How do you plan your trip?
 

Hello everyone!!!

I was wondering how you plan your trip.

I like to use internet, mostly travel communities, google images and google in general. Besides that I get my idead from magazines, friends and I like to go trough travel books. I have a great book that shows the best places to go to by time of the year.

Like to hear your look up information, maybe I can get some ideas for myself!

Cheers

Always read my trusty Fodors Gold Guide

in places I am interested in...then start surfing

the net for deals... weather2travel.com Climate Guides

for best weather check my consular advisories for entry

safety do my route then start to work on air hotels.

Super fun for me to plan and do research.

GREAT flight hotel deals on line if careful

Just got back from a 3 weeks sojurn in Europe

under 1K pp usuing discount air FF miles...

How do I plan a trip?

Obsessively .

Seriously, I start with my interests. Something kicks it off; a book, a movie or a piece of art. It grows from there.

From a desired destination, my next one is Norway, i plan and reserve everything on internet. To start i use www.tratoz.com that give me many references on internet about security, places to see, restaurants, hotels, local tourism office etc. from there i plan my itinairies and make reservations.When i am not sure about any topics i ask other ideas on Fodors Forum. Easy it works.

I use Fodors of course, Trip Advisor, my Eyewitness Travel Guides for advice and ideas.

I book just about everything online.

I spent three weeks in Germany at Christmas on a solo trip - using public transport. Everything was booked on line - Booking.com I used for most of the accommodation. I planned in advance what I wanted to see and where I wanted to go - without having any real idea until I arrived, but I wasn't disappointed.

I also used google maps and google earth to gain some impressions - eg exactly where to find hotels etc, distances from train stations, city centres, etc.

Don't know how we ever lived without the Internet !!!

Internet, travel agents, brochures, asking friends :)

I usually have a place in mind first. Then I start with tripadvisor and ask a lot of questions. I scour fodor's as well. I really like Trivago.com, for hotels compares prices of various sites. While I'm combing for all the info I can, I'm also looking for app's to put onto my Itouch, if I'm travelling out of the US. I've really come to depend A LOT on my touch to upload maps & apps that don't require wifi. Although nowadays, I try and find hotels that have free wifi, that's getting easier & easier to find. As well as putting movies and books on it too. I use chowhound.com for 'foodie' recommendations. Obsessive is the right word for it!

Depends on the trip.
If I am booking a house for a week then I find a nice house in an area I'm interested in. I make sure I have a good map, and a guide book. But usually my trips just happen and beyond a flight, a car and a first night hotel nothing is set in stone, or planned.

While I'm an active participant on internet travel forums, actually I'm not much of a planner for my own trips. I just decide where I want to go and buy a plane ticket.

Then I do some research to find the nicest place(s) to stay that I can afford. I always find a decent street map of the city. That's about it. The rest I decide and figure out after I arrive. If I happen to have a guidebook (thank you Fodors) I read it on the plane ride maybe.

I start with the air travel. If you are flexible by a couple of days on each end of your projected travel you can save a bundle. I make a matrix of all possible cities (is it better to go from my local airport or drive another hour and fly directly from Charlotte) and dates. It usually takes several days for me to find the perfect combination, but this last time I booked on Southwest in about an hour.

I am a platinum member of Hyatt, gold with Hilton and silver with Marriott. I try those hotels first and pair whatever memebership deal I can find with a AAA discount. I book the cheapest room and hope I get upgraded. I will stay in business hotels on the weekend and book resorts midweek.

If I plan to stay somewhere a week I try VRBO.

I stakeout any fully refundable reservations. Usually I reserve two places and keep checking for better values then cancel what I don't want about a week before departure. Having safe fully-cancellable reservations allows me wait for last minute specials.

As far as the signseeing I give each family member a day to plan.

You have to know what you would enjoy most and find that vacation spot (or activity) that would have the "fit and compatibility".

If you have a significant other, then you will have to find places that would have "fit and compatibility" for both of you.

I would do that before anything else.