Some great ideas. Many of you are more organized than me. I take a guide book for each major area that I am visiting, this year Poland and Romania. As we are driving this year, I printed out maps and directions from expedia for the travel between major places and have them along with other info in a soft report binder. I also try to get a travel video and copy it onto my video camera.

This is such a great question! <BR> <BR>I usually use a spiral-bound notebook. Not the 8x11 inch size but a slightly smaller size that I find at the drug store. Then I organize all my notes and papers into the exact order I'll need them, and tape to the pages of the notebook, leaving plenty of room and a few extra pages for notes while I'm on the trip. <BR> <BR>This system has worked well for me for quite some time and the notebooks also serve as a kind of scrapbook when I get home. I keep them with all my guidebooks from assorted countries. <BR> <BR>Have a great time in Italy. We were there last month and it was wonderful! <BR> <BR>Shel

Same as most above...1" 3-ring binder with dividers for each city. Each section included train schedules, printouts of hotel confirmations and directions and endless pages of "must-do" and restaraunt recommendations. The dividers also have pockets in case you want to keep receipts etc.. After I wrote my trip report, I printed that off and put it in the very front. <BR> <BR>I still refer to it when responding to some of the questions on the forum.

I also keep a one-page sheet (in Word using the table function) that outlines the events for each day--any theater and/or dinner reservations, pre-scheduled tours, flight times, etc. in a calendar format. If anyone would like a copy of this, please e-mail me at <BR> <BR>[email protected] <BR> <BR>I find the calendar format to be easy to use if you are away for a week or more, as it allows you at a glance to see what you have already scheduled, so you can plan around museum/store closings and the like.

Good lord, I sure must be doing something wrong! I research a trip diligently - where to go - why to go. (I'm presently planning a trip for October 2002.) I may build a file from various sources: national, regional, local tourist offices, cuts and pastes from websites such as this one, various guide books and either city or regional maps. I supplement the travel oriented stuff with the reason why I'm going: non-fiction history, art, biography. <BR>After adding, subtracting, reviewing, massaging, I know where I'm going, why I'm going and what I plan to do when there. As a result I take nothing, other than confirmations for any reservations I've made for inns, hotels or auto rentals. If visiting a city I buy a city map upon arrival and a map of any above ground transportation system. If driving in an area or region, I stop at a service station for a map. I try to plan my day in thirds: one third for a specific site or sight; one third for absolutely nothing - sidewalk cafe, park bench; one third for the unplanned - what's around this street? Where's this road lead? <BR>What I come home with is an entirely different scenario. I fill up locally bought notebooks with comments; mark up maps; make notes on postcards; critique hotels on the back of their invoices and take photos. All of these will eventually comprise a travel journal that invariably turns out to be two to three times the length and heft of whatever I began my planning from. That journal also confirms that I've usually seen 80 to 90% of what I planned to see coupled with a whole bunch of totally unexpected, unplanned for diversions. Works for me!

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I have information separated by country in folders which have inside pockets. I also have one general travel folder, for tips such as these. I send away to tourist boards and get maps and all sorts of good stuff and I keep all this information in there. I copy stuff from library books and keep it in there rather than buy every guidebook. I also copy out informative threads from this forum and stick them in the folders. I also go to travel agents and they have given me tour brochures. I realize this may sound a little childish, but I like to cut pictures out of the tour brochures, paste them on folder covers and then cover the folders with laminate. Well, I enjoy it. I keep them under my bed in large school lunch potato chip cardboard box packaging. This might make people jealous ;), but I can ride my bike down the street to an outlet bookstore where they are selling $29.95 Eyewitness books for $7.00 and Insight books for about the same, so I am getting a collection going. <BR> <BR>On the trip, I take a journal in which I have written down stuff and two guidebooks at most. I don't like to carry the guidebook when I go out because I like to take a very tiny shoulder purse instead of a backpack or big shoulder bag so instead I write daily stuff down in a tiny notebook.

What a fabulous question! To the top, to the top, to the top, top, top!

I, too, am finding this an interesting thread. <BR> <BR>I have two different systems - one for pre-departure preparations, and the other for the stuff I actually take with me. <BR> <BR>For example, re pre-departure preparations: I save absolutely every piece of correspondence that I have with hotels until I'm sure there's not going to be a problem with billing, or cancellation policies, or whatever. That sort of stuff goes in a 3 ring binder. <BR> <BR>I have a very low tolerance for schlepping around 3 ring binders once we depart. The last trip, I used 3 or 4 transparent plastic 'pockets' sized for paper 8.5 * 11. The pockets are open on one 8.5 inch side. <BR> <BR>In one pocket went the hotel confirmations (double-sided photocopied, and reduced.)

Whoa, slippery fingers today.... <BR> <BR>In one pocket goes hotel confirmations, as described, plus photocopies of things like car rental vouchers, etc. Also any emailed confirmations of things like advance reservations, etc. <BR> <BR>In another pocket I slip required maps, plus printouts of driving directions and/or train schedules. These I actually double-side-photocopy, and maybe even reduce, in order to reduce volume and weight.) <BR> <BR>In the third pocket goes my own type-up of our general itinerary. This itinerary takes into account things like museum opening/closing days. Just in case, on the relevant day we plan to visit a particular attraction, I remember to include museum phone numbers, along with admission price details, etc. that I've condensed from guidebooks. <BR> <BR>Sometimes I have a 4th pocket/folder for photocopied pages of guidebook advice on particularly complex attractions (large art galleries, etc.) But in general, I'm like another poster; by the time we leave we've done most of our reading, so we rarely bother to drag along much stuff. <BR> <BR>I put all folders/pockets into a giant zip-lock bag, and slip it into my knapsack. The whole thing weighs only about as much as an empty 3 ring binder. <BR> <BR>Enjoying the thread, and the ideas of others.

Fabulous ideas! Thanks. El

Good ideas, everyone. More?

I'm with Sue. We use those 8X11 plastic folders and reduce and double side photocopy all the research and hotel reservations etc. Almost never take a guide book. I'm very compulsive about researching before a trip but once there, I tend to go with the flow and just enjoy. It's a vacation after all, not an organizational challenge! I organize all possibilities according to our daily itinerary and discard the pages as we go forward. They're all here on my computer when we return (hopefully!)

<BR>We take as little as possible, and over the years have really simplified what we do - wouldn't dream of doing some of the complicated (or so they seem) things mentioned BUT if they work for someone else, that's great. After we do our research etc., my husband takes a plain manila folder that has our hotel and car rental confirmations, airline info, perhaps copies of the hotel's web site, some misc notes. I carry a teeny 4 x 6 or smaller spiral note pad with my notes, and write in that as we go along. We take a map or two, no guide books (stopped that years ago), have copies of credit cards, passports tucked away, and that's about it. On a somewhat different note, also don't take as many pictures as we used too - I buy more postcards! BUT I do bring lotsa stuff home - I collect the maps, brochures, flyers, cards along the way of places we've seen etc. for future reference and souveniers. And I take the envelopes from the hotels, write the city name on it, and put that city's receipts in it; <BR> hotel, restaurants etc. <BR>Easier to keep track of expenses, checking cc bill etc.

OK - I will admit upfront that I am an anal trip planner. But the method I use has helped me out for years. Its called MS Excel! Unlike one of the earlier posters, I do not adopt any guidebook as my bible. What I do as I plan my trip is to create a spreadsheet to capture my findigs - columns include city, dates, activity, comments (my comments column includes who's recommendations). I capture my findings in my spreadsheet and I can sort on city, date, activity, etc (depending on how I want to look at the data). This way, I don't have to tear up books and when I'm ready, I print off the spreadsheet and I'm good to go. I supplement this with confirmations (flights, reservations, confirmations, etc). I used to use index cards, but have modernized my process based on cool technology. If you're interested in more details - please email me as I have samples for Paris and Italy.

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More ideas, anyone??? Thanks

For our last trip to Paris I made a loose leaf notebook of notes on restaurants, sites, etc. with closeup maps printed out for directions. Each day took the maps and notes needed for the day as planned. The map site allows a note to be printed at the bottom so I could put in the price or recommendation source, etc.

If you don't want to carry around a big 3-ring binder or even a large spiral notebook you can buy these special notebooks with removable pages. they come in different sizes (8X11, 4X6, etc.) and they have about 6 plastic rings on the side so you can add or subtract pages. They are really good because you can carry the paper around with you before you go and take notes and then add these pages to the book. That helps me because otherwise I end up with different scraps of paper, post-its, I jot things down in different notebooks, etc. I don't know the name of the manufacturer but where I have seen these notebooks before is in college bookstores with large selections of school supplies. I believe you can also buy a whole punch which fits these notebooks, allowing you to add maps, your excel printouts, etc.

Gosh...I feel outclassed. <BR>I take my guide book. Nope, left it at home. <BR>I take the print-outs I found appealing and informative and printed off the internet...shoot, must have left those in the office. <BR>I take a cocktail napkin which, if I'm lucky will have the name and phone number of the hotel at which I (think I probably) booked my 1st night's lodging...and if it turns out to be blank it will double as my trip journal if I write very neatly and avoid felt tip pens and moisture. <BR>Quite truthfully I carry my passport, ticket, ATM and credit cards. No camera. No book. I do now, however, retain my wristwatch. I try to formulate a general itinerary in my mind of cities to visit and how to find them...that's about it. <BR>Living life on the edge...and mostly enjoying it. Maybe I'll try your suggestions next trip.