Somnambulation

There is nothing worse while travelling than wanting to stay longer in some places or change your plans on a whim but not able to because youve paid ahead of time. That doesnt mean you shouldnt plan, just dont lock yourself into those plans by paying for thing like accomodation or tickets very far in advance. You really have no idea how long you will want to stay somewhere or know what your travel style is beforehand. Wait as long as you can, you never know what will pop up.

U2fan

Can I just say this wins for random post of the week?

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Flight to Tokyo: 92,000 yen

Metro to Ginza shopping district: 160 yen

Watching middle-aged Japanese woman dance to U2: priceless

Somnambulation

If only it were a backpacker of the year cateogry


Yeah thats a good way to do it. Have an idea of where you want to be at around a certain date, but dont book anything until youre certain.

omisan

I think he's addressing the recent spate of über-zealous planning, and to that I say bravo!

While I appreciate a solid, air-tight itinerary as much as anyone (I always build my own) and am definitely impressed with people's efforts, I always try to build them so there's flexibility here and there.

Obviously, for a 1-2 week trip, more planning tends to be necessary in order to get everything done in the short amount of time, but if you're spending a month or more abroad, I suggest making a very loose itinerary (unless you have particular dates you have to be places) and take a list of all your stops and set the minimum you'd like to spend in them, as well as their priority. That way if you decide you want to spend more time in one place, you can drop or shorten another...

Cheap rail and airline travel make this all the more possible these days, so it's possible to do spur-of-the-moment trip-within-a-trip stuff if you want.

Plan to the extent that you feel secure in your travel - leave enough be so there's some adventure in it.

Remember - you don't want to be Clark Grizwold in European Vacation. Except for the banging Beverly D'angelo part. That's cool.

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Esterina

If you check my posts, about 50% of them are repeating exactly what you said Som ! Flexibility !!!

But as for the major cities during high season, hostels are crowded so it's better to book in advance and lose the few dollars in account if you change your plans. As Omid said, two week trips don't let a lot of room for spontanous changes.

Otherwise, the best is to read a lot to have a clear picture of the countries you're heading to, where to go, what to do, according to your likings, make a rough itinerary, begin with the first planned city, then let life guide you for the rest.

And my second most repeated tip is : TRY THE COUNTRYSIDE ! Not only capitals and the usual tourist attractions !

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futboller

I agree. I've got +3 of my six weeks set aside for planning a few days ahead along the way. I just know I'll probably go counterclockwise through Europe to end up in Berlin. From what I read on here Spain and Portugal sound great, so right now I'm thinking I'll head that way, but always flexible.

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Slacker

I want to have some flexibility in my schedule, but I also want to know I can find a decent (and cheap) place to stay.

Should I just go ahead and book them all and then if i decide to stay longer or leave earlier..i just do it and lose a little money?

bellelass

Slacker, I'd say book your first few nights' accommodation, esp if its the weekend. You dont want to have to fool with that when you've just come over. But really, flexibility's the name of the game. The great thing about staying in hostels is you can always sound out hostels and places etc before you move on. Its like living inside travelpunk or something.. (holy batman I just had a thought....) anyway, you can usually find out where to go for a clean cheap bed, etc etc. And if you're really unsure about it you can always book a day or two before you get there. The wonders of the internet, eh?

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"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible. This I did."
-T.E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom