How to Research a Trip

"Make your choice, adventurous stranger.

 Strike the bell and bide the danger.

 Or wonder 'til it drives you mad,

 What would have followed, if you had."

The Magicians Nephew - C. S. Lewis

So you are getting ready to take a trip, to somewhere you have never been.   You are excited about going to wherever it is you have planned.  But once you get there, what are you going to do?  What things do you want to see?  And how do you find out what there is to see and do.

I have always loved the planning part of a vacation.  I guess that is why I liked being a travel agent.  It didn’t have to be my own trip, I liked to help other people plan their trips too.  When someone would come in and tell me they were going somewhere, I got excited with them.  If I had been to the place myself, then I would tell them what we did on our trip.  If it was someplace I’d never been, then it was fun helping them research the area, and help them plan what they wanted to do and see.

Christmas Market on the Palace grounds
Regensburg, Germany

Now, of course, if you are going on a tour or a cruise, the itinerary is pretty much planned out for you.  You have some flexibility, but not a lot.  Even for those types of trips, I suggest reading about the areas you will be visiting.  You will have some free time and you may discover there is something that you just have to see that is not listed in the brochures. 

 As an example:  My   husband, myself and another couple took a Christmas Markets river cruise several years ago.  One of the stops was in the town of Regensburg, Germany.  I loved Regensburg, it was such a pretty town, with a a very nice but ordinary Christmas Market in the town center.  Most of the people on the cruise only saw that Christmas Market, along with a walking tour of the town, but we spent our free time at the other Christmas Market, one that was not as well known to tourists.  

Chirstmas Market on  the grounds of the
 Thurn & Taxis Palace

This Christmas Market was in the courtyard of the Thurn & Taxis Palace, where the royal family still lives.  The market is different from other Christmas Markets because it is done in a medieval style.  The market stands sold Christmas things with a medieval style to them, everything was homemade, and the stands were spread out along the pathways of the palace grounds as well as the courtyard.  They sold the same gingerbread, spiced nuts and hot gluhwein as the other markets, but somehow it seemed more festive.  If I had not researched that area and the Christmas Markets before leaving home, we never would have known about it.  It wasn’t advertised in town, and we may have been the only outsiders there that day.  They say the royal family quite often mingle with the crowds there, so who knows, we may have been rubbing elbows with royalty.

  

Dubrovnik, Croatia

If you are going to a destination on your own, then you should definitely do some research before you go.  There are many ways to do this.  And with the internet, it is easier than it has ever been.  Just type in the names of the places you will be going, and there is lots of information at your fingertips.  Travel books are still a great resource.  I actually collect them.  Even though older books may not be up to date as to prices, the things to see are pretty much the same forever.  And another research tool is the tour brochure for the area you are going to.  Even though you do not plan on taking a tour, looking at the brochure can give you an idea of what things are considered the top things to do, and it will also how give you an idea of how much you can do in the time you have.  You can go to any travel agency and request brochures.  They are free, although an agent may try to talk you into booking with them.

Driving through the countryside
of Slovenia

One thing to think about if you are traveling to a destination on your own, is how you are going to travel about.  If you are just going to a city, and pretty much staying there, then you can probably get about with the transportation in the city, such as subways and buses.  But if you want to travel to multiple destinations, then you need to plan your mode of transportation, how many stops you plan to make and what you are going to see in each place, keeping in mind that you want to be flexible enough to see the things that just happen along the way.  Cars give you the most flexibility, and also can sometimes be the most stressful.  Trains can be great, in Europe they usually run on time and to anyplace you want to go. 

One of the monasteries at Meteora

Something else to consider is day tours by some of the local companies. When in Greece we booked a 3 day tour that took us from Athens to Delphi and then over to Meteora.  I actually booked this from home before we went on the trip.  On the day of the trip we met at their office and they took us by van to Delphi, with 5 other people.  We toured the ruins of Delphi and then they dropped George and I at our hotel.  The other 5 were going on to Olympus.  We spent the night at our hotel and explored the town there the next day.  In the afternoon another van picked us up and took us to Meteora.  We had 4 others with us on that trip.  We spent a night in the nearby town and then the next day we explored the monasteries of Meteora.  They then took us back to Athens, where we were again on our own.  This was an excellent way to see two places that would have been difficult to get to on our own, and which I had decided I had to see, after researching Greece.

Delphi, Greece

So now that you know your destination, start researching.  The research will get you excited about the trip, and you will learn so much about your destination before you even arrive.  It can be fun planning and dreaming about what you want to see and do.  The trip will come alive for you, before you even go, and it will make the experience so much more enjoyable when you get there.