My Trip Planning Tools

I like to have a plan for trips. I do not have to have a set itinerary of where we will be at a certain time. My itinerary is more of a guideline. If traveling, I have a city set to finish for the day and the hotel we are staying at. Then, any attractions we want to visit are worked into the day’s schedule.

The reason I like to plan is so we can fit as much as possible into a day.

Research plays a key role into the planning. Locations, drive times, etc., all work together to end in a “perfect” trip.

First thing I do is create a couple of spreadsheets. The first deals with travel hours and destinations, if driving. This may sound a bit anal retentive, but it helps in planning drive times, mileage and overnight hotel stops.

The second spreadsheet helps with tourist attraction ideas. This helps a lot when dealing with multiple city stops.

I have my favorite tools to use for research. First up is Trip Advisor (www.tripadvisor.com). This is a must for planning a trip. Almost any attraction people have visited is listed here. People will post reviews and photos on almost any attraction – from the Washington Monument to Ted and Wally’s ice cream shop.  So, it helps in finding some off-the-beaten path ideas.

Next up, I use Google (www.google.com) to check for tourism and convention offices in the cities and states we will be visiting. They are good for “Top 10 things to do” or “Must-sees in One day” lists. This helps pare down ideas. Though, I do not live by these lists, as I am not a true museum kind of person, and a lot of must-see lists have museums on them.  The tourism offices usually have hardback or online travel guides you can use.

As for possible local eateries to try, I use Trip Advisor and will visit sites, such as Food network (www.foodnetwork.com) or Travel Channel (www.travelchannel.com) for ideas. I am a fan of shows such as “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” and “Man vs. Food.”

I check with friends and family, who may have been to the area we are traveling for ideas and recommendations.

My final step is a road trip the nearest Barnes and Noble book store. I grab a hot or cold drink from the Starbucks counter and peruse the travel section books. Usually, you can find a Frommer’s book or a similar one that has a pullout map. This helps centralize attractions for maximum visitation fun.

After making a few notes at the book store, I update the spreadsheets, and then move forward with planning the trip for maximum attractions visits/viewing, while having fun.