What kind of traveler are you?

Are you the one who likes to wing it throughout (because that is "real traveling"), or are you the meticulous planner who gets a dangerously high pulse when something (minor) ruins your perfect itinerary?

Truth be told, I am kind of the "wing-it"-type myself.

But over the years I have learned (sometimes the hard way) that planning can significantly improve my travel experience in all aspects.

Things like research transport options is a great example. I did not do that in Puerto Rico, and then found out there is really no public transport there. And, that you should rent a car in San Juan, in other places the rates are a lot higher.

Yep, that got expensive.

(I am going to talk a little bit about travel planning in my upcoming solo female travel masterclass (workshop, really), if you are interested).

Moving on, I don't mean you need to make "The Plan", but do the actually planning, and heres why (If you are the strict-itinerary kind of traveler, this might be useful to you, too).

The planning of your trip is going to teach you a lot about your destination even if you don't make a PLAN, and equip you to improvise, adapt and overcome if and when something goes wrong (and keep your pulse steady if your perfect itinerary get scratches).

Here are my recommendatins on where to find the best tips and advice for your next destination:

• Travel blogs and content creators
• Search Pinterest, a lot of really good travel bloggers link to their content from there
• Find travel YouTube channels and Instagram accounts for short and medium form review videos (destinations, activities, hotel reviews, etc).
• Traditional Google searches; try different search terms to get the best hits
• Use ChatGPT or Claude AI (or your AI of choice, prompt below)

There are still a lot of helpful blogs, Facebook groups, Pinterest accounts, YouTube channels, and Instagram accounts out there that have vaults of valuable, hands-on information you can benefit from.

Real travelers who have tested, tried, and experienced your next destination before you.

They have found out what is fun, boring, overrated, unmissable, and not least made the mistakes (and written about it) for you to avoid the avoidable ones!

So by spending a little time researching, you can end up with a list of things you want to do (or skip), areas or specific places you would like to stay, and special experiences you want (and might have missed if did not dive into the internet).

All equipped to improvise, adapt, and overcome when things don't go as planned (or as easy as you thought).

If you are not used to using AI for this kind of search, let me give you an AI prompt below that you can copy/paste (or modify) into AI to help you:

"Hi (your AI), you are a local inhabitant in (your destination), and you know the destination inside and out. Now you are going to give travel advice to a friend who will be visiting. Your friend is coming in (month) for X days, and is especially interested in (your interests). Your friend is (on a budget/not worried about the budget) for their visit. Please create a listed suggestion for what activities your friend should do while there and why. Make sure you include special local places, restaurants, and activities that are not commonly known to tourists and off-the-beaten-path destinations, as well as what "tourist traps" to avoid. Also include safety tips, transportation tips, and the best way to get around. Lastly, come up with three top-rated suggestions for places to stay in the (budget/luxury) range and explain a little about the accommodation, the area it is situated, and why this is a good choice. Thank you".

Lastly, what is the most important research to do to avoid f#ck ups?

Well, below you find the things that I like to look into before traveling. Might help you, too!

• Safety issues
• Transport options, walkability, distances
• What time of year is best to visit
• Seasonable highlights
• "Hidden gems" not all tourists know about
• Price levels (and city taxes)
• Checking hotel and accommodation reviews
• Should I get an e-Sim card?
• Tips about language (and online translators)
• Currency convertion and payment tips

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Hope some of that was helpful to you, until next time

Much love & happy travel planning,

Hege :)