Travel Planning
/I am more comfortable when I have a plan. It gives me a feeling of security that whatever I am embarking upon is getting my best effort toward reaching the goal. Travel is no exception.
On the flip side - there is a value to serendipity when it comes to travel and over the past few years I’ve honed my strategy to ‘plan…but not too much.’ Here’s how I go about it.
- I start a mindmap that will turn into the plan. At first I just put the activities I want to do around the center of the map. References such as AAA tourbooks come in handy but I do a check via the Internet on just about everything. The addresses, costs and notes about each activity are the ‘leaves’ on the map.
- Most of my vacations are skewed to outdoor activities - hiking, gardens, beach combing. However, I always add indoor venues on my list so that I can make a quick change if the weather does not cooperate.
- Then I start grouping. Sometimes the grouping is by day but I have gradually moved to grouping activities that are in close proximity - color coding the indoor ones.
- The result is a one page summary (mindmap) of the things that appealed to me about the location I am visiting. I still need some other reference material but the one page is what is use to make most activity choices.
Now - how does this still allow the flexibility for the wonderful serendipity finds of travel? The key is to have more activities that can possibly be done in the time allowed. Make the choice first thing each morning and adjust. And enjoy the vacation you planned…but no too much.
