Hello to all. It's time to gather and organize all the info we've collected in preparation for a month-long trip to Portugal and Spain. I have some thoughts on how I'm going to put it all together, but<BR>I'm curious, how do *you* organize the info you gather? Do you schlep five guidebooks and a manila folder full of hotel confirmations? Do you put everything you think you need to know into your Palm Pilot? Take nothing but your suitcase and hope the local tourism bureau will have a pamphlet on things to do and a decent free map? What works best for you? <BR>I've learned so much from the posters on this board and can't thank everyone enough for sharing their experience.

one guidebook, preferrably with spiral binding, plus #10 business envelopes organized as needed.

I usually take two guidebooks, one with major details(thicker), one with broader overviews (and usually slimmer!)<BR><BR>I pack my &quot;paper&quot; notes/confirmations in envelopes that get recycled on the way home with receipts, postcards, restaurant cards, etc for my &quot;scrapbook.&quot;

BTW- I would love to get a copy of the Lisbon Itinerary of things to do/see that you have prepared. I am treavelling next week for work and will have about 3 days of &quot;free time&quot; to explore the city. My itinerary so far is pretty rudimentary.<BR>[email protected]

I keep a trip log into which I cut and paste info, print it, and then run it through the copier printing front and back, put it in a light looseleaf binder with sticky notes as dividers. That way I can pull out a page or two and carry it with me when walking around and leave the rest at the hotel. I sometimes copy pages of a guide book; I am too much of a book lover to rip them out as some advise. I don't own a Palm.

I use one of those accordian files, the 9.5 X 7&quot; size with about a dozen compartments. I label the compartments for each city or area and put copies and confirmations in each pocket. I tend to make a lot of copies of important walking tours or maps of areas that I know I will want as well. Generally I don't take any guidebooks. As I travel I throw away the things I've used and replace them with the receipts or notes for each of those cities or areas. <BR><BR>Actually a few years ago I stopped buying many guidebooks as my public library has just about every available one from a very recent year, so I end up borrowing and making copies or hand copying out the parts I want to retain, and I start that accordian file nearly a year before the trip as I'm gathering information.

one guidebook,one or two maps<BR>selected pages from the computer file that I compile with restaurants, sightseeing tips, things off the beaten track<BR>envelope with confirmations<BR><BR>As I described ad nauseum earlier this week, I also make a grid as an excel spread sheet. Lined tablets work too.<BR>Column headings are days of the week.<BR>Row headings are the various sights I would like to see, listed in order of neighborhood and/or metro stops.<BR>Inside the boxes I indicate, for example, on Monday, if Museum A is open that day, and if so what the hours are<BR>I leave room in the box for an occasional extra hint like &quot;Cafe Yummy is down the street.&quot;<BR><BR>This one or two page crib sheet helps me organize my day as I walk around, keeps me from having to flip through the guidebook every 5 minutes to remember what else is nearby and whether or not it's open that day.

On our last trip to Italy I went to the Italian tour office in Chicago and got city maps for all of the cities we were to visit including a map of Sicily. I tried to locate all the various points of interest on the maps, including restaurants and hotels and highlited and numbered them. I then wrote a key to each number on the side of the maps. That way, all I ever had to carry around was my map. It worked out so well that I plan to do it again for our upcoming trip to Spain.

2 or 3 guide books, all maps, and a 9x12 envelope containing all relevant web page printouts always go in the same backpack (mine) as the cameras, film, binoculars, batteries, compass and CD player. Mrs. Go carries all travel docs, including passports, plus all personal items (snacks, tissues, etc.) in her backpack. Little Allie Go carries toys, games &amp; books.

I start my trip planning with a 1&quot; 3 ring binder with lots of top load sheet protectors. First page is a 5 week blank calendar for overall planning. I fill the sheet protectors with photo copied maps, car reservations, hotel confirmations, train schedule info., driving time/distance tables, etc.. I also make up on the computer sheets with headings of City, Description (for the various sites), Location (where, how, map coordinates), Times (open hours and days), and Cost. For a one month trip I spend months filling in these sheets by hand then redo on the computer to condence and make more legible. These sheets then go in my vest pocket each day along with a map to keep me on track for the day or for deciding what to do today and what tomorrow. I always have notes on more than is possible to do but it is easy to look thru an 11x8.5 sheet or two to make decisions on what to see and what to skip.<BR><BR>I don't carry the 1&quot; binder but I also may mail half of it along with info for the second half of the trip to where we are staying to start the second half (this year Dublin).<BR><BR>Today the binder is full, the calendar filled in, we leave on the 19th.

since I carry a smallish backpack for my important things I just throw all my paper work into regular old school folder.. <BR><BR>and I slso download info into my e'mail account, like hotmail..<BR>--------------<BR>this time I will be leaving for a couple of months or years and I have chossen too bring a small laptop and bought a archos 20 gig mp3 player which also holds data.. so I'll see how that all works out..

One or two guidebooks, plus a page with any unusual and intersting tips I've gleaned from any others. All itineraries, confirmations, maps etc go into a flat plastic satchel that slips into my carry-on. Passport details, credit card info and main phone numbers are held on a laminated credit card sized card that I make and then carry seperately from everything else.

Hey jenneepoo!<BR><BR>I organize all options for each day (train schedules, restaurants, destinations) on a word document, then format &amp; print it up on 3x5 cards. This sometimes takes up two cards per day if I have major options for that day. Then I just carry those one or two cards for that day.<BR><BR>This is also a great memory tool when I write my journal/trip report. I know in pretty good detail what I did when.<BR><BR>s

I feel embarressed to admit that the only thing I do regarding being organized for my trip to Europe is just the reading part in the internet....very seldom I bring my itinerary or info with me..Of course, perphas , being originally European, and now living in the good USA, I have been in many countries and cities throught Europe visiting my family and relatives..I must admit that I truly enjoy reading Fodors posts , I find them entertainings , educationals and funny.Keep up the good work my fellow traveler..Ciao

If it's a trip with specific activities for each day, i make up a 9x12 envelope with everything we'll need that day (printouts, brochures, tickets, etc) then label each envelope and just grab the right one each morning. <BR><BR>For instance, for a 3-week trip to London with side trips to Stratford, Bath, etc. i had one envelope for bath, one for stratford, and several one-day envelopes for London with labels like &quot;greenwich,&quot; &quot;sunny day, not Sunday&quot; and &quot;rainy museum day'. Then i can use the envelope for flat mementoes like postcards and ticket stubs. These envelopes make great souvenirs for those of us who never seem to get around to doing scrapbooks!

I make two-sided photocopies of relevant pages of several guidebooks. Sometimes I pack important information, like hotle confirmations, together in chronological order of when I'll need it. Other things that I might take with me, usually organized in chronological order of my anticipated need for them, are train schedules printed from the internet, information on opening/closing hours of museums, names and phone #s and recent postal or e-mail correspondence with relatives or acquaintances I hope to meet during the trip. I carry several photocopies of my passport. Just before my trip, I type up a summary of my flight information and the names and contact info of my hotels. I make multiple copies, and save copies in every bag, including in any extra bags that I pack empty but might need during the trip or on the return. I take a map of the region that I'm visiting, but generally count on finding local city and town maps once I get where I'm going--either free at the hotel or tourist offices, or purchased at newspaper stands or in bookstores. I don't have a palm pilot, laptop computer, cell phone or other modern gizmos and have never wished that I had any of those items on a trip, although for some people I can se how they might be helpful.

Kismet/Chimera, I wouldn't expect anything less of you, given your name! sounds fun.<BR><BR>I usually type &amp; print everything pertinent I need to remember (hotels, phone numbers of friends I'll look up etc) on one sheet of paper. My itinerary isn't organized so much as 'things I gotta remember not to forget to do'. This is all on one sheet. Sometimes I save it, sometimes not. Usually I do though...<BR><BR>guidebooks - I buy everything I can get my hands on (maybe not so smart, $$ wise, but what the heck). Time Out is my usual favorite though. I've got a pretty ex(t/p)ensive travel library as a result!

<BR><BR>Man, I hate to admit this because I like books. But I have recently started ripping key sections out of books I like (I buy A LOT of books when I'm getting ready for a trip) and taking those instead of the books themselves. This includes the maps of towns. I find that even though these maps are in no way detailed enough, they fold up and give me the general lay of the land.

We travel to the same Provence village year. in addition we visit various places like Paris, Siena, Collioure, Normandy, Lonndon etc.<BR><BR>I take one good guide book like Fodors or Frommers. I have annotated it by the time we are to travel. Also maps of areas we are to travel to as we rent a car. They all fit in my carry-on bag for reference during the flight and thereafter.<BR><BR>I take selected Fodor's forum information with me. I ask and (respond to) many questions on the forum and I have found this a most helpful source since it is first hand as distinct from just a guide book.<BR><BR>Many years of travel has taught me not to bring too much. Part of the fun of travel is the serendipity. We travel &quot;vertically&quot;, plumbing an area we love rather than always trying new places. Everyone is different so this is just one Francophile's way of doing things.<BR><BR>Good luck.

Wow, I feel so ashamed.....<BR>I just write out a few restaurants and a few sights and their hours and take a guide book for different city information.<BR>Oh my gosh, this thread answers alot of questions....