Excessive Planning
 

I noticed that many posters seem to have every minute of every day planned in advance. Am I the only one who likes to "wing it" when I get to my destination?

probably.

But I won't tell you that you're wrong or belittle your preference, I'll just say that your way doesn't work for me.

Been there, done that.

I haven't noticed that "many posters seem to have every minute of every day planned", rather that they're trying to organize the possibilities so as to do as much as comfortably possible while there.

As for "winging it", I gave that up when I learned on the flight home once all sorts of places I wish I'd KNOWN about while there.

I just figure that my vacation time and funds are too limited and too precious to waste by arriving somewhere and THEN trying to figure out what to do or where to go.

Planning is a great idea but excessive planning sounds like a recipe for disaster and disappointment.

I think it depends on the destination. For example, excessive planning for a visit to New York City is a big mistake in my opinion. Enjoy the city -- you can not and will not see it all. Walk around, soak up the atmosphere. The folks who post minute-by-minute itineraries are missing the boat.

And hey, relax. You're on vacation.

Part of the fun for me is all the research I do about a place before I go. I LOVE this part.Then I pick out places I would like to see and make a list and take it with me.... I may not get to see and do everything but I have my list with all my info.
My husband however is more like you. He likes to wing it.... we try to meet somewhere in the middle.

I agree, the research is fun, and also helps you see which sights are in the same area of a city such as London or New York, where travel can take up a lot of the day if you aren't careful. It also gives you alternatives if you get somewhere and find that it's closed, or takes less time than you expected.

I should think that many people who post detailed itineraries don't actually do everything, but at least they have a list of things to choose from on the day. That's how I do it, anyway, when I'm visiting somewhere with lots of things to see.

I only get air/train and hotel reservations, everything else is flexible. But I always have a list with places to eat and attractions to visit. Usually I know in advance when museums are closed, shows are dark, etc... It's impossible to make fixed plans. Once I went to a very interesting, I thought, museum in Vancouver, and it went out of business 2 weeks before I went there. Or what if it rains and I have to postpone a trip to a garden? I agree - research and planning are 1/2 the fun, and I do it for knowledge, not for fixed planning.

I hate planning a trip. Too much work. I want it to be done for me (e.g., take a small group adventure tour) or I'll basically just wing it.

I mean look at me. I spend every day on the US board, and I'm going to Scandinavia in 6 weeks (not sure where yet). My friend and I will deal with buying the plane tickets and the car rental situation maybe next week, and then plan our route on the flight over.

I think the whole think depends on "excessive". That's a value judgement.

My boyfriend thinks I'm an excessive planner. I know for a fact that I plan a whole lot less than other travellers I know. Thus I'm excessive to some, and a total freebird in comparison to others.

But yeah, I get a kick out of research.

Hey I only get two maybe three weeks to travel every year. If I didn't have the planning anmd research to enjoy in between I would be miserable! I do very detailed itineraries with multiple options depending on the weather and what we are in the mood for ... but once we are actually there I'm very flexible. Going off the itinerary is fine ... but I like to have one so I know there are certain options that are thoroughly researched and doable.

Remember the Carly Simon song,Anticipation?
I think that's why people love to plan.
Plus, it's nice to at least know ahead of time what you might want to see.
But I totally agree that overplanning can leave you exhausted, harried and disappointed. I think it's important to know that you can always blow off something on your list and be spontaneous.

Extensive planning is what I do ahead of time so the actual vacation is more enjoyable.

I never plan down to the minute and like to leave plenty of "stop and smell the roses" time. Every vacation I take has memories that occurred because there was time to talk to the locals, hike a trail I didn't know about, attend a festival I encounter on my drive, etc. Extra time also helps when emergencies occur.

Mike Honeycutt

I like to review things and loosely "plan" more of what we would like to do (highlights). We rarely stick to the plan. Just like to have an idea. I am on vacation, I do not want to think too much.

I'm like McQueeny and Jayne. I enjoy planning a trip and it is a stress reliever from work. I have found that things usually go fairly close to my plan and we get to see and do a lot more. I also think that looking forward to the vacation and daydreaming about it a little bit puts those positive vibes out there for the trip to turn out the way you planned. The only time I didn't plan was when I went to Italy but much of that trip was planned tours. I still had a fantastic time then as well.

I'm not for planning an hour by hour itinerary like on a group tour (such as 7 AM WDW Magic Kingdom, ride 6 specific rides, then lunch at ...) - but I am for having lots of info and alternatives for anyplace we go. That way we can maximize efficiency (if you want to see 2 things at north end of a city, why go there twice) yet still wake up in the AM and judge what type of activity we are in the mood for that day.

I'll admit, I'm a planner and planning is half the fun for me. But ... more importantly, planning and doing research about my destination in advance is what ALLOWS me to really enjoy my vacation. There are many hotels, restaurants, events these days that must be booked in advance or forget about going at all. I plan in order to be flexible once I am actually on vacation. I believe the ideal vacation is a combination of excessive (obsessive?) planning up front, book in advance what you have to, and then "wing" the rest once you get there.

I actually let a friend talk me into "winging it entirely" on a road trip down south once. We were fine the first day/night. On the second night we ended up in a city that was having a big festival and a big college graduation on the same weekend - we went to or called TEN hotels before we finally found one with an available room. That's the last time I totally "winged" it.

I definitely do a *ton* of research before going on holiday, but don't plan every minute. I just like to have a bit of knowledge about the culture and sights before travelling.

Used to be that I wouldn't research much at all for a vacation spot, wanted to be spontaneous. And I've never eaten such bad food in my life. I mean, sometimes it was just awful. Locals will sometimes point to a place they think I, the tourist, would like to go. Now I ask around quite a bit before I go somewhere.

I don't really mind if it rains the entire time I'm on holiday, but there is just no excuse for bad food.

I mainly haunt Hawaii related posts and I'm amazed at the number of people who feel compelled to be in constant, activity driven motion on a vacation. I'm not knocking some advance research etc, that's a good idea for any destination, but the folk that try and lay out a total "vacation" schedule weeks or months before departure leave me amazed. RELAX !