Chevy Chase did not have the benefit of Fodors
It would take us only a couple of hours to break down two weeks in Spain into 16 minute increments.
https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio...-much-planning

Interesting listen, thankyou.

I hate travel planning to such an extent that I may never travel again.
I miss the freedom to wing-it. Now everything has to be researched and planned and pre-booked. I hate it. It doesn't extend the holiday feel for me at all just stresses me out.
I do have photos from previous trips hanging on the walls though.

It may be easier to wing it if one travels on “ their” continent . …or harder to do it if traveling with small children.
After booking the flight and ( refundable) hotel..I often leave it to the weather, convenience, mood, company..etc.
Being able to preview almost everything , including the dishes on the restaurants’ menu, does take something away from the excitement and discovery ..

We plan minimally. Our travel is usually very little moving around. We plunk somewhere that we have carefull researched and then wing it daily.

no spreadsheets, no print outs.

I do like to have our hotels booked and plan how many days to stay in a location based on a rough guess of what we'd like to do there. Any sights we really want to see that absolutely require reservations are pre-booked. Otherwise, we usually figure out our daily plans once we have arrived at a location and stay fairly flexible. I like to allow for some wiggle-room, rest time and spontaneity.

Even the research counts as planning in my book. I end up really stressed.
It all falls on me for one thing, but I just hate all that. Ask DH where he wants to go and you get the answer I don't know, somewhere nice. Almost the same answer as when asked what he would like for dinner - I don't know, something tasty.
He is happy to drive or fly or take a train to wherever, he just wants it all on a plate. After the April trip I have had it.
We are, I think, at different travel stages now, he is happy to go wherever, but just as happy to stay at home, whereas I want to just go, anywhere, I almost don't care where.

I think I miss the camper too much and the easy way we travelled then - left or right toss a coin, had enough for the day then find a place to park up for the night. If we like it stay another night and if we don't move on.

I certainly couldn't travel as some seem to on the Europe forum for instance. Apart from anything else I'd need another holiday after some of those trips to get over it.
Few people seem to add in downtime, to relax and reset before the next umpteen weeks of work.
Maybe that is an American thing vs a European thing.

My father was the ultimate non-planner when it came to accomodations.
Drive till 22:00 or 23:00 and then look for a place,
I remember many times in France in some one street light town, my father knocking on closed doors trying to wake up the hotel owner.

I hear you. MH is also “whatever you wish” traveler. In the last few years he has preferred to stay home ( and play golf).
Now I travel alone or with a friend. Works for me.
As I get older I do need more down time, the jet-lag bothers me more, the necessary flight changes for certain destinations become “problematic “ . But , as long as my health and budget last I hope to keep traveling.

There was a time to plan, now we have less need.

I month planned in HI = lodging, rental and air = no planned excursions, not 1 dinner reservation, nothing planned. It is nice to arrive and spend unplanned time.

I'm going through my own planning crisis at the moment - very much a planner, at least as far as itinerary, public transport and accommodation. Have booked the flights, and have been waffling over the itinerary specifics for several days.

We wing a lot while on the ground, but geez, we're really struggling to come up with a viable plan, especially as it's over Christmas.

I like to plan accommodations and restaurants. It’s fun for me. My husband is in charge of public transportation.

Daily activities: not so much. I check when things are open but mostly adjust for weather and mood. We like to walk a lot and usually walk between ten or twelve miles a day on a trip.

Travelers in our city who like to plan have something of an advantage, but few seem to realize that. In fact, it was the Toronto resident/stranger whom we met by coincidence at Lamezia Terme airport 6 weeks ago, who was the only local we've ever met who knew about that advantage (she'd been reading the latest Lonely Planet). I refer to our city's Reference Library. It has 6 floors, the second of which features a substantial travel book collection. Most of those are the usual suspect guidebooks (every single one) but there are also specialty titles, plus travel literature. A bonus can be found in the neighboring Maps Collection. Last week, I found a rare map there of Le Marche.

The international flavor of that books collection area can be found in an additional way. Over the years, it has become the go-to hang-out/study area for international students attending the University of Toronto. One gets the impression that for many of those young folks, 'reading the hushed tone of the room' is something that they're not yet capable of. Giggly gossiping seems to be their priority.

Regardless, I love that library and always look forward to researching there. Visitors also have to tolerate the homeless and mentally ill people who also hang out and always but always, make a LOUD scene, "WHYN'T YOUALLJUSTGOFUCKYOURSELVESYOUASSHOLEPRICK?!" I would hate to be a security guard at that location.

That Reference Library also houses a good digital press for self-publishers. My plan for years has been to use them again for my forthcoming musical memoir second edition, but apparently their current waiting list is a mile long.
I am done. the talkers and the SHOUTERS

We normally just plan travel arrangements and hotels in advance, and leave the rest to weather and inclination to plan what we want to do. About 35 years ago we just booked ferry tickets from UK to France for a 10 day trip.. Our goal was to go and see Neuschwanstein, and whatever else took our fancy, so down Germany and back through France we went, not having any accomodation booked, and just winging it. It was one of the best, most memorable trips we have ever taken. Zimmer Frei was always something to look out for, and we almost always had great places to stay. Cheap and cheerful they may have been and clean, but always hospitable people running them.

I used to plan and used to enjoy trips that involved some planning. At the time, I never knew just how many trips to Rome or the Great Wall or Machu Piccu were in my future and I didn’t want any regrets for missed opportunities.

At this point, I’m grateful for a lot of pretty wonderful travel experiences and I’ve satiated my desire for museums, cathedrals, old towns, castles and even some UNESCO sites. I’m fine to just wander about a bit and then eat a really good meal somewhere and be in bed with a book by 9:00.

Even better is to go off into nature for hours and still find a decent meal somewhere in the evening. And then bed with the book by 9:00.

'At this point, I’m grateful for a lot of pretty wonderful travel experiences and I’ve satiated my desire for museums, cathedrals, old towns, castles and even some UNESCO sites. I’m fine to just wander about a bit and then eat a really good meal somewhere and be in bed with a book by 9:00. Even better is to go off into nature for hours and still find a decent meal somewhere in the evening. And then bed with the book by 9:00.'

Gruezi, that's exactly where we too are at. My wife is 6 years older than me, so that goes extra for her.
Maybe not 9:00, but whatever...
I am done. the ageing travelerz

Traveling is therapy, and this becomes more amazing when everything goes in the right way. I enjoy traveling but I don't miss carrying the important things while traveling.

I also miss being able to wing it, but those days are gone, as are the days you could arrive at an attraction, see it, and move on without having to have booked tickets in advance.

I do love being able to plan online and get advice from people with first hand experience, etc. That is invaluable and a big improvement from the resources available 40 years ago -- during the wing it days.

We travel differently than we used to do, now spending time in one location with day trips as we wish and don't need to see everything all in one trip. I'm all for being in bed with a book and a wee dram by 9. Life is good.

The places I frequent are for R&R vacations in locations I have been many times before. I just planned a November trip in about 15 minutes max -lol. Just check with the apartment building or hotel I want to stay at for availability, set dates, buy plane ticket. I have never had a daily itinerary, budget, spreadsheet, anything like that.

HaHa Suze, I was about to say, "Same here", but then that's not actually the case on my frequent trips back to my home town of Sydney. I find I do need a spread sheet to fit in people I want to see, art galleries, theatre, business appointments and so on. I also like to know what's on, new restaurants etc., so will usually have a running sheet of notes for "Next trip" to places I visit fairly often. I don't have a budget, just know it's going to cost ... whatever it costs. I fly mid-week and generally mid-morning if I can as that's cheaper than weekends, Mondays & Fridays, and if I'm using commercial accommodation, I will avoid Saturday nights if I can - but other than that ... just pay up & smile.

I am considering a little flutter up to Port Douglas next month. It's winter in Australia and even here on the very mild Gold Coast, it's a little chilly mornings & evenings. A friend is sending photos of swimming at Palm Cove (near Cairns) that have my fingers hovering over flights. There would be no spreadsheet for that one!

I remember my dad getting AAA triptiks in the 60s for US trips. Still remember the bright green marker. My folks used Frommer in 1963 when the title really was Europe in $5 a Day.