No matter where you want to go, or how you like to travel, at least a little planning is necessary to ensure that you get the experience that you are looking for. As one of my husband’s favourite t-shirts says: “failure requires no preparation”.
Way back in the Dark Ages of life before the internet (i.e. the 1990s), I first discovered what would become a lifelong love of travelling. Back then though, travel decisions were mostly made by picking things out of a hard copy brochure with a few lines of text and a thumbnail sized photograph, or on the advice of a travel agent (who frequently had “preferred provider” contracts with airlines, tour companies and hotel chains, so was unlikely to do a lot of lateral thinking to present you with options outside the offerings of those providers). That is how I found myself on a seemingly interminable five week tour of Europe on a big yellow bus in 1991, and sitting in a business hotel in downtown Kuala Lumpur on my honeymoon in 1992 with my husband and I looking at each other and thinking ‘okay – so what is there here that we want to see’?
In the intervening years, I’ve planned many trips to many places. I’ve discovered that the planning can be almost as much fun as the doing. So here are my “go-to” sites when starting to plan a trip to anywhere.
If planning a trip to a country or region, my first search is generally for upmarket small group tours. Even if you’re not an “organised tour” sort of person, these can provide you with some great ideas about where to stay and what to see, as well as a logical itinerary. Some offer customisable private tours. After my “way too long on a big yellow bus” experience, I was somewhat wary of organised tours – till I went on two small group ones in the UK – one in Devon and Cornwall and another in Wales. I got to see some fabulous places I never would have thought of on my own, or been able to easily get to on my own. And in places that are culturally very different to the place you call home, a dedicated guide can be invaluable.
These are my favourite small group touring sites, based on destination:
United Kingdom
- Backroads Tours – http://backroadstouring.com/ https://www.facebook.com/backroadstouringco/?fref=ts
- Rabbies Tours – https://www.rabbies.com/en https://www.facebook.com/Rabbies/?fref=ts
Europe
- Albatross Tours – https://www.albatrosstours.com.au/ https://www.facebook.com/AlbatrossTours/?fref=ts
- Backroads Tours – http://backroadstouring.com/ https://www.facebook.com/backroadstouringco/?fref=ts
Italy
- Secret Italia – http://www.secretitalia.it/ https://www.facebook.com/sicily72/?fref=ts
- Nada’s Italy – http://nadasitaly.com/ https://www.facebook.com/nadasitalytours/?fref=ts&ref=br_tf&qsefr=1
Croatia
- Jauntee – https://www.jauntee.com/ https://www.facebook.com/Jauntee-Travel-Group-180275361996985/?fref=ts
Jordan
- Petra Nights Tours – http://www.petranightstours.com/ https://www.facebook.com/PetraNightsTours/?fref=ts
Turkey
- Turkey Travel Centre – http://www.turkeytravelcentre.com/ https://www.facebook.com/TurkeyTravelCentreTTC/?fref=ts
- Fairy Chimneys Travel – https://www.fairychimneys.com.au/ https://www.facebook.com/FairyChimneys/?fref=ts
If planning time in a city, my “go-to” sites are Viator http://www.viator.com/ and Get Your Guide https://www.getyourguide.com/ Both are tour resellers. While Viator has better site navigation, Get Your Guide generally wins out for me, as it tells you the name of the tour company providing the service (which then allows more researching the tour company, particularly Trip Advisor reviews). The tours on offer also give you an idea of the “big ticket items” that are likely to be overcrowded, and often some more quirky and interesting things to do. ‘Skip the Line’ passes are a great idea for very popular tourist sites, and ‘Private Access’ tours can give you a much better experience with a knowledgeable guide than you would get by simply turning up on your own. I have had some fabulous stays in cities like London, Munich and Singapore by doing a few well-chosen day trips and local sightseeing tours.
The big one is of course Trip Advisor. I find it particularly useful at two points in the travel planning process. Firstly, when deciding how long to stay somewhere, and secondly when I have a shortlist of hotels and activities and want to read reviews. Trip Advisor’s “things to do in (location)” gives you a great overview of things to see and do. You can also read reviews and see whether other people recommend spending your precious travel time undertaking particular activities. The “reviews” function of Trip Advisor is now an absolute MUST for me, particularly with hotels, but also with tour operators and activities. It is a great way to ensure that you’re not likely to get any nasty surprises if your chosen hotel looks nothing like their website, or is in an undesirable part of town. Just a word of caution with Trip Advisor reviews – there are obviously some people in the world who have little idea about where they are travelling to, and write reviews accordingly (my all-time favourite is a review of a property which proudly markets itself as a “remote eco-resort”, and the reviewer was extremely unhappy that there was not air conditioning or fluffy towels.)
Another great resource is YouTube. Many people upload short holiday videos – it can be a fabulous way to check if a particular site or activity is for you, especially if you are a little unsure of the physical exertion required. Now I know just how fit I’ll have to be to do the Siq Canyon at Wadi al Mujib (and that we’re not mountain goat enough to manage the second waterfall crossing). I’ve also found a few things there that have looked like “must do’s” based on tour company offerings, but candid traveller videos show them to be so overcrowded and the actual experience so brief that they seem barely worth the effort (just look up “Blue Grotto Isle of Capri”).
My advice to anyone is to travel – wherever you can, as much as you can, and in whatever way that suits you best. Do your research to ensure that you spend your precious time and money having the experiences that you want.
Roam around the world. It’s good for you.
