Travel Prep

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I tend to book way in advance and that prevented having a cool experience, but that was sort of a tense situation. I went in blindly in a dangerous zone and wanted to get to a safe haven asap. The dangers weren't as high as I thought and I met some cool people along the way I could've hanged out a lot more.

I'd recommend you keep it as loose as possible.

Do so by having hard entry/return dates regarding Europe, but travel within Europe is very easy. You can book plane tickets with budget airlines WEEKS in advance, rather than months.

Major cities aren't that far off and you could actually bus from Poland - Czech - Austria - Germany.

Booking in advance won't be that much cheaper anyway.

Went to Italy Solo last January

I just went from city to city and booked whatever I found day before I arrived. Booking.com usually has some good deals for a day or two due to late cancellations so it can work out even cheaper.

I managed to find a great place by Firenze river for 50% off booking a day before. Obviously it will be more difficult on high season but if you're going then you will be spending more on everything else too.

A lot. I don't really book in advance, though. Rather than booking in advance, I just read up on where I'm going, and when I think I know enough, I just read up some more. I also learn the very basics of every majority language I'm going to encounter.

I usually only have the first night or two booked, so when I get off the plane at some ungodly hour I have somewhere to go sleep off the shitty 8 or so hours in the plane. Then maybe Ill book the day before if its a travel day, something like hostelworld or whatever. But, usually I just show up, and maybe leave my bags in a luggage drop, then tour the city before selecting a hostel/hotel... For me its all about location, is it a lively neighbourhood or cool beach or whatever your looking for. If I do book in advance its only for 1 night 2 tops. If I don't like the place at least I haven't booked it for a week

It seems everyone believes in (generally) booking on the fly. Did it ever backfire so you had to sleep on the street or pay out the ass?

>>1210777
Historically, I've always booked things at least a few days in advance. I'd typically have my first night's or first couple of nights' accommodations booked before I left, along with R/T air fare. Then if traveling within a country, I would book ground transportation and the next city's lodgings as I go. I almost never just walked into a hotel and asked if they have a room, mostly because I don't like dragging luggage around. I've done it, but don't like it.

I do more advance booking than I used to nowadays, because I travel with my wife, who's pretty particular about her lodgings, and our two little kids, who mandate family rooms or suites, which aren't always available on the fly. But we still try to be at least a little flexible.

>>1211025
Worst that has ever happened to me was when I wound up on an out of the way side street in Bangkok with no baht, an angry cabbie (I had less cash on me than I'd thought I did, and wound up a single baht short) and a full hotel. I had to drag my bag a long way to an overpriced and charmless place a few blocks away. It was early in the morning and I had a foul hangover.

>>1210777
I started rigidly planning logistics, train times, accommodation etc
but I found it too stressful and that it was often better to cross bridges as they presented themselves

now I just try to get a thorough back-grounding of how people life in an area, where they eat, work, how they get around
often you get better rates on the ground than by pre-booking

put the effort into researching what to do in a place before you get there, otherwise you will end up on organized activities or worse; bored.

there are also some things you can't fuck with, flights and visas
I book an extra day in my departure city to shield me from mishap

>>1211025
I've had legit bookings fall through, a hostel owner threw me out at 8PM to accommodate a large booking

I've been caught out more than once just expecting to get a dorm bed, but not researching the general availability
once in high season in santorini, I was only in transit (don't ask) so I didn't bother to check how full the island would be

>>1211066
I always keep a hotel card and some notes in my sock when I go drinking

>>1211416
>I always keep a hotel card and some notes in my sock when I go drinking
Sage advice. But my drinking had all been done on a red-eye flight from Pakistan, so I was truly ill-prepared.

>>1210777
Im doing my first real out of country trip to Thailand and I'm planning everything like crazy. There's a lot I want to see and do so I needed a strict itinerary especially cause I'm taking multiple flights.

I'm going with my girlfriend and we don't have the luxury of being able to bum around for several months so we want to get as much out of our time as possible.

I figure I'll do all the research and stress now so I don't have to make any tough decisions on vacation. If I ever go back I'll probably be much more lax the second time but we really wanted some really nice and unique hotels, etc. so I think planning ahead has been nice.

I usually sketch out a rough timeline of my trip, with a few key stops/dates but I try to keep stuff as flexible as possible

>>1211464
I learned the hard way not to get drunk on in-flights unless I have a hotel transfer

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I book my hotels a year in advance. Often booking multiple ones at the same destination, before settling on one. I look at how close it is to public transport, what it looks like outside, the neighborhood and people's reviews.

I buy a small travel book of the destination and mark all the things I want to see. Then plan the dates of when to see what. I buy tickets to said interests months in advance.

I look up the local transport. The maps, how much it costs and schedules.

I then book my flight 6 months ahead and plan my seat allocation. Check out the plane details, the airline, the airport, etc.

I plan by backpack's inventory for the flight, layover and eventual arrival.

I plan what I'am going to wear for my flight and what to pack in case I lose my luggage.

I finally plan how I'am going to get to the airport and at what time I should leave.


There is nothing else in life that I autistically research as much as when I'am traveling abroad every 2 years. If Im going to spend all that money; I want to make sure the best possible experience while also taking advantage of bargains in advance. Granted having a year in advance to plan does give you time to be frugal.

Granted I'am envious of people who can just spontaneously travel abroad and not worry about anything.

>>1211484
lol I thought I was overdoing it with my spreadsheet of my itinerary and booking info. Do you get much better deals booking a year in advance?

I agree with you though, I'd rather spend all my time at home researching and deciding what to do instead of while I'm on vacation. I do leave room for some spontaneity though.

>>1211484
I feel you bro. I even research the culture and way of life, and start learning the bare basics of languages because I'm autistic and I'm afraid of fucking things up for the locals and hindering their daily lives (I once neglected finding out how buses in Japan work and made an entire bus wait while I tried to figure it out with the driver), and sticking out like a sore thumb.

The other reason though, is that I've always thought making bookings on the fly would be much more expensive...

>>1211487
>>1211488
Booking a year in advance gives you time to pick and choose what deals best suits you. Deals always come up in that time.

Most hotels only open for your intended dates a year in advance anyway.

Paying online prices for visiting points of interests are always cheaper than paying at the gate.

>>1211494
I heard tours and things in Thailand are cheaper if you bargain with locals.

I'm only booking the tours that are an absolute must for me online. Fortunately they are both on the honor system and I don't pay until the day of.

>>1211465
Me and my gf did the exact same thing in Thailand and it worked out perfectly. It's nice chilling out at home planning beforehand where you'll be travelling and also there'll be no disagreements as to where you want to go next.

Plus, why the fuck would anyone want to spend time while you're on holiday with your nose in a travel guide or glued to your phone trying to find the best hotel or attractions - get all this sorted beforehand and you'll have more time to enjoy yourselves.

>>1210777
you wont meet people in hotels best to go to hip hostels(unless ur a old fag)
id plan becus there is nothing worse than getting back and regretting not going and seeing doing the best things

I book everything in advance as far as lodging goes, but anything else is fair game. I've had too many experiences where things go wrong and stress me out, so I'd much rather get somewhere and relax or do something I want to do rather than have to figure out where I'm going to be sleeping that night.

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OP here, great advice everyone. Thanks

I think I'll grab a cheap flight when I see one along with a couple nights once I arrive. Then I'll find a general route (with tons of research on activities and culture and shit) but leave booking to the day before unless I know I'll be in a city for a while.

>>1211527
Great to hear. Also when you're with a girlfriend staying in really cool hotels is kinda more of a priority cause its nice to experience luxury as a couple. On my own I'd probably go for a more social experience.

It's been kind of a hobby of mine the past couple weeks doing all the research and I've enjoyed it. I also won't get the feeling that there's a ton of cool shit I'm missing out on.

>>1210777
Does anyone else get a strong pedo vibe from Rick Steves?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuVQkNcjg-Q

>>1210777
>How much prep do you do for traveling?
The real answer OP is that the more seasoned you are in traveling, the more familiar you are with how a location looks when you do go to prep for it. So, if you're offseason, you realize you can be more flexible, maybe only securing your rental car and first night's hotel, just so you have somewhere to lay your head off the plane when you're jetlagged and arriving at some wee hour.
But, you can find with open-ended travel that you get a feel for booking Fridays and Saturdays in advance, and that you need to be more aware of festivals and reasons towns can be booked earlier (or even cost you more than you anticipated because you waited). Alternately, you can make refundable reservations, and walk into 3 neighboring hotels and find you like them better and get a better rate.
One advantage to booking through a single travel agent is a single transaction on a credit card, which you might end up finding saves money on the fees and fraud avoidance side. If you have only one card, great, that's safer for you, but if you travel with a couple card, have decent savings and credit, you have more freedom to encounter a couple days without one while you make some bank calls to get it working again.

I have a lifetime of buddy pass impromptu travel, lucky in that perspective. My family does as well. I've also traveled for work. I pretty much stick to my initial plans being solid upon arrival idea, but as more online business models change over the years, it's actually my experience that planning ahead is the better deal now, if you're tech savvy. When you find a great rate, before you click buy-it-now, you call the local number for the hotel and see if you get even better over the phone, or even the same price, and then go with them directly. Helps with customer service.

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>>1212087
Wonderful advice, especially when it comes to booking Fridays and Saturdays in advance. I'm gonna be in Europe on the shoulder seasons mostly so I should be able to get away with some weekdays on short notice bookings. Granted even with my meticulous planning I've had nights where I've almost had to sleep on the street so I'm gonna have to be careful.

>>1212077
Well he was a huge supporter of Hillary Clinton even during the primary so yeah, probably a pedo.

>>1210823
That can't be true in all cases, I was looking at tix to Russia they were like 1200 round trip in a month and 700 round trip in a year. I usually book flight and hotel about two days in advance but then again I usually go south.