Natalia

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.

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.

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.

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.

artlover

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.

And to add to the "guiltlessness", 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!

Happy travels everyone!!!

JenniferW

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.

abbekit

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.

GreenDragon

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!)

Biscuit

Sorry, couldn't resist.

OK, then, here are the 12 steps:

1. Admitted we were not Rick Steves.
2. Came to believe that we might not be entirely stable and perhaps a little nutty, off-kilter or otherwise unbalanced.
3. Made a decision to turn our lives over to the Fodor's Message Board Team.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of our travel destinations.
5. Admitted to Fodor's Message Board Team the exact nature of our odd behavior.
6. Were entirely ready to have FMBT remove all these quirks.
7. Humbly asked FMBT to remove our questionable characteristics or retract our passports if need be.
8. Made a list of all persons we had distracted, and became willing to buy lunch for them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would really annoy them or others.
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.
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.
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.

blemke

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...
have a geat trip

Quinty

Me too...
Seems like I always have to have something in the works.

My husband and I have a sort of "division of labor" - 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.
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!
Thanks everybody!

Fremont

Biscuit, hilarious!! Thanks for the gigle!

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 "prepped" for my fall/winter SE Asian trip!!!

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!

Muddy_Paws

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 "down times" have nearly killed me.

Melissa

peregrina

Amamzing...I thought I was the only one who had this disease.

2 questions:

1. Any creative ideas on how I can make this my career without becoming a travel agent?

2. Does anyone else love the smell of airports? I figure this is safe to ask in a TA meeting!

mendota98

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.
I don't see any negative with spending as much time as possible on this board. My two cents.

Biscuit

I agree. It's a healthy obsession, though perhaps it says something about us.

Personally, I'd travel constantly if I could, but would always have a home base. It's important to keep rooted.

orgy7

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..
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>.

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.

I need another shot..

griffin

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...

wannago

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 "addiction" can only be a good thing - right? Anyhow, it's too late now to stop - I'm hooked!

Biscuit

Took me awhile to even really this was an "addiction", "obsession", whatever until I realized how many hours I spend doing it!

This board really put fuel in the fire!

gb

I agree with the poster who 'lives" 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.
Yes, I am addicted.

David

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.

Biscuit

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.

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.