointments: I love reading up on any destination and printing out reports/recommendations. I'm not sure I could get "enough" info. The only country I have been disappointed in was Spain but, in particularly, Madrid. Spent too much time and not enough to see.

Hope you have fun in NYC - much to see and do.

Your message is timely for me, because I've been obsessing so much about our October '04 trip to Spain that I worry I'll be disappointed.

However, I've never been disappointed yet, except with London, and I discount my attitudes about London because the day before we arrived was 9/11, and all I could think about was getting home. It's really awful to be away from home when turmoil and tragedy is going on in your absence and you know the world has changed forever.

Anyway, I'm sure I'll keep obsessively reading and researching, but the truth is that once we get there, we pretty much go with the flow, do just as much as pleases us, and seldom look back with regret. The only regret I have, and it's not a big one, is that I passed on Versaille. Is that how you spell it? Doesn't look right!

I treat my research much as I treat my photos. You do far more than you will ever use to give you the flexibility to edit. If you do not edit both by at least 50% you will end up with a lower quality final result.

I_am_with I_am_kane.

there is no such thing as too much information

No - too little information and poor area awareness usually ruins it.

Do your own research so you can compare and contrast the location with what other people tell you. That's the best way to make informed choices and have realistic expectations.

NO. You can always disregard information about a place that doesn't seem useful once you arrive, but you can't always GET information that would be useful.

I don't know what you mean about Venice and being 8 years old - what's that all about? And what do you mean you were "overloaded" with information?

The end of your post, especially all the ellipses, suggests you are kind of wonked out about planning trips, if you'll pardon me. How can too much good information be a bad thing?

My dearly departed father-in-law, who let me plan two wonderful trips (to Europe) for him and his wife, was <i>never</i> interested in knowing more than a smidge about a place before we actually got there. I am convinced that the &quot;discovery&quot; for him (with me as his safety net&quot;) was essential, and that without that - - with a &quot;preview&quot; from books or other sources of info - - he simply would not have gone.

Best wishes,

Rex

StCirq,

I think I can relate to Karen.
Five years ago, on my first trip to Europe, I went to Austria completely cold. DH and I went with my parents who both speak some German, so logistics were their responsibility. I hadn't done any research ahead of time, and I had NO idea what to expect. Turns out I was completely blown away by Vienna. I had such an intense emotional reaction that I was sobbing in the street. My only regret was that I didn't prepare myself; I could have enjoyed it even more, I convinced myself.

I have since become an overplanner. I was so excited about our recent trip to Venice that I obsessed about it, reading everything I could. I painted a glorified picture in my mind of what it would really look like and how it would make me feel. I had such high expectations there's no way Venice could have lived up to what I was hoping for--at least the emotions I was expecting it to provoke.

I don't quite know how to plan for our next trip (undecided at the moment, although I'd love to see Vienna again, as well as Prague). Of course I want to be prepared logistically, but the more time I spend researching, the more I daydream, and the more grand it all becomes in my mind.