Travelaholics Anonymous
 

I know I can't be alone in saying I spend WAAAAY too much time researching vacations. For our upcoming European vacation, I've spent hundreds(?) of hours (probably more than the length of the trip!) researching everything from fares to hotels to sites to restaurants.<BR><BR>This is getting to feel like an addiction, hence the post topic.<BR><BR>How much time do you spend and would you say you go a little too far?

Boy, isn't this the truth! My husband would say that I definitely spend too much time researching and planning, but then he's always the first to ask me how something works or where something is when we get to a destination. For me, doing the research is half the fun of going somewhere, and if I don't have something to plan for I'm down in the &quot;travel-dumps&quot;. Right now I'm researching for a week we're going to spend in Holland at the end of April and am having a blast! I personally don't see anything wrong with it as long as it doesn't interfere with everyday life. Besides, I know a lot of people who spend more time on the computer playing games than I do checking out locations and local customs. Happy travels everyone!

I agree with Sardog 100%. I, too, spend hundreds of hours researching, but find it half the fun (whereas my husband thinks it's a bit too much at times). However, we're always prepared!<BR><BR>I don't see a problem with it as long as it doesn't interfere in the things I absolutely HAVE to get done (ok...it does once in awhile).<BR><BR>Yes, I think that I'm very much a travelaholic. Is there a cure? I mean, besides another trip? ha.<BR><BR>BTW - On our way to Italy this summer, so lots of research there (this board has been wonderful). And, I've even started researching a future trip to Japan, but my hubby says &quot;Let's get this trip taken first.&quot; I think that's another symptom....multiple research.<BR>

This thread will likely attract posts from two camps: the &quot;confessors&quot; and the &quot;justifiers&quot; (&quot;rationalizers&quot;?)<BR><BR>I'll put myself in the latter camp. I think that I am a MORE effective breadwinner, husband and physician BECAUSE I spend 1-2 hours a day (let's say 500-ish hours/yr) thinking about travel and planning (a) trip(s). Using a 5 year average, there's also about 15-30 days a year in ACTUAL travel (I exclude from this &quot;trips home&quot; at holidays to grandma's, pure business travel or kid/college-travel if it is functional only).<BR><BR>Some people spend far more time than this on other hobbies - - and others take far more time off from work than this. So, I submit that the 1-2 hours a day help keep me working, doing the things I need to (&quot;ought to&quot;) be doing.<BR><BR>Ultimately, is the &quot;excessive&quot; expenditure of time doing some activity of pleasure a real problem? even if it does ressemble an &quot;addiction&quot;? Do some people spend too much time at the gym? serving lunches at the homeless sheler? supporting activities in their community or school system? <BR><BR>An &quot;addiction&quot; includes getting into adverse outcome situations, or neglecting generally important/beneficial behaviors. If you think you're doing that, then maybe you have a problem.<BR><BR>If love of travel - - in thought or deed - - is helping you keep TO your life agenda, then I would not call it a problem.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>[email protected]<BR>

So good to read this and find out that &quot;I am NOT alone&quot;!<BR>I do the same as Biscuit - spend hundres of hours researching everything. First thing in the morning the computer goes on to see if there is any travel-related email and then on to the travel boards.<BR>I have felt SO GUILTY about this, have you felt the same?<BR>I will have to say that for THIS trip (we leave Thursday 6 March) my husband is being so positive about the preparation. He has expressed appreciation about all the details that go into planning a trip like this one.<BR>The thing that makes me feel obsessive is that I *have* to have a trip in the future. Even now - while I am mentally going through the last minute preparations, I have another trip ghosting in my mind.<BR>And yes, I do justify it by saying &quot;other people&quot; waste a lot of time that I'm using for travel planning! Look at the time spent in watching hours and hours of sports (etc etc etc) <BR>I guess - bottom line - it's my way of escape and I don't want to change to another way.<BR>Thanks for the thread, Biscuit, and for the other replies as well.<BR>Ok, so what are dues???!!!<BR>Carol / Brahmama

Yes I do spend a lot of time planning researching and dreaming of the trip we take. It has always paid off, we are never under prepared! I've learned a lot in my research. It's healthier then other things I could be addicted to! Happy travels. Off to Paris in May. Already planning for Italy 2004!

One can easily justify the research because it creates efficiency - both schedule and financial - for the trip. My family likes to make fun of my travel research obsession but will agree that while on the trip, things are more enjoyable for all as we are better prepared.<BR><BR>But of course that is not the primary reason I read, research, chat - it is a fun and relatively harmless addiction. I work part time and am currently doing loads of laundry inbetween reading and posting here.

And there's researching and researching...<BR><BR>You can plan and micro-manage and stress yourself into never actually enjoying the trip. (Personally I tell myself that if I've got my passport, credit cards, tickets and at least one night's accommodation organised, things will probably be OK: but then I tend not to go up mountains or into jungles or deserts).<BR><BR>Or you can read travel literature (and if you're like me never actually get round to going in person to the really exotic places - much the most comfortable option).<BR><BR>But which is the unhealthier 'ism'?<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>

I'm addicted too! I love to plan and research trips and read as much as possible before I go. Right now, I'm in the &quot;down&quot; phase. I went on a 2 week trip to London and England at the end of January, and I don't have anything planned yet for my next one. So right now my head is filled with thoughts of &quot;Where should I go next?&quot;, and I have so many ideas - but since it probably won't be until 2004, I have lots of time to read these boards to see what part of the world peaks my interest next!<BR><BR>Happy travels everyone.

Hi, my name is Scarlett and I am a travelholic:)<BR>When we are not planning a trip for ourselves, I try to help friends plan their trips. Living vicariously through others travels, is that a symptom of travelholism?<BR>While I feel it is great fun to &quot;discover&quot; something while on a trip, it is still good to feel that you have a basic idea of what to expect and where to go.<BR>One year we made plans to go to Italy in the fall, we made our reservations in Feb! So I had months to research. It is half the fun to plan and I don't know what &quot;too far&quot; would be ;)

Oh yes, oh yes. I am obsessed.<BR>I can't help myself. The discovery of internet message boards has propelled me to a whole other level of research. Now I have something I can check every day.<BR>Of course, I do justify it when I am traveling to more exotic locations like Cambodia where things change daily. No excuse for my upcoming trip to Sicily (where I've already been before!)however. Why do you think I'm here?<BR>Besides the message boards, I love to read travelogues, combing them for details of the best places to stay or eat, or for pitfalls to avoid. Of course, I had to do my own when I did a RTW trip (talk about obsessive planning!) 4 years ago and have managed to keep it up for subsequent trips as well.<BR>If anyone wants to check it out for research (or pure escapism) go to<BR>http://www.wired2theworld.com<BR>I've got lots of photos, journals, tips, and budgets there.<BR>Funny thing is, I'd never want to attend a T.A. meeting...I just don't want to give up my addiction!

Travelholism isn't a disease, it's a hobby. If researching vacations 4 hours a day 7 days a week brings you pleasure and doesn't keep you from neglecting life's responsibilities then there is absolutely no harm in it. In fact it's quite beneficial to one's mental health - happy happy happy. Planning IS 1/2 the fun!

I'm definitely addicted to the research. In addition, I often find myself researching two or three trips into the future while researching our present trip. This travel board has helped me immensely, and has often whetted my appetite for traveling to places that I might not have otherwise considered.

I am topping this because I belong in this category! I love researching travel... I think the best part is that there is always more to learn. Scarlett's activities describe mine to a tee.<BR><BR>HAPPY TRAVELS, FELLOW TRAVELERS!

I am one too. I find provisioning for a trip almost as fun as the trip itself. I do like to plan what we will do but will never forget our first time taking our little girl to London-threw out the schedule and had a blast.

Biscuit,<BR>I have already finished researching this years trip--started 10 months ago.<BR>I am now researching next years trip.<BR>Talk about a fanatic.

Don't be ashamed Brahmama, it's a positive obsession! It's an obsession I happen to love and my wife my doing it too.<BR><BR>There is a topic about travel agents and who knows what we like best better than ourselves?!? I think travel agents are fine for certain things, but if you have the time, go for it!<BR><BR>It is one thing I am passionate about for sure! The only question is whether I went overboard when I spent dozens of hours AT WORK researching? I think I went over the line there, not that I regret it or anything. :)<BR><BR>Gino, I think you got me beat hands down. I've only been researching this trip since December. 10 months! Now that's planning!

I must confess....I started researching our upcoming trip to Italy, this summer, in January 2002. Early, yes, but we got first dibs on the places we wanted to stay when I actually booked this past January.<BR>

I'm an early (and obsessive) planner, too. My daughter tells people I'm not happy without at least two trips pending! We are going to Italy in April with 5 other couples and I'm the planner for the group, started a year ago. I'm going to ireland with my sister and daughter in September and I'm booking hotels now...very late for me! We usually do get to stay at our first choices because we book early.

I think I've become an addict to this web site but not for extensive planning. I enjoy suggesting things for people to do based upon my own experience and will read what others have done. <BR><BR>My own planning consists of reading a few guide books ahead of time (Michelin always goes with me) and making a tentative list of things to see and do. I also get a map ahead of time so I can see which things can be grouped. <BR><BR>We've stayed in 5 different hotels in London and 5 in Paris and have probably enjoyed meals (all except the tete de veau in Paris when they served me everything inside the poor beast's head)in at least 25 restaurants in each but I wouldn't think of recommending one. <BR>We find our restaurants by asking the concierge or just walking around checking menus and the clientele. <BR><BR>I guess we're in the camp of &quot;PatrickLondon&quot;. But we'll do him one better. Way back in 1962 when a plane ticket to the furthest point allowed intermediate stops we flew from Boston to Glasgow (where we left our kids) then to Bergen, Oslo, Copenhagen, London and back to Glasgow (to retrieve the kids) without a single reservation (except Boston to Glasgow and return). It was wonderful and exciting and we'll never forget the first breakfast and the down comforter at the Hotel Bristol in Bergen. And cutting short our stay in Oslo so we could get to Copenhagen for the May 1st opening. And buying a Hans Wegner table in Copenhagen to be shipped home.<BR><BR>And November 2001 in Paris when we spent a morning spontaneously tracking down Mourlot Imprimeur, the great lithographers for Picasso, Matisse, and the other Montparnasse artists of the 20th century. We were thrilled to be invited to watch the presses produce an Andre Brasilier lithograph under his supervision. Wow!<BR><BR>For us, it has always been the unexpected that has made our journeys memorable.<BR><BR>

The funny way I travel is doing alot of research, mostly here, for months ahead, as soon as I decide to go, then wing it after I arrive.<BR><BR>This way I have all the info either in my head or in a little note pad, then decide as it goes what we will see and do, depending on whims and weather.<BR><BR>I find this works out the best for me. I do book hotels for the beginning and end of my stay and keep it loose in the middle.<BR><BR>I open up this site as soon as I get into the office and then keep it shrunk all day, pulling it up when I get a chance. So I am an addict too, but in a good way.

Yes, I too am a travelaholic, but don't feel the least bit guilty about it. I think it's educational. I'm amazed at how much I learn while planning for a trip and reading about other people's trips as well as reading tourbooks, visiting websites, etc. I'm even learning Spanish for our upcoming trip to Spain in Nov.<BR><BR>And to add to the &quot;guiltlessness&quot;, I read an article recently that said there were 3 main ways to keep your mind sharp after age 50-one was to learn another language or to play a musical instrument, two was to read alot and lots of different kinds of material, and the third was to TRAVEL!<BR><BR>Happy travels everyone!!!

Sign me up for the 12 step program....I admit I am a Travelaholic. I simply enjoy researching too much and reading trip reports from others. I love this website. If I am not planning an immediate trip then I do research on a trip I may want to take in the future. I admit I definitely spend more time doing this on a rainy day as opposed to a nice sunny day so the time varies. I don't let it rule my life, but anything that you enjoy that much cannot be bad.

I spend way too much time planning trips but like others say, it's half the fun of travel. I was bad before (yes, planning the next trip before I finish the current trip) but now I'm worse since I recently found you Fodorites! I also spend lots of pre-travel time reading books (not just travel guides, also fiction, history, mysteries) that take place in my destination. Same for goes for watching movies. I get every movie or video I can from the library months in advance (and usually for months after we return). I find all the research pays off when we are actually on vacation, I appreciate the area and cutture more.

I don't think many of us can say we're NOT travelaholics... my modus operandi is to plan, plan, plan... get LOTS of information on everything for my trip, much more than I need... then trim it down to the parts I can use. My grandfather is the same way, almost loved planning the trip more than going! (no lost luggage in planning!)

<BR>Sorry, couldn't resist.<BR><BR>OK, then, here are the 12 steps:<BR><BR>1. Admitted we were not Rick Steves.<BR>2. Came to believe that we might not be entirely stable and perhaps a little nutty, off-kilter or otherwise unbalanced.<BR>3. Made a decision to turn our lives over to the Fodor's Message Board Team.<BR>4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of our travel destinations.<BR>5. Admitted to Fodor's Message Board Team the exact nature of our odd behavior.<BR>6. Were entirely ready to have FMBT remove all these quirks.<BR>7. Humbly asked FMBT to remove our questionable characteristics or retract our passports if need be.<BR>8. Made a list of all persons we had distracted, and became willing to buy lunch for them all.<BR>9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would really annoy them or others.<BR>10. Continued to check our travel itineraries, and if we spent more than 1000 hours on them, promptly admitted it, promising to keep it to 999 hours or less.<BR>11. Sought through the FMBT and our less-obsessed travel pals to improve our conscious contact with FMBT as we understand them, wishing only for knowledge of their will for us and the power to carry that out.<BR>12. Having had an awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to other travelaholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.<BR>

I love the reading the board for information on the trip we are planning. I have spent so many hours planning a great trip to Italy....I can hardly wait to go...but the planning has been almost as much fun especially when someone gives you the exact information you were looking for....oh what an addiction...<BR>have a geat trip

Me too...<BR>Seems like I always have to have something in the works.<BR><BR>My husband and I have a sort of &quot;division of labor&quot; - he makes all the money to pay for everything and I am the one that keeps it all together and functioning! That includes trips. On our recent trip to Europe I felt like a tourguide - all he had to do was show up. I handled everything from wardrobe and luggage selection to basic foreign language skills and city orientation.<BR>He loves just going and being entertained and I like being the tourguide. And we all know that none of that would be possible without being glued to websites like this one for hours and hours!<BR>Thanks everybody!

Biscuit, hilarious!! Thanks for the gigle! <BR><BR>I'm completely obsessed. I'm leaving for a 3 week trip to Italy in 7 weeks, and already have my eyes in Cambodian travel guides to get &quot;prepped&quot; for my fall/winter SE Asian trip!!!<BR><BR>Other than my dog, who sadly passed away just a few months ago :-( , when and how and for how long is pretty much all I think about!

Add my name to the list - I've definately got all of the signs and symptoms....(grin). I agree that the pre-trip research is almost as great as the trip itself. And this board is, by far, the best thing I've come across - these recent &quot;down times&quot; have nearly killed me.<BR><BR>Melissa

Amamzing...I thought I was the only one who had this disease. <BR><BR>2 questions:<BR><BR>1. Any creative ideas on how I can make this my career without becoming a travel agent?<BR><BR>2. Does anyone else love the smell of airports? I figure this is safe to ask in a TA meeting!<BR>

I don't understand the need for justifying the time spent planning a trip. The more knowledge you have about where you are going the better the experience. By studying another culture it allows us to reflect on our own. <BR>I don't see any negative with spending as much time as possible on this board. My two cents.

I agree. It's a healthy obsession, though perhaps it says something about us.<BR><BR>Personally, I'd travel constantly if I could, but would always have a home base. It's important to keep rooted.<BR><BR>

yep If I don't have an airline ticket in my safe I literally no joke start destroying my room and house.. punching the walls kicking waste baskets around the room. till I finaly press the BUY button on the screen then a release a huge sigh.. I am sane again..<BR>I think this is my 5th sesion. and once again I admit I even choose girls. who I think are compatible too my travels if they are too picky.. she's OUT&gt;. <BR><BR>lol. you got me thinking when I was 8 years old I wanted too be an archeologist not becouse I wanted too discover anything I just wanted too travel.. I saw myself as being the guy that dusted sand off what ever garbage came out of the sites.<BR><BR>I need another shot..

Wow, I was begining to think I was alone. In 3 weeks I am to be married and I have spent much more time researching my Italy honeymoon than on the actual wedding. I could compile a book. It is addictive, and even though everything is booked I'm still on this site hoping that I will get that special tid bit of information that will make it all worth while...

I LOVE reading of others travel experiences and gathering information for upcoming trips. It makes my day at work much more bearable when I can dream of faraway places. So this &quot;addiction&quot; can only be a good thing - right? Anyhow, it's too late now to stop - I'm hooked!<BR><BR>

Took me awhile to even really this was an &quot;addiction&quot;, &quot;obsession&quot;, whatever until I realized how many hours I spend doing it!<BR><BR>This board really put fuel in the fire!

I agree with the poster who 'lives&quot; to travel. Planning a trip, gathering miles and points, searching for interesting places, keeps me going while I try to maintain my daily life of stress work, taking care of kids, and house, and gives me something to look forward to away from the routine of life. I only get to take a trip every couple or three years, but boy, what a trip, when I do it. Then, I come home, and start all over again.<BR>Yes, I am addicted.

I suppose I am addicted, also. But it is an addiction which does not interfere with my obligations to my family and job, has no real adverse impact on anyone else and only serves to benefit myself and those with whom I travel. I spend hours of advance research time, on the net (especially on this site), in the library and at the bookstores. I practice (and relearn) my high school (30+ years ago) French and German in advance of trips to Europe and even learned to speak a little Arabic while preparing for last summer's trip to Egypt. I love to study maps in advance of my arrival in a new city and imagine what the places depicted on the maps are really like (I am usually surprised!). Although my wife sometimes complains that I'm spending too much time on the net, she never complains when she experiences the great hotel deals I have found, cashes in the bonus miles we have earned on some incredible internet airline special I've found, samples the the wonderful food and restaurants I have found, seen otherwise hidden museums or previously unheard of plays and performances or listens to me communicating (sometimes with difficulty but nearly always with success) with the locals in their language. I plan to continue with this addiction. It really adds to the quality of our travel experiences and, by extension, to the quality of our lives.

I would think that we are the best kind of travellers because we put a lot of care into it, going so far as learning the languages, researching the customs (such as tipping), etc.<BR><BR>I think it really makes a difference as opposed to the people who just go with little care for where they are going. Those are more likely the kind of people that are going to get a negative stereotype from those in other countries.