Being a heavy internet user I can't imagine life without it. There are so many things that are out there just waiting to be explored. I was reminded of one aspect of this yesterday when I came across
http://www.jetvizor.com/15-google-travel-tools-the-new-expert-is-you/
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| No tour buses come down this lane in Cumbria |
This web page contains some tips on tools and ideas for organising travel. Last year we arranged a 7 week trip to Europe, and almost all of this was done using the internet. Over a period of a year we researched details on where we wanted to go, accommodation choices, driving, things to do, even restaurants and pubs that were worth a visit. We then booked accommodation, a tour or two, even a dinner in a restaurant for a birthday celebration. We did use a travel agent for airline bookings, rental car and one two-night hotel stay. In hindsight we could easily have done those as well, and maybe better.
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| Abbey of Sant'Antimo - off the beaten track in Tuscany |
Because of the research and the booking capabilities on the web we had a holiday that no travel agent could have booked for us. We spent over two weeks in Italy, mostly in Tuscany. We had good, relatively cheap accommodation and a list of so many things to do we couldn't do them all. This was followed up with 5 weeks in the UK, none of the time staying in cities. Fantastic experience.
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| Goathland Station - off the beaten track in Yorkshire |
The only down-side was that after booking everything I realised that this travel planning had become a hobby, and it was quite a wrench to stop doing something that was so much fun. We are starting to plan another trip in 2-3 years, but it's a bit early to book anything yet!
Have you used the resources now available to plan an adventure? Ask me sometime and I'll tell you what we did. I could even show you the photos, there only a couple of thousand, shouldn't take too long.
