Lydio

I'm just wondering how people managed their micro-management of trips to Europe pre internet? I think people still travelled to Europe then - but how did they manage without knowing the exact bus timetable, or where the nearest supermarket was or how many pairs of shoes they should bring?

Thank you

thit_cho

How did people ask sanctimonious questions pre-Internet?

suze

I do not micro-managed my trips to Europe. I don't care about those kinds of questions you mention. I figure things out after I arrive.

ekscrunchy

Ignoring the possible saracsm in the question: We wrote letters for hotel reservations and figured out the rest when we arrived.

Lydio

Its not sanctimonius - I'm just curious. Did people take more chances? Were travel agents well informed? Did people buy more books?

Lawchick

I think people probably just winged it a lot more and more probably went on organised bus tours and the like.

MaureenB

I'll bet the internet has been a big boost to the smaller hotels that people might not have heard about from travel agents. With forums like this one, we can get direct recommendations for those otherwise hard-to-find gems.
>-

Kristina

I think I micromanaged then, just differently. I read everything I could get my hands on, magazines, newspaper travel sections, guidebooks. I spoke to everyone I could who had been to that destination.

I like the freedom I feel I get with all the information available on the internet.

That said, I just got back from 12 days in central europe and still found myself spending an inordinate amount of time wandering in seach of the "perfect" restaurant, even with dozens of personal recommendations.

I don't plan out every single minute, but I'm better organized now.

I also agree that people depended on travel agents and tours more then than they do now.

smueller

We had an excellent travel agent that did trip planning consultations on a per hour fee basis. She was from Europe and had years of experience sending Americans to Europe. She knew what worked and what didn't work. We still follow most of her "rules" today (e.g., at least two nights per stay, etc.).

We also valued the advice and opinions of others that had gone before us more than we do nowadays. Before the internet, it was hard to find someone that had recently been to the places you wanted to go. Now by visiting a few travel forums or doing a few Google searches, you can read about the experience of someone that stayed at the exact hotel as yours only a few weeks earlier.

More than anything else, the internet has given us a better idea of what to expect when we get there - wherever "there" is.

Zerlina

There were also far fewer people travelling, and you did not have to book weeks or months in advance to get the hotel or the museum admission that you wanted.

vjpblovesitaly

I wonder the same thing sometimes. I did not think you were being sarcastic.

It is fun to plan trips using the internet, though isn't it?

ira

Hi L,

Guide books were much more important then.

TaniaP

I don't think the question is sanctimonious either.

I love to micro-manage trips! I don't want to waste time looking for a supermarket or trying to figure out the bus timetable if I can do that beforehand. (I have to admit, I don't always get it right with the shoes, though...)

Yes, guidebooks were more important back then.

Travelnut

I bet we get more for our money since the internet than before...

ekscrunchy

When I started traveling many areas were not even covered by guidebooks. Even for places like South America, there might have been two books which covered the entire continent in one volume. Same with India. Forget the really exotic places!

I had a local travel agent who would book the flights using the Overseas Airline Guide. She also had a large book meant for travel agents which listed many hotels. I would pick out a couple of places and write letters to them about availability.

Once that was settled, I/we were good to go. In the more out of the way places we often got a car and driver upon arrival, either through the hotel or through recommendations if we knew someone living there.

I took my first really exotic trips with my Dad who loved to to all the planning. Using these limited rresources, he planned some totally fabulous and interesting trips!

eurogals

I went on a six week trip to europe in 1996 with my daughter and we only booked the first night, the last night, and one in between where we were meeting someone. We did these reservations by fax from home.

We used our eurail pass for the 6 weeks and they gave us a schedule of the most frequent trains. Of course, now you can fine tune it with the bahn.de sight.

When we arrived at the train station we went to the hotel booking kiosk and asked for a room within our price range and off we went. We were never disappointed in our lodging.

I found an old Rick Steves 21-days in Europe book at a flea market and basically followed a lot of his suggestions. We met people along the way who guided us to places they stayed and it all was smooth as icing on a cake.

In September I will be in Europe for 5 weeks and extensively use this sight for my hotel bookings and already have booked and confirmed reservations at all the hotels.

You can still wing it, but I now travel with a more senior crowd and my husband and I prefer to know where we are going in advance.

I CAN HARDLY WAIT.

Leely

I still buy many guidebooks, but I tend to buy lots of books anyway (how's <i>that</i> for sanctimonious?). In the olden days one could easily obtain bus or train schedules from most guidebooks for long routes, i.e., from Rome to Venice. And I always pack 12 pairs of shoes regardess of destination, season or what my internet friends and frenemies say.

Thanks for asking!

StCirq

I micro-managed a lot more before the internet than I do now, but that's a function of being a seasoned traveler more than anything. I used to have PILES of maps and guidebooks and spend hours poring over them and planning every step of the route. I'm far less OC about travel now, unless I'm going somewhere totally new and different; then I revert to my old ways.

ekscrunchy

Right..we used those very big, comprehensive railway books that listed every conceivable railroad on the planet!

And forget about long-distance phone calls..no way.
And there was no fax, either.

And I am not even that old!

suze

They used guidebooks and the telephone?