How do you plan a trip?

[indigomama]

I have been out of the country several times, but never as a vacation. My mom has offered to pay for me to take some time for myself on an upcoming birthday (in January), and I am so excited, but I have no idea how to plan it. 

 

I'm thinking England, Ireland, Scotland, and probably by myself, though a good friend might come along as well. I'd like to see some of the top tourist attractions, but also just wander a bit. Though the Bodleian Library at Oxford is a must!

 

So, any tips for traveling to the UK?

 

Any tips for planning a trip in general?

 

 

Thanks!

[Truscifi]

I've never been to the UK but in general when exploring a new place on vacation, especially a nice long vacation, I like to have a home base in the middle of the area and plan day trips or an overnight out from there. I have also done a few days here, a few days there type vacations and I find all the packing up and moving about more stressful. 

[indigomama]

I've never been to the UK but in general when exploring a new place on vacation, especially a nice long vacation, I like to have a home base in the middle of the area and plan day trips or an overnight out from there. I have also done a few days here, a few days there type vacations and I find all the packing up and moving about more stressful. 

 

I hadn't thought about doing it that way. Thanks, I'll think about that. 

[lailasmum]

Are there any particular types of things you want to see in the UK? It could make a lot of sense to hire a car if you are happy driving here. You could get memberships to either National trust and/or English heritage then you can tour around loads of properties without paying entry again each time. 

 

 

[creekland]

There are two different ways I'll do things when I'm going somewhere new.

 

1)  I'll put points on a map that show what I want to see and see how it makes sense to do them all.  That could be one spot with day trips or it could be a road trip.  Sometimes it's a combo of both.  In doing this I give myself liberal time to spend at the points of interest and I add on extra travel time between spots - just in case.  Once I know where I want to be and when, then I'll look at lodging options.  Due to lodging, I might have to tweak my previous plans.  Many of our road trips were this way - out west, Canadian maritimes, etc.

 

2)  I know where I want to go in general and pick a spot to stay for a pre-determined time.  Then I look at things to do or places to visit from that spot.  Our trips to Hawaii and the Bahamas were in this category.

 

Which variety I pick depends upon what I want to do - "see several things" as a main goal or "slow down and enjoy x spot" as a main goal.  And yes, the two types of traveling can overlap at times (spend a certain amount of time here, then move on to there and do the same - Hawaii actually fits better here since we did change locations four times during our month there).

 

We also completely wing things at time - doing whatever we want on a whim, but sometimes that can backfire.  We've been known to spend the night in parking lots... still great stories, but it's not what I recommend for you on this trip!

[indigomama]

Are there any particular types of things you want to see in the UK? It could make a lot of sense to hire a car if you are happy driving here. You could get memberships to either National trust and/or English heritage then you can tour around loads of properties without paying entry again each time. 

 

I'm going to start a list of things I want to see, but right now I don't have an agenda. Hmmmm, I'll have to think about the driving thing :) Have you been somewhere that drives on the opposite side? If so, how is the transition?

 

That is a great idea about getting a membership, I'll look into those, thanks!

There are two different ways I'll do things when I'm going somewhere new.

 

1)  I'll put points on a map that show what I want to see and see how it makes sense to do them all.  That could be one spot with day trips or it could be a road trip.  Sometimes it's a combo of both.  In doing this I give myself liberal time to spend at the points of interest and I add on extra travel time between spots - just in case.  Once I know where I want to be and when, then I'll look at lodging options.  Due to lodging, I might have to tweak my previous plans.  Many of our road trips were this way - out west, Canadian maritimes, etc.

 

2)  I know where I want to go in general and pick a spot to stay for a pre-determined time.  Then I look at things to do or places to visit from that spot.  Our trips to Hawaii and the Bahamas were in this category.

 

Which variety I pick depends upon what I want to do - "see several things" as a main goal or "slow down and enjoy x spot" as a main goal.  And yes, the two types of traveling can overlap at times (spend a certain amount of time here, then move on to there and do the same - Hawaii actually fits better here since we did change locations four times during our month there).

 

We also completely wing things at time - doing whatever we want on a whim, but sometimes that can backfire.  We've been known to spend the night in parking lots... still great stories, but it's not what I recommend for you on this trip!

 

 

Those are some great tips. I especially like the map thing, I think that will really help. And yes, I'd like to avoid sleeping in parking lots, but I bet that was a great story :)