Getting there really is half the fun

Posted by Bill on Monday, December 31, 2007   |   No Comments

This is the natural time of year for making resolutions, taking stock—and looking ahead to travel in the new year. I have mentioned many times the Christmas Mystery Trips our family took each year for nearly a decade. We reluctantly ended them when our oldest daughter was married in October, 2006.

But this weekend we reversed that decision. So with MTs back on, my mind is already racing ahead to where we might be going next year. And since the trips require a good deal of preparation, I am more or less preoccupied by the subject of travel planning right now. (Much of what I share here will be from my experience in planning MTs to specific cities—so it may or may not match your travel experience.)

I know people who never plan, never make reservations, never look into an area and what it has to offer before visiting it. That’s a high-risk scenario I think. It’s also a high-loss proposition because, without prior knowledge, a visitor is likely to lose opportunities to enjoy much of what an area has to offer.

I always plan to meet three basic objectives: 1) To assemble basic facts about hotels, attractions, etc.; 2) To learn more about the area, its history and specialties; and 3) To research attractions that are reachable as side trips on the way to and from my destination.

Without a doubt, the Internet is my most valuable planning tool. Virtual tours on various sites make it possible to go many places before ever setting foot in them. I am continually amazed at how much is on the Web. Next in line would be books and maps. I have a good many resources of my own, and the library has many more.

Current magazines are also good sources of travel information. State tourism offices and local chambers of commerce are always eager to help travelers plan visits to their areas. I call them often. I also try to consult newspapers from the area I want to visit. These are especially helpful in planning MTs.

My process begins with basic route planning and factoring in opportunities for side trips that are not too far out of the way. Once I have that down, I spend a good deal of time narrowing down choices for a base of operations—accommodations that will be our headquarters. Primarily because of my MT experience, I like to be downtown in the thick of things rather than out on the fringes of the city.

Downtown is more exciting—especially during the Christmas season when we always take our Mystery Trips. If you choose carefully, your hotel will usually be within walking distance of much of a downtown area’s performance venues, shopping, museums, galleries and the best restaurants. Although some city layouts don’t work for this plan, I usually try to find a couple major streets, one N/S and one E/W. Finding your way around is then a matter of discovering how things fit into this basic grid pattern. It’s simplistic, but it seems to work most of the time.

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