There are two kinds of travelers in the world: Those who plan, and those who don’t. I get it. There is something freeing about heading somewhere and just going for it without a set schedule.  I believe there are times when this type of travel can be wonderful.  However, in general, I believe that making a plan actually gives you more freedom when you arrive at your destination to do what actually matters to you.  Let me explain.

A few years ago, my husband & I were heading to London.  We were very excited & I had done a lot of research about what we could do while in town, we had identified what each of us “had’ to do, and felt like we had a pretty solid plan.  I’m personally of the opinion that if you’re going to pay to get somewhere, you should experience it for what it is. And knowing what there is to do, is the first step. Anyway, I was talking with a friend prior to our trip and we realized we were both going to be in London at the same time over the course of a few days.  I asked him about what his plans were, curious to see if he knew about something that I didn’t.  His reply to me was, “We’re just going to go and see what happens.” I was shocked that he would go all that way and not do ANY research on what he might like to see.  I told him as much and even made several suggestions, but he insisted that was how they wanted to do things.

The time came, and we both found ourselves in London.  We met up one evening for a dance concert & we asked if they would like to join us the next day for what we were doing.  He said yes and the next day we had a lovely breakfast together and he tagged along as we went through what we had already planned to do that day.  We were leaving that evening, so after helping him buy an Oyster Card (tube pass so they could get around town), we left them to their own devices.  Fast forward a few weeks and I see this friend again.  Naturally, I asked him how his trip went and he said, “You know, I think you’re right about making a plan.  We got more done with you in that one day than we did the rest of the trip.”  I learned that they had done a few other things, but not very much & they ended up staying in the room a lot of the time.  I thought, “What a tragedy!” We had such a great time in London & it made me sad that he didn’t have the same experience.

There are a few points I want to make here.  First, you don’t know what you don’t know.  Traveling to someplace you’ve never been to can be overwhelming.  It is often a new culture with new experiences that can be tricky to navigate if you’ve never experienced it before. Knowing beforehand what your choices are can help you start to make a plan to navigate this new place and experience. Second, if you know what your choices are, you can spend your limited time on vacation doing what you’re actually interested in.  I believe there is something for everyone everywhere, but you have to know what there is so you can find what you like. A little bit of research can go a long way & your travel agent can help you navigate that.

Travel agents by their very definition help “plan” people’s vacations (Obvious, I know). Usually that means helping to acquire hotels, attraction tickets, airfare, etc.  These services are super helpful (see our post on “Why Use a Travel Agent”), but did you know that as agents, we often have a well of knowledge about many destinations that our guests simply aren’t tapping into?

At Woodbrey Family Travel we pride ourselves on creating personalized itineraries based on where people are going & who is going.  For example, we provide a multi-page document that outlines how to navigate the Disney parks based on your group type (traveling with kids or with only adults will look very different), or how to prepare for & make the most of your cruise, etc.  Our goal is to help you know as much as possible about your destination before you travel.  However, as previously mentioned, we’ve noticed an interesting trend in how people approach being given this information. Either people soak up every word of the information we give them, or they ignore it completely and just go off on their own.  I’m not saying it’s wrong to just “go for it,” but I can tell you that after helping thousands of people with their trips, and traveling all over the world ourselves, those who had a plan almost ALWAYS have a better time than those that don’t.  There is nothing worse than getting somewhere and then wasting time standing around asking each other, “What do you want to do?” “I don’t know, what do you want to do?” I would encourage all travelers to use the resources your agent provides & do your research!

In the case of planning a vacation, the people who do their research & start to formulate a plan actually enjoy that process. It’s kind of fun to think about and make plans for vacation. Plus, you have the added (and more important) benefit of knowing how to tailor your time on your vacation.  If you choose to stay in your hotel room the whole time, great. At least you’ll do it because it was a conscious choice and not out of ignorance of what your options are.  There are too many amazing things to see in this world to travel without a plan.  Remember, a little bit of planning never hurt anyone!

To request a quote from Woodbrey Family Travel so we can help you make that plan, visit our website: http://woodbreyfamilytravel.com/getaquote.php