Do you plan your trips before you leave or do you make plans when you arrive?

I have always made all accommodations prior to going. I have never even considered the other way of doing it actually. I like to make an itinerary of things we will do while we are there. This way we will have plans and our hotel will be close to all of the things we will be doing.

For me, i prefer planning my trip a few months before departure. Not only in the sense of hotel booking but also itinerary planning. Its better to have an itinerary and get to know the destinations, getting about and the culture and behavior of the locals in the country I am visiting. This way it could save me a lot of time and will ensure that I would cover the highlights of the place.

Hi Porcospino! I prefer prepare everything first before going through my travel. I'm not very lucky about finding good rooms and accommodation on the spot so I prefer to book hotel rooms even before I leave for my travel. I don't like encountering problems in finding accommodations and arranging transport when I'm already in the mood for relaxing and traveling. And besides, the time spent for finding accommodations can already be time spent for traveling. It's like a waste of time. If you are adventurous and have lots of energy, then I think booking hotel rooms and looking for transport can be considered an adventure and challenge.

Personally I have done both, but since my kids were born it has gotten difficult to do things spontaneously and at the last moment. When it was just my hubby and I, it was a lot easier to escape from one day to other, but with kids it's not the same. So lately I prefer to plan and book well in advance and make preparations with time. Another factor that plays a role is money, with booking in advance you can figure out how much the trip is going to cost and plan for the expenses and/or pay little by little instead of having to pay everything up front.

I also did it both ways.I find that by not taking care of the arrangements ahead of time,it is risky.One time after 14 hours driving,when we got to our destination,could not find accomodations,for hours,and we were really tired.So now I tend to book everything before leaving,this way no headaches and we get to enjoy the trip more.Also it depends for how long you are going for,since if you only have a week,you do not want to spend too much time looking for things.It also depends as to where are you going! When you are young and go backpacking for a summer with friends,is different from when you are retired and you go on a trip or a week or two.

When I travel I do not make strict plans. I know where I am going and that is it. Usually I check at home, which things there are to do. For example what activities there are and sightseeing areas, cities etc. I take this information with me. When at the traveldestination I am in the mood to do something I look at this and decide where I would like to go. I plan it myself, do not use any touroperator. This usually saves me a whole lot of money. I would hate having my whole trip planned from day to day, you never know who you are going to meet and what things you might discover yourself. Having a planned trip just gives you no oppertunity to do some spur of the moment things. When you meet a local and they have something cool to show you, you should have the time to do so, these activities could never compete with the tourist trips that usually are offered. My tip for travelling, look up information. Chat with locals and discover the country on your own.

When we travel we have a plan of how far we will travel in a day and where we will go. Along the way we may stop and see some interesting things. When we get to our destination we have an idea of what we want to do but are flexible and our plans can change. I don't like to hold to a tight schedule.

I usually book my international flight 6 months before I travel and most often I book my first accommodation by email at a similar time. Then I read more about my destination to get an idea of places in the region that I am going to that are worth visiting. Only once I am there do I use the phone to make other bookings for more accommodation. I turned up in Lisbon on a Saturday evening and the accommodation I had seen in the guide book was full up. I tried four other places and didn't have any luck. At last I did get told the accommodation that might have room and it did. Another time I went to a motel in Victoria that I had seen in my travel guide book however I was shocked to see it had closed down. I looked in my book and went around to five other cheap options. None of them had room and I was getting desperate. I asked a receptionist if she could suggest somewhere that might have room and give them a call. She found me and my kids an inn and it was great. On my latest trip I booked four nights and the price was quite a lot. However I got stuck in Bogota on my first night due to missing the last flight to the coast. I still had to pay for my night at the coast even though we weren't there. So we had three nights but had to stay an extra four nights because my kids got sick. I found cheaper accommodation for the rest of our trip to Colombia.

Making your itinerary before your trip could prevent hassle, stress and burden during your vacation. If you have everything neatly planned beforehand, you will no longer be wasting your time looking for a place to stay, where to take your kids during the day, what to do upon arrival, where to eat, the exact time for you to buy tickets on your way home.

I usually plan my trips before I leave. I always travel on a budget. So the best option is to plan your trip ahead so that the costs can be monitored. As against to making plans when you arrive at your destination, you might waste time going around searching for places to stay and things to do. Also, that will cost you more since you are considered walk ins for hotels as against to those promos if you pay in advance. But the concept of having no plans at all when you arrive at a destination sounds like a lot of fun and exciting. I will only do that if I have the money to burn. hehehe...

I definitely make plans before I even make trips. I have to be careful, and I also have a checklist. In this manner, everything will be calculated.

I also tried both...I tried several times going to a place and make plans when we arrive..it's with my friends so it's kinda fun. We tried when we need to hotel hopping because there's no vacant rooms or we just don't like the ambiance.. Actually, when i was in College.My friends and I hangs out every week end and then while hanging out we just came up a plan to go to this place and booom!!we pack our bags and go travel..haha...

Hi! Like you I like to plan a bit (mostly the bigger events) before departure and leave some time for flexibility should someone prefer to do another event. As I have two little ones, I've been doing my best to keep that in mind.

We plan ahead, mostly because my parents work but we sure do party on vacation, its a real vacation :D I would like to try to just wing it when im older, like i would love to be a clean hobo or just travel through Europe.

I am always a planner because I like to know that I have enough money to do what I want then have enough left over to do some shopping. My daughter on the other hand never plans and tends to cut herself short. I tried to teach her to save and spend wisely but for some reason she got her father's genes and likes to spend especially for other people whether she has the extra money or not.

I always plan trips and never have I experienced making plans when I arrive. I want everything in order and planned before taking a vacation to avoid hassles. I plan and do all preparation and I also have exact time of departure from the place of vacation. I should follow the schedule because I always have commitments to do after the vacation.

I generally visit a place which i or my family like.I make all travel arrangements prior to travel.I reserve accommodation.I have a fair idea of the important places to see in the town, I am visiting.After completing those we shop for things useful for us and bring back a few gifts for close ones as remembrance.

For me the 'holiday excitement' starts the moment the idea of going on a holiday is conceived. The entire planning process gives me joy. I have been on several holidays and I get on the Net to study the various packages that are on offer and also try and learn about the country I would be visiting although I only take package tours. I make a check list of what I need to do and what I need to take.

It depends on where I go to. If I never been there I will inform before I leave as much as possible what I can expect, what is possible to do etc. Actually I already do that before I decide for that place. Last summer I plannend a part of my trip (what to do and where to stay on my way to Hungary and back home). I stayed some weeks in Hungary, did not plan what to do there. That I decide mostly at the same day or one day in front. So enough time to visit what I want. If I have vacation I am not in a hurry and I don't need to go anywhere.

Yeah I would like to book everything that is needed but then when you do not plan a trip I feel that it makes it a bit more exciting so both will be for me..........