Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
uncle is letting you shack up in his fancy Tuscan villa for a week. You'll have to plan around
these events so they'll greatly affect your other travel plans.
STEP FOUR—Break out the map and start brainstorming where you want to visit.
I'd
start of by surveying a map to become more familiar with the geography of Europe. This is
helpful because you can see where all the major cities are located in relation to each other, and
you'll get a better idea of the distance between areas.
Next, go to the bookstore and spend a few hours thumbing through the travel topics. Take
out the good ol' pen and paper. Jot down anything that looks interesting. Naturally, a lot of
people will first head to the Internet for advice, but I prefer to stick with guidebooks at this
stage. Guidebooks are nice because the information is organized logically and easy to find.
Don't get me wrong, I love the Internet and we'll use it quite often during the following stages
of the planning process, but at this point I find old-fashioned guidebooks to be the most effi-
cient.
Don't limit yourself at this point; just brainstorm and compile a list. You'll probably end up
discovering a lot of really cool places that you may have never considered.
Don't forget to keep in mind the type of stuff you're interested in experiencing—museums,
party destinations, castles, beaches, major cities, small towns, cuisine, nature, music festivals,
outdoor sports, etc.
Then create a map using Google Maps and place a pin in every location on your list. This is
a great way to visualize everything, and maybe you'll start to see your interests guiding you to
certain regions.
STEP FIVE—Start to narrow down your list.
This is where things get a little more diffi-
cult. I suggest separating all the places on your list into three categories; 1) places you 100%
want to see, 2) places you really want to see, and 3) places you could live without.
STEP SIX—Write down how many days you think you will want to spend in each loc-
ation.
Most guidebooks will give you an idea of how much time you should spend in each
location (e.g. four days in Paris, three days in Berlin, four days in London, etc.). If you're like
most people, you'll quickly realize there is no way you can see all the places on your list. Time
to make more cuts and adjustments.
Naturally, you want to see as much as possible when you travel, but this often leads to pack-
ing way too much into the itinerary. Nearly everyone does it, and I'm guilty of it myself. I
highly suggest
resisting the temptation of attempting to see everything. I cringe every time I see
someone wanting to visit London, Paris, Amsterdam, Rome, Berlin, and Barcelona in twelve
days. It's possible but you'll barely scratch the surface of the places you visit.
Additionally, traveling at breakneck speeds is not only exhausting, but it will also cause ma-
jor burnout. You won't give yourself the time to appreciate what you're seeing, and after a few
weeks you will hardly remember what you've seen. Trust me. Ask anyone who has done a
whirlwind tour and they will all tell you that they wish they had slowed down.
