Before I start a post on how I plan
my travels, it’s fair to share my vision of travel first. To me, traveling is
about discovering new places, new cultures, new ways of living and eating. It
is not necessarily about meeting people, but it certainly is not about sun
tanning on the beach all day. (First because I hate sand, second because I
don’t like to be in any pool of water bigger than a bathtub and third because
I’d get bored too quickly).
I’ve been lucky enough to get the
travel bug from my parents and that my husband has it too. Traveling more and
more together, we found an organization that works for both of us and was
definitely a necessity for our 3 weeks road trip / honeymoon. Here are a few
highlights of how we prep for travel:
- Choose
the right destination. I don’t necessarily like to visit highly recommended
places (like the French Riviera) and often prefer more authentic ones (like
Brittany). It is about finding a destination that you like, that you’ll be able
to visit comfortably for your budget, with the right travel time/length of stay
balance.
- Define
what you need in an accommodation. To us, Wi-Fi is a must and we don’t like
to pay to park. We’d rather be a couple of extra miles away from the place we
visit and get free breakfast. I’d choose cleanliness over comfort any day.
- Don’t
underestimate your time on the road. There is always something that will
make you lose time on the road so you need to keep a buffer in your day. Also,
spending a full trip in your car is no fun. And following a promising sign can
be fun!
- Search
for information and advice. When mapping out our road trip to the US West
Coast, we joined a forum to get ideas of places to go and a feedback on our
itinerary. This was really helpful, but we also chose to keep some visits that
are not popular ones (Apple HQ) and skip some classical ones (Lombard Street in
SF). This is your trip and needs to be built for you.
- Plan well
but not too much. As an introvert, I like to know what I’m getting into. So
I plan what to see in a spreadsheet with estimated duration, cost, address and
any relevant notes. I don’t go as far as to put a timeline in there (unless we
are not staying long in the same place) as we would have a difficult time to
stick with it. It’s also a good way to make sure you don’t leave the place with
regrets of visits you missed and places you didn’t know about. My spreadsheets
usually have date, address, name and description of what to do/see, budget and
planned length.
- Because
you plan the trip doesn’t make it about you. Plan activities and visits
that will make your travel companions happy, even if that’s not one of your
priorities. I’ve booked an ATV morning for my husband and ended up liking it as
much as him.
- Even out
days and nights. After a light day (pool, shopping…), you can plan an
evening activity such as a sports game or a show. I wouldn’t pack them all on
the same day, but that’s our way of travelling.
- Pack
cleverly. Obviously, take into consideration weather, activities planned
and duration of stay. I always make sure I have on me at least our most
frequently used medicines, something warm, protection from the sun, water… But
I also let some free space for what we’d buy there. I used to pack books but
now a loaded iPad is all I need.
While there, we always amend and
adjust our stay depending on factors such as weather, tiredness, unexpected
extra activity etc. I’m usually the one behind the camera while my husband uses
his iPhone and we share the GoPro. I like to keep notes of my days, especially
if I want to blog about it or if it’s a special / long trip.
To me, a good trip balances
tourist must-dos and places natives like to spend time in. It’s a great way to
discover new cultures and ways of life, to make memories that will last
forever.
