Is it possible to over plan a trip ?
 

Does planning every detail of a trip down to each and every restaurant for each meal take away from some of the excitement of travel ?

I plan enough to hit sightseeing spots in a geographically logical sense, leave time for our 'wine:30' breaks, and have a list of dining options but rarely make reservations. I do like to have a good outline or plan so as not to sit around at breakfast, "what do you want to do today?" - "I dunno, what do YOU want to do?"..and so on. I never object to doing something fun that wasn't on the plan, and I have never always completed the 'list'.
I am always excited to go, every time, even with a plan in my hand.

I'm amazed at some of the over-restaurant planning. I wouldn't want to go on a trip and plan every lunch/dinner. I like the flexibility. Sometimes it's fun just walking down the street, looking at menus, and hopping into a place can be a great experience.

Then again, if you want to go to a very special restaurant, I would plan for that evening, but not for every meal. ((b))

I am sometimes guilty of overplanning. In fact, I've been on this @#$%'ing computer for 3 hours this evening planning our Hawaii vacation.

On that note, I will sign off now. :-(

I just posted a reply to a couple planning a trip to Vienna that sounds so micro-planned that reading about it made me exhausted. But, some people really prefer to travel that way.
I prefer to plan a major thing for the morning, and another for the afternoon, and if I can fit in more, that's fine.
For instance, in London I might allot the morning and early afternoon for the Tower, with a stop at Westminster Abbey or St. Paul's in the afternoon. I allow time to return to my hotel, shower, and change before dinner and perhaps a play. Other people might want to race through the Tower in an hour or two, fit in both the Abbey and St. Paul's, and dash into the British Museum before dinner and theatre. That's just too hectic for me. I'd rather see one site thoroughly and at leisure than see five sites quickly and in a cursory way.
Very rarely do I make reservations at a restaurant, preferring not to be tied into a specific time and place. There are exceptions to this, of course, when the restaurant itself is one of the highlights of the planned trip. For instance, on my recent trip to Vienna, I knew I wanted to have lunch at the Sacher Hotel and top it off with coffee and Sacher torte.
I think you have to allow for the unexpected sights and restaurants you run across on a trip--there is fun to be had in the discovery of new places.
That said, I don't think you should just arrive in a place and wing it all the way. You should have an idea what you really want to see before you leave, and allow time to change your proposed schedule with other opportunities arise that catch your interest.

One's temperment makes all the difference in the world in whether or not the end result is regarded as "enjoyable." Some folks are disappointed no matter what. Others are thrilled in spite of the things that didn't pan out. Making plans can build security to folks who need a lot of hand-holding. I think we all "plan" to our own comfort level... some plans work well; others don't. No matter the percentage of winners, have a good time anyway!

I'm a researcher/planner by profession and cannot help myself. I do it so others don't have to. If we choose not to go somewhere or change the plan once we're there..no worries. I just like to plan. My Dad still teases me about my budget spreadsheet for our family trip in Dec. '04...there were 3 different currencies on it spanning 4 countries..that was fun!

Worse than 'overplanning' is 'overdoing' once you're there.

spinesrgn,

Is this a rhetorical question? You sound like you've already got an opinion. Does it bug you other people do that? Why? Who cares how other people travel?

I'm always amazed when I see travel reports and people include pictues of their meals. I wouldn't do that, but I understand some people believe eating the best examples of the authentic cuisine of another country is really an important part of experiencing that country, and that is the excitement of travel for them.

Hooray. I'm glad when other people make themselves happy. It makes it less likely they are going to go out of their way to bug me.

I don't think it's possible to "overplan", as long as one has flexibility once one is at ones' destination. Face it, those who don't plan end up on a summer afternoon, standing in a 2+ hour line to enter the Uffizi, or show up at the Galleria Borghese without a reservation only to be turned away. If planning means knowing everything that can be known in advance about a location, you can't have too much knowledge. If planning means there is a strict, to the hour schedule that cannot be varied, then that is "over-planning."

I don't have a lot of "vacation regrets", but I do regret a few times when the kids were little and wanted to settle in watch street performers and I insisted on following "the schedule" instead. They still remember those living statues more than they remember whatever museum I hurried them off to.

Hi S,

It is not possible to overplan, as long as one realizes that the schedule should go out the window no later than the 3rd day.

On a recent trip with some of my family I discovered that, despite all of my weeks of careful planning that would give them the benefit of my experience, they didn't want to do what I thought they should do.

I cancelled most of our dinner reservations and rearranged the various walking tours.

They think that they had the best visit possible.

I am still sulking.

((I))

I'm with Budman on this one. I like to plan a general itinerary, including places we want to see, but never plan restaurants. Sometimes I bring recommendations with me, but wouldn't work my itinerary around them. I find it fun to "menu shop" and decide where to eat. I've stumbled across some great restaurants this way.

Tracy

I'm in the Budman and Tracy group too.

As a family, we decide on the places we want to visit/include and make sure we know open days/hours. We also have a few "maybe" options. As for restaurents, we've never made reservations way ahead of time and so far, haven't had problems.

No, I don't think it's possible. No matter how many pictures I look at, or descriptions I read of a hotel, sight, site or restaurant, the reality is never quite like the mental image I've developed based on my research. And it's always better than I've imagined (or at least, that's what I remember)!

We don't plan every restaurant, but we select most restaurants for dinner ahead of time. We're real foodies, and don't want to "waste" our limited number of meals on indecision, or be "caught" on a business weekend in the midst of already-full restaurants. Often, I plan a variety of meals, so that maybe we're having a casual dinner one night, and formal the next. Or food from different regions or countries. If we were just wandering along, we wouldn't be able to come up with that variety. Also, by finding restaurants beforehand, we often end up going into neighborhoods that we wouldn't wander into if we didn't know we were eating dinner there!

That being said, while we have a short list of "must-see" activities (and our list doesn't always match Fodor's or Frommers, or other people's) for a place, other than that and any necessary reservations (i.e., Villa Borghese), we make each day's decisions at breakfast (or later), depending on our moods and the weather. And all other food (lunch, cafe stops and anything else) comes from a way-too-long list of places that I bring with me. The idea is that if we end up near a great-sounding bakery, we can stop by and partake! And of course, there are the other places we stop at just because they look good, too...

I thought it was obvious, but:

Insecure overplanner: someone who plans more than me.

Incompetent underplanner: someone who plans less.

These and other pearls of wisdom provided free of charge....

I do a lot of researching during the months before a big trip. I list the things that I must and want to do see/do. I try to organize my must-see/dos by neighborhood and plan for a couple of those a day - before lunch and after lunch. In between, I try to fit in a few of the want-tos. I don't like to be on a strict schedule but sometimes it is necessary - like if I am taking a day trip out of town I need to know the train times so I can plan accordingly. Also, I enjoy museums and need to plan around closed days. I generally get my must-see/do things taken care of and enjoy the in between times as a chance to explore and wander around taking it all in. I always plan some time to absorb and to "be there" - which to me is wandering or sitting at a sidewalk cafe with a carafe (or two!) of wine and taking it all in.

Everyone is different and I don't think there is a right way or wrong way to plan but we just know what works for us. I learn from everyone here and put some of the organization tips that others use to good use for myself.

I always leave room for flexibility. You just never know when you are going to stumble across somewhere special that requires more time. As far as dining goes, I may make a dinner reservation or two in advance if it is someplace that I just have to...Otherwise, I wing it. Some of my best finds have happened that way. Tad more fun to find them yourself anyway, don't you think ?

I wonder what the answer to the corollary question: "Be honest! Did you REALLY stick to all those "plans"?" would be.

Each person's answer to your question will likely be different. The amount of pre-planning people are comfortable with is based on personality types and preferences. There's no right or wrong way to do it.

I like the phrase "micro-planning" used by Maureen.

It's a personal question, coming down to comfort level and interest level.

My mom micro-plans her trips around restaurants she wants to go to (seriously!), but she is into that "perfect" meal in that perfect place with the perfect chef. She doesn't plan the "we have to be here to see this at this time" part, though, and leaves that part to the "let's see what turns us on when we wake up" category of travel.

If we're traveling at a time when there's a special event (such as birthday, anniversary, etc.), we might look at getting a reservation at a restaurant, but usually no.

Before kids, we used to be spontaneous travelers -- throw clothes and a toothbrush in the back of the Bug or in the backpack and hit the road or jump on the next plane to far away places. That was when it didn't matter if we stayed in hostels or rooms with no toilets, or we had all the time in the world to seek out a place to stay.

Even after we had a kid, we played fast and loose with a good portion of our itinery until one trip where I spent half my time calling all the hotels in a city trying to find a place to stay in the middle of summer.

I HATE wasting vacation time doing that. So our general plan is plan the dates, reserve the rooms, compile a list of places of interest with opening and closing hours, and THEN grab the toothbrush! If we do more than that, like Ira, toss it out after the third day!