Ryan

I love thinking, talking, and reading about my upcoming trips, even if it's a weekend trip to a local city. I can spend an hours researching my destinations without tiring. <BR>But, some trips just don't live up to the hype, while others match it. Few extend beyond my high hopes, but those are the best ones of course....any thoughts?

Tracy

Absolutely! We went ot Italy for 2 weeks last year, and i spent weeks making hotel arrangements, checking out rentals in Tuscany for our week there, deciding what should not be missed, picking restaurants, foods, things to buy. I read all the books I could stomach, as well as poured through years of old Gourmet magazines in preparation for our trip. This year - London and Paris. The sleepig arrangements are set - now, I have 5 months to prepare for the rest. I'd say prep is at least 1/2 the fun

Karen

I also enjoy the preparation. I really like spending time at Borders or Barnes & Noble, with a cup of coffee, reading and planning for an upcoming trip. Once I decide on a general area to visit, I check pictures, read guide books, and check the internet to determine which cities and charming villages to stay in. It's only after alot of research that I can narrow my focus and decide where I want to visit and how much time to spend in each place. Also, I plan my itinerary around hotels that sound special. Sometimes, after 2-3 nights, I change hotels just to experience someplace different. Also, I avoid getting depressed on the plane ride home when my vacation is over, by thinking about where to go next. <BR>All this preparation gets me excited (it's a natural high) and helps me escape some of the more boring aspects of everyday life and I find it a good way to relax.

Monica

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I don't really like the planning. If someone would plan trips for me and do it RIGHT I'd be sold! My husband planned our honeymoon to Italy and that was the best--he'd researched all of the hotels, picked the best ones, planned a good itinerary. When we got off the train at each new town I bought a book on it and read that the first day. That really worked for me.

Michael

I do the planning for my family travel and I agree that I do not enjoy it. It is however the only way do your traveling the way you want to at your price. It also allows you to study the region you are traveling to. I guess it is like alot of things in life. You get out of it what you put into it.

Shadow

Ryan-me too!!! I totally enjoy the planning from reading travel books, looking at maps, and esp. planning out the itinerary. I really love checking out restaurants we might get to try. I also love shopping for new clothes to bring and travel things. I find myself talking about the trip constantly before hand. But, I try not to bore people either. Most people I know don't travel that much and are not too interested. I really have to fight the depression coming home (had a really hard time last year after planning a 3 week trip to Ireland, London and Paris with my husband and 8 friends). We usually don't have a trip planned to look forward to or if we do it seems so far in the future. Our next trip is just now coming up-the Olympics! But, it wasn't until last month that I got excited about that. But, then I got to start planning it out and that 'ol excitement kicked in! Yeah, planning is at LEAST half the fun!!<BR>Shadow

joe t

No.

Suzy

Hey, Joe, did you forget what the question was? Is it more or less than half the fun? I'm guessing you're in the "less than" group!<BR><BR>Me, I'm in the "way more than half" group. I always find out about twice as many things to do and places to stay as I actually have time for. I ended up wishing I could spend a couple of months in London!<BR><BR>I don't want to get into a bigdiscussion about Myers-Briggs Types, but I bet we'd sort out into Just-Do-It and Very-Thoughtful-and-Analytical! (As my co-workers used to say, "Remember, the first half of "analysis" is "anal"!)

HELEN

TO ME PLANNING A TRIP IS LIKE READING A BOOK BEFORE SEEING THE MOVIE!!! I GET TO ENVISION NEW PLACES MONTHS AHEAD AND THEN SEE HOW CLOSE ACTUALITY COMES TO MY MIND'S EYE! I LOVED OUR TWO WEEK TRIP TO PARIS AND PROVENCE, OUR TWO WEEK TRIP BY CAR AROUND IRELAND BUT THE ONE THAT EXCEEDED ALL MY EXPECTATIONS WAS THE CRUISE OF THE GREEK ISLES A FEW YEARS BACK!!! PLANNING NOW AND LOVING IT A MED CRUISE OUT OF BARCELONA!! ENJOYING THE PLANNING PLUS BEING FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO ACTUALLY TAKE THE TRIP IS TO ME THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS!! H

Dina

Helen wins the Award for Great Enthusiam, with ALL CAPS and eleven exclamation points!!!!! You go girl!!!!

Tracy

I should also mention I had fun trying Italian recipes (risotto, chicken cacciatore, etc) and Italian wines and food products, especially cheeses, before our trip. We listened to Andrea Bocceli and our language tapes, bought a great book called "wicked Italian" for irreverent phrases that might come in handy

jw

What a joyful post! Ryan and Karen and Tracy and Shadow! Yes, yes, yes. In fact, at times like these couple of years when I find that an actual trip might not be possible, I plan and replan anyway. It keeps hope alive and is indeed relaxing. And one of you mentioned that you love talking about the trips and that some of your friends are just not interested. I've got to restrain myself gushing on and on about my favorite places to people who can't relate. Thank goodness for this site.<BR>And about cooking the foods and listening to the music? Isn't that a kick? I try to recreate the place experience by cooking the foods I've enjoyed -- even when the view while eating is only a back yard and not Lago Maggiore -- oh dear, I'm beginning to sound pitiful. Happy trails. J.

Joseph

I agree with many of the others. Preparation and anticipation IS half the fun. Just be flexible once you DO get there everything may not be exactly as planned. For example you might want to read up on several restaurants in a and area, but not decide until you get there which you'll dine at. <BR><BR>The other thing is that planning for a trip can give you a certain energy that you can use when you get back. Use tht great feeling and momentum to apply to other things in your life you also want to do.

Julie

I absolutely love the planning, and have found some magical things to do that I might not have found if I didn't scour the Internet daily (Bach concert in a cathedral, etc.) I'm also reading the Oxford Illustrated History of Great Britain so I'll better understand what I'm looking at once I get there.

xxx

No, planning isn't half the fun. Good planning just makes the trip that much better. And I enjoy planning, but BEING THERE is what is great!

andi

LOVE the planning. I was telling some colleagues about how much I enjoy my annual two-week solo vacations (I'm a single mother with two challenging children), and they said, "Why not find a way to capture that feeling all year?" I explained that I "milk" these trips for a whole year. Recent planned trip to Italy included a year of language tapes to refresh my Italian, watching lots of Italian movies, rereading my Renaissance art textbook, etc. And after a year of all that, I didn't go! Was scheduled for October, just couldn't bring myself to make the trip, ,but I'm regrouping and going next October, so all that preparation wasn't in vain. I'm taking my daughter to Paris in April and having her do some reading in advance to get "in the mood" and so she'll get as much out of hte trip as possible, and she is enjoying this too.

Denise

For me, the planning stage is exciting and fun; for my travel partner, it's pure torture. (Guess who handles all the arrangements?!?) I spend hours researching on the internet, looking through books, magazines and travel brochures. I also gather tons of feedback from people who've been where I'm going (especially Fodorites!) Armed with all this, I then shell out a basic itinerary that includes where to stay and for how long, as well as some must-see sights and activities - leaving plenty of room for spontaneity once I'm there. Since I usually travel in May, I take the months of Jan-March to do my homework. I find it a great way to chase the winter blahs and really gives me something to look forward to!

elvira

I love the planning for our trips. The place to go is always because somebody read a newspaper article or saw something on TV so I get emails "can we go to Xyneousn? CNN says they've got great cheese". So off to the library I go one Saturday...9 hours later the librarian is shutting off the lights.<BR><BR>Not only do I love thinking about the places we'll visit, and imagining them in my mind's eye, but the logistics of getting from point A to point B, making the reservations, getting tickets to a play everyone wants to see...I'm in my obsessive-compulsive, anal retentive, control freak version of hog heaven.<BR><BR>Other than Milan (don't get me started), I've never been disappointed in any place I've visited. It might be a little different than I imagined, but somehow it's even better.<BR><BR>Oh yeah while we're on the trip, we start talking about whereto next. On the plane home I'm sketching itineraries in the back of my crossword puzzle book.

Leslie

I guess it depends on where I am going and if I am going alone or with a companion. I've been to London almost a dozen times, so I don't plan anything unless there's a hit show I need to buy tickets for in advance. <BR><BR>On all of my other trips, I have spent months in advance researching -- reading books, brochures, getting information from tourist authorities, and surfing the web. <BR><BR>My most recent trip to Prague, I loved planning every detail of the journey, although I was pretty flexible day to day. <BR><BR>On past trips where I have done multi-cities, I had to plan more carefully, as time was limited.<BR><BR>I'm planning my trip to Budapest now, and although I have 3 travel books and a wealth of information from the tourist authority, I somehow can't get into all the planning, but I have a general idea of what I want to see in Budapest and its environs. Part of my boredom may be just having the winter blues.<BR><BR>Right now I'm also trying to plan my trip to Germany in October for 4 weeks and a trip to Spain for 2 weeks with my girlfriend in the spring of 2003 (we were initially going in the fall of 2003). I think those trips are on my mind also, which is why I am not getting too detailed about Budapest.<BR><BR>My girlfriend that I am going to Spain with just convinced me to go to Australia for 2 weeks in the fall of 2003. She's planning that trip. I am not going to get involved with it at all since I'm planning the trip to Spain. Actually, I'm looking forward to seeing what she comes up with, and besides, I need a rest.<BR><BR>I spend so much time researching, that sometimes the trip becomes slightly anti-climactic. But, I always have a good time and I wouldn't change anything. So, to answer your question, for me planning the trip is more fun, but actually being there is wonderful.

Vita

When I was planning my trip to Italy, I was sure that I wouldn't possibly have as much fun in Italy as I did during the planning. I was wrong. The planning was great and curbed the anticipation...a little, but planning was maybe 1/4 of the fun. I guess it helps to keep the expectations low. It was my first solo trip and I was going to chock it up as a learning experience no matter what.