starrs, before Europe Canada was within reach. Quebec City perhaps 12/13 times and many other eastern Canadian cities. Fell in love with Canada. A number of these trips were with family or friends.
It's possible we will visit again, but our passports expired this year. We shall see.

Ahh! Well, pull out that photo albums and enjoy the wonderful memories. So glad to see you posting again!

>>>>I hate the tedium of booking flights and hotels. It isn’t really joy for me. I’m more of a concept person.<<<<

Amen sister.

I got so frustrated trying to find hotels on my last trip, I was going nuts. I did NOT want to share a bed with my friend. She great but I only share a bed with my SO and my pets. I finally called Costco travel and they were great to work with and we got great hotels, good fares and it took a lot of stress away for me and let me concentrate on other areas of the trip.

In 1970 there were approximately 222 million international travelers. In 2018, there were 1.4 billion.

When we first starting traveling in the early 1970's, we would either have the hotel call a hotel in the next town, if we did not speak the language, or we would just wander into a new town and hope for the best. Now we plan the entire trip, except for the meals and most sites. The need for timed tickets has increased exponentially in the last 10 years has even changed that. We leave for our fourth trip to Italy in two weeks. One trip in the past we stayed in Bologna an extra day just to eat, but that would be hard today.

Reading about places where we might consider, is always a joy and interesting. The bookkeeping has become a PITA. The number of on-line sites have made this easier in some respects, but there are few experienced and knowledgeable travel agents any more.

I am not sure we will able to pull this off, but a cousin and I want to visit our grandmother's town of birth in Belarus. As part of this genealogical excursion, we hope to visit Berlin, Vilnius, and a small town in Poland. We have invited over 40 relatives, knowing few would accept. If we haven''t been traveling independently for almost 50 years, I would have the experience to organize this trip.

If people come on our genealogical trip, they have been forewarned that any whining, will result to in a flight to Vladivostok by Aeroflot. We could be followed by the secret police in Belarus and there will be few variations on the food. As there is no hotel near the town where our grandmother was born, we will have a 4-5 bus ride each way from Minsk.

We knew people are not careful readers, so well remind them again before they sign on.
____________

We leave soon for a destination wedding in Tuscany and afterwards a SIL will join us and we will head north by car. Needless to say, even that simple a trip needs coordination and previous agreement. We have been giving advice to one cousin for months, what might be best for them. This afternoon I received a call about how their car and train arrangements. I assume I will see them sometime at the wedding. .

Pure joy.

Each step of the planning process gives me a vicarious vacation.

As I pore over hotel websites, I envision myself in the room, peering out the window onto the scene. As I research and assemble sights and excursions, I imagine the day dawning and rolling out to catch the bus or train to see each thing. As I investigate restaurants and menus and opening hours, I see myself approaching the place, coming from a morning or afternoon of walking and experiencing the culture.

It's a way of armchair travelling.

s

Maybe we need a thread about what actually constitutes "planning." We read trip reports in which people seem to have packed in every possible thing and I wonder how they manage it. Every waking minute seems to have been both "planned" and recorded in exquisite (or add your own adjective) detail.

We get "there" wherever "there" is and end up doing as little or as much as we feel like doing. Like Clifton, we try to learn some basics ahead of time, research the transit system, know about the supposed "must-sees" (a term I hate) and then maybe see and do some of those.

And then there are the disappointments that despite all the so-called "PITA" planning and all those recommendations from people who are supposedly "known" and "trusted" the place just doesn't quite cut it. "Why DID we decide to come here?"

I once told my Husbear "I would rather be in..." while standing on the beach in Martinique and he told me I was nuts. If you knew where I had said I'd rather be I suspect you'd agree with him.

I love researching places we might visit and trips we actually take. I don't enjoy the hotel reservation process quite as much but that can be fun, too. I usually put together a list of possible good places to eat but don't spend a lot of time on this. I read a lot about the places we are going to see, including fiction about the area.

This year we have started taking road trips in an Odyssey van converted to a small camper. That involves a different kind of planning but so far it has gone well. If we can't find a good camp ground we stay at a motel.

I live to plan trips. It becomes a part-time job once I've set my eye on a destination. I don't plan my trips to the minute or to a schedule, but I do know what's available where and when for any place I am on a trip. If I'm in the 6th in Paris, I know what's around there to do and where I can eat or get a coffee. This is, I think, what is most disappointing about safaris though. Once you book it, there's no planning left, just waiting to go. No hotels, restaurants, entertainment, museums to find.

What I loathe though is the pre-trip getting ready part. Maybe we need a thread for that: stopping the mail, the newspaper, getting the cat sitter, calling the credit cards, getting the house ready for the cat sitter, etc. etc. etc. It's all just a means to an end, I suppose.

We keep files for each destination on our long list in a *special crate. All manner of stuff gets tossed into each file for future editing and tightening up: maps inc. NG & Michelin, articles, TR's, individual factoids, remarks by knowledgeable posters/locals, itineraries, highlights, articles, info gleaned from DVDs plus TV travel shows and also things to avoid.

These past few years we also pack for trips from a structured packing list. It also includes last-minute 'to do' tasks.

I am done. *The old plastic milk crate with numerous slots for storage.

I agree on all counts.

Planning a trip is my favorite thing, and I usually have one going. Just had one all set to go to Phoenix in December, and then it turned out the friends we were planning to visit had to be in England at the same time. But I had all the fun of researching hotels and restaurants, and now we'll go over to the California coast again next month. Then I'll start working on something else. I'd love to have been a travel agent if it hadn't meant dealing with anxious people.

Me too!
And if I could make decent money at it.

Just today I was trying to work out a trip that was a logistical nightmare. There didn't seem to be a way to make it work, at least flying hours I wanted to fly. I just put it aside and decided to deal with it later. A few hours later, the first part was canceled making the second part easy to book. It felt like a small victory! I like working on a puzzle if it means I get to go somewhere!

just wander and pop into places

Yup that's my method. Actually it doesn't work very well -lol-

I think I'd have enjoyed that too.

I actually enjoy the idea of research down to that level. I get what people say about it getting them excited for the trip.

I just don't do it because on the other end, I feel I have to actually give some sort of consideration to that schedule and plan... and that I've done a lot of work for nothing (and am missing out on stuff) if we don't use it. Love making plans. Hate following plans. So I should probably have done it for other people.

Having been to (beautiful!) Montana, I agree with this statement.

Where did you eat in Venice, kureiff? The local food scene there has really improved over the past 5 years or so but definitely needs careful research. I spent another week there this past May.

And in fairness I was there in winter, so fruits and veggies weren't really shining. Big portions, though.

jub, us too.

As much as picking just the right restaurants and never missing a perfect meal sounds good on paper, I love just following our noses when we get peckish. Usually, if the place has a decent looking menu and it's busy with locals, its turned out to be very satisfactory. But then, some of our best lunches have been a bag of hot street food and a spot in the park or along the river somewhere.

On the other hand, studiously following recommendations and reviews have led us into a few places that really weren't "us" at all. Someone else's idea of the perfect place.

Which, now that I think of it, may be my biggest problem with planning stuff out. Unless you've been somewhere before, planning without experience of your own may just lead you into taking someone else's trip, eating someone else's perfect meal.... And preconceptions perhaps not allowing the place and you work out a new relationship of your own.

We like this too. The best restaurants we've eaten in were packed with locals. We had some wonderful meals but even better than that, we've had wonderful experiences and great conversations despite (or maybe because of?) languages differences.

Indeed, essentially a very thorough check-list for what needs to be done and when.

As we're not going to Europe much these days, I'd be happy to share guidebooks for Austria, Russia, Germany, and some others with anyone interested.

Underhill, that's exactly how I met muskoka. She was going to Italy, I was going to France. I had Italy books, she had France books. The rest is history!

I used to just love planning trips. Before online booking, my Italian teacher was helping me write an email to reserve a hotel. Fun memory.

But a couple of things happened.

​​​​​​Picking lodgings has gotten harder because there's almost too many choices. Decision fatigue.

On one of our last big trips, one of my kids really wasn't happy with our itinerary. And so now I have a lot of self doubt. Who will like what. Is this a good idea? Overhyped? My youngest, who is up for going almost anywhere, says that my only mistake was not leaving people home who didn't appreciate being there. He's probably right.

Now I'd like to plan for my husband and me, but college costs will preclude any major travel. I am thinking Canada.

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Joy!
(Except deciding what to skip.)

A joy for me. Researching about destinations I want to see increases my excitement for upcoming trips. I've always been a planner so that's one thing to consider as well. If I want to be a little spontaneous during traveling, I allot some time for that too. Makes me feel more in control.

Đá quý An An
 

Actually preparing to travel is also quite fun, you will need to think about what to bring, what not! And will choose the most necessary, and then think about what to do during the trip.

The thing that I enjoy most about planning is getting to envision the trip, dreaming of being there and of course getting to plan tiny little details meticulously. However, most people are put off by the amount of work one has to put into planning - comparing travel, accommodation, and other prices, choosing things within budget and of course coordinating with others. However, I don't think anything can compare to the joy of actually being on the trip!