Let's just go!
 

We plan our trips carefully, making flight and hotel reservations, drawing up an itinerary, packing, since half the fun can be in the planning. But has anyone just decided to travel on the spur-of-the-moment? Where was your destination? Any regrets or was it a great adventure?

Lori: Yes, and the destination was Puerto Rico. I arrived from a business trip to Maryland at 1pm and at 3pm my husband, myself and my Mother in law were taking another plane for a surprise weekend. No clue what was up. My husband got hold of a 48-hr special from USAir and bought three tickets on-the-spur of the moment. The trip was fantastic; enjoyed it tremendously (my Mother-in-law is a riot!). <BR>

Yes Lori, I had one experience last October. My Mother and I were supposed to go to Italy (flying stand-by because my husband is a pilot and I fly for free/Mother at a great discount). I plan my trips months in advance; took Italian lessions. Got to the airport and the flight was so overbooked we couldn't get on board. The agent stated "don't even bother to try for the next few days!" After a quick discussion, I said well, do you want to go to Paris? What the hell. We took the flight the next evening (two flights a day at that time from Philly) after spending the night at a nearby hotel and going into town and picking up a Frommer's travel book and French language book. Arrived in Paris 6am; called one of the hotels in the book from the airport and made reservations; exchanged about $100; then dived into Paris. <BR> <BR>The trip was GREAT!!! Every few days we would "stop" and figure out what to do the next few days. Saw much of Paris and the Loire Valley; Chartres and Giverny. <BR> <BR>Could I do this again? You bet! <BR> <BR>Monica <BR>

Lori, the first trip we took to Europe was an absolutely spontaneous fun trip. My wife prurchased three $299 round trip tickets and said it's too inexpensive not to go for a week over the Thanksgiving holiday, so we went. I, of course wondered why would anyone want to go to Germany when you could go to Florida and sit in the sun. However it was fun and exciting and we have since been back to Germany five times and to Europe 12 more times, we have not been back to Florida. For a classic organized senior manager like me it was an experience to say the least. As an example, I called 15 hotels in Munich before we were able to find a room.We didn't do any research prior to going, our primary mistake and we looked for a place to stay each night whenever we stopped. I plan a whole lot differently now, but for our first trip we did OK. My goal is to evenetually fly to Frankfurt...buy a train pass, put about 10 cities/places in a hat and go to each of them as they are drawn out of the hat...now that would be fun!!!

Last February we took a spur of the moment trip to Belgium over the 3-day holiday/Valentines day weekend. <BR>Like Monica, we fly standby, and were originally planning to go to Fla., but the flights were overbooked, so on Tuesday we decided (after leafing through our stacks of magazines and saved articles - so we did a little "research!) to go to Brussels, after reading an article about it being "doable" in a weekend. <BR>We read what we could over the next couple of days, flew out Friday night to arrive in Brussels early Sat. It was super-easy and quick to take the airport train right into the middle of town, where we stored our luggage and walked around, buying chocolate and pastries and looking at the weekend antiques outdoor market and the lovely Grand Place. At noon we took an hour-long train to the romantic and wonderfully preserved medieval town of Brugges. The weather was superb - sunny and in the 60's, so we walked around and rode a tandem bike along the canals and by the windmills. <BR>There were a couple of "adventures" to keep it interesting! When we arrived, sans $, and attempted to get francs at the airport, we found that the majority of ATM's weren't functioning due to a "money transporters strike" that had been going on for a while. However, the airport train station attendant offered to give us an advance of a few hundred francs on our ATM card when we purchased our tickets to town. We were able to find a bank in town, after a few tries, that had an ATM with $! <BR>We also found that because Brugge is so romantic and lovely, many people get married there, and return for their anniversaries - mostly on Valentines Day! So EVERY place we called Saturday night was full! We finally found a room in a B & B when I overheard a person on the phone next to me who was also trying to get a room saying "Oui, oui-" and I asked if the person they were talking to had another room! The second night we were able to get a room in a lovely old hotel in the most picturesque spot in town, overlooking a canal. <BR>And that was our spontaneous, romantic, and exciting Valentines Day weekend! <BR>

Lori: Typically, I spend months planning for a trip. Right now, I have some of our trip already worked out for Germany next May. <BR> <BR>Last Jaunuary, however, I received an email on Wednesday about an "E-saver" on US Airways for Paris on Friday for $175.00 per person. Kidding around, I faxed it over to my wife at work with a note: "Ask if you can get off for a few". She called me at lunch and said: "Your turn!". I asked my boss and he told me to not miss my dates and then I called our travel agent who was in Paris just five months before and she had much of the info we needed. We picked up our tickets on Thursday and left on Friday! <BR> <BR>We had a fantastic time, with temps in the 50's. We went the the tower, Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees, Montremarte and Painter's Square, the Louvre', Notre dame and Versailles! What a trip and what a great time we had. <BR> <BR>All with virtually no plans! <BR> <BR>Sometimes, it's the best way. I'm keeping my eyes open for more of those "E-savers"! <BR> <BR> <BR>

Was asked by a professor if I wanted to join him and his family for three weeks in his native Spain. I jumped at the chance. First I called my congressman to expedite my passport, then I called a travel agent who booked me on an AirIberia flight two rows ahead of travel companions, then made arrangements to meet my cohorts in Newark an hour or two before the flight. <BR>Spent three wonderful weeks driving from city to city in Andalucia. Want to go back but can't help wondering if it would be as much fun the second time.

These are really great stories of your adventures on the run. I noticed a common incentive for your trips were those airfare bargains -- too good to let pass. Even with a few minor problems, so what? Any of these could happen even with the best of planning. You have all proven that it's good to get out of the rut and do something for the sheer fun and adventure. Thanks, everyone!

Perhaps it's a sign of age, but those "jet-off-on-the-spur-of-the-moment" trips aren't nearly the fun they once were - and the ones I've taken become less appealing in hindsight. We've made our share of last-minute trips, principally to the Caribbean, and there's something to be said for staring out a window at the cold and rain one day, deciding to do something about it, and being under an umbrella on a beach the next. That's the fantasy. <BR> <BR>But the reality of last-minute travel is that you're usually headed someplace less than special. The reason you can get a hotel room at the La Cucaracha Grande resort on a day's notice isn't because management has been holding a room for you in hopes you'd call; it's because the place has lots of empty rooms. The good places booked up six months ago. Looking back, I can think of maybe two trips that fulfilled the fantasy, and a dozen that, with hindsight, were so-so. A few "let's just go!" trips were awful (the Bitter End Yacht Club in Virgin Gorda is one of the most appropriately named resorts on the planet). <BR> <BR>Planning and anticipating a trip is absolutely luscious. You get to pore over brochures, spend hours in the bookstore comparing ratings, drain the Internet of information, and generally exhaust yourself, all in the name of Ensuring A Great Trip. If you plan right, if you budget right, and if the cosmic dice line up in your favor, you end of with cherished memory. Good planning takes time; it's a way of loading the dice in your favor. Otherwise, it's all luck. Me? I've gotten to where I'll choose the loaded dice every time. <BR> <BR>

I agree with Neal. I guess I was VERY lucky in having a great trip to France last year. As I stated before, I do plan well ahead of time (planning for my May? 99 trip to France right now). Planning trips is my best and most favorite hobby. <BR> <BR>Since my husband and I fly for free (ok, so it's $23pp for taxes) we could fly anywhere. NOT so! Because we fly standby, we have to wait until all the paying passengers are on board first before we take any available seats. We actually paid full fare on Air France this past May to Italy because the flights were so booked. My husband asked me why pay full fare if we can fly for free? My answer is we could fly for free to Italy in NOVEMBER-FEBRUARY when it's COLD, and RAINY, and the SUN SETS SO EARLY THAT ONE CAN'T ENJOY THE OUTDOOR CAFES AND WATCH THE WORLD GO BY. So we sacrifice our money and PLAN our vacations when the time & place is right. <BR>

<BR>Hello <BR> <BR>I ditched a trip from U K to Italy and Sicily at the last minute, going to the Carolinas and Georgia instead. The reasons? Well, the fare to Italy was ultra-cheap anyway on a new B A subsidiary, no-frills carrier, so that was not a problem. The weather there had been bad, and the weather in the Carolinas was good. I'd been to Italy before, and although I love it, I was somehow not in the mood for an overload of cathedrals and museums. The main attraction was the cheap deal from B A. A non-stop 777 flight from Heathrow to Charlotte and back cost only £240 with taxes. Knowing the U S well, I knew I would instantly slip right back into the flow {we'd been on a fortnight's holiday to Fla. in May} and also knew that as it was shoulder season, we could bargain for good room rates. We did and we succeeded! It was a fab holiday, especially as good old British Airways upgraded me and my partner to club class on the way back! All I did was to be the first to check in, something we always do anyway to get the best seats in economy as I am very tall. We then spent the rest of the day at leisure, using the Club Lounge too. <BR>Most times I enjoy the planning, but sometimes being spontaneous works. <BR>P S This is a good site to read. Hope there will be more posts soon.