9 Secrets to Travel Planning

You’ve decided on a destination and now you are ready to plan your trip. Your first thought is likely to be an internet search of “What to do in (your destination)”  This is a great first step and will provide some general information about the tried and true, touristy things to do at your destination. 

To find some off-the-beaten-path and lesser known activities, try these 9 travel planning secrets that I use to plan activities when I travel.

Before You Go

1. Search “Where to take pictures in (destination)”

Instead of searching “what to do” in a place, I search “where to take pictures in (destination)”  This has never failed to reveal a few unexpected hidden gems. Even if you aren’t a photographer, you’ll likely be enchanted by the picturesque and off the beaten path locations you’ll find.

Read about a few of the places I have discovered using this travel planning tip:

2. Search “Hidden Gems in (destination)”

And speaking of hidden gems, that is another great term to search. I like to try this search both when planning a trip and in my own home state. I am always delighted to find places I have never been. 

Here are two of my favorite hidden gems in Alaska and Portland, Oregon.

3. Newspapers and Magazines

Check online for the local newspaper for a calendar of events to see what will be happening during your visit. Also check for local specialty magazines related to your interests. Magazines that focus on families, art, architecture, etc. will provide good information about the local scene. Go to Magazines.Com to search for international publications. You can either get a subscription well before your trip, or visit the specific magazine’s website to read articles published online. 

German Life magazine has articles about the Pottery Villages of Alsace and a Swiss family that makes accordions. Families Upon Thames Magazine is all about family life in the UK and offers lots of activities to do with the kids. Both provide great ideas for travel activities.

4. Read Travel Blogs

Travel bloggers love to travel and are in the business of sharing their favorite travel planning tips. Seek out bloggers that match your interests and travel style.  These are a few of my favorite female, over 40 bloggers. 

• BetterLate Than Never Adventures
• 50 Shades of Age
• XYU and Beyond
• Marquesta
• The Travel Bunny
• And don’t forget mine!  Cullessence.com 
  

5. Current Events

Search for “Calendar of Events” in the city you are looking for. You’ll find a list of upcoming concerts, plays, festivals and events. Local festivals are a great way to get immersed in the local culture. Does the place you are visiting have a local sports team?  Take in a game or match! Spending an evening at a concert or theatre performance will provide a unique cultural experience.

While You Are There

6. Talk to Locals

Whether you are staying at a hotel, home rental, or private home, the people who work and live there can be your best source of information. Ask them about their favorite restaurants, activities and events. 

Ask your taxi or rideshare driver about local activities and events. They usually have great insight on where people are going and doing.

7. Take Public Transportation

This tip is provided with caution. You will want to do your homework ahead of time to make sure the local bus or train system is safe for visitors to use. As I would advise anywhere, if you are taking public transportation, keep an eye on your belongings and be aware of your surroundings.

With that disclaimer out of the way, taking public transportation gives you an opportunity to see a new city the way the locals do. I took a train from Porto, Portugal to a neighboring town and as I watched out the window, I saw the city turn into the suburbs. I saw people going to work and riding their bikes. I saw schools, shops, churches and a park-and-ride next to the train station. I looked around me inside the train car and saw a boy with his mom, an older couple enjoying a vacation and the train conductor coming to check tickets. That’s the best part of travel. Although we may speak different languages, we all are really more alike than different. And the places that we travel to, although they may have different customs and be a bit unfamiliar, are all made up of homes and shops and schools and people pretty much just like you.

8. Wander

This tip also comes with a caution. Be sure that your location is safe. Carry a minimal amount of stuff and try to blend in with the locals. I rarely carry a purse or bag when I am walking. Sometimes, I will leave my DSLR camera behind and plan to take pictures with my phone. As with public transportation, common sense is key whether you are traveling in a foreign country or in your own hometown. Pay attention to your surroundings and trust your instincts. 

Wandering is a lot easier these days when you can rely on GPS to pinpoint your location. If you aren’t sure if you will have cell service, download a map to your phone ahead of time. Of course, you can rely on the old standard paper map, but that is a dead giveaway that you are in unfamiliar territory. 

Like public transportation, wandering allows you to get a better understanding of the place you are visiting. I have sometimes left a place where all I saw were tourist attractions and I realize I don’t have an understanding of the culture or people. 

Don’t be afraid to get lost. On our recent trip to South Africa, we were driving a rental car to a nearby safari reserve. GPS took us by quite a round-about way. While it took us about an hour to drive what should have taken 20 minutes, we got a glimpse of how the residents in this part of South Africa really lived. 

Although we were in an extremely unfamiliar place and technically “lost,” we knew that GPS would get us where we needed to be. Today’s technology certainly makes wandering safer and less scary.

9. Be Flexible

My final favorite travel planning tip is to be flexible. Have you ever traveled with someone who has every minute planned? I don’t have anything against that; in fact, I lean more towards that side of the fence when planning a trip. But there is something to be said for leaving free time and not being afraid to change your plans when something comes up. 

On a recent trip to Charleston, South Carolina with friends, we didn’t have any plans for our last day other than a leisurely breakfast before driving to the airport.  Someone suggested we stop to see the Hunley Submarine which was on the way to the airport. It meant we had to pack quickly and grab a bite to eat on the run. Although it was a last minute decision, it was one of my favorite parts of our visit.  

I hope you will find these travel planning tips useful. I’ve created a planning guide that you can use to gather the information for your next trip. Let me know if you use any of them and what you discover!