im heading to texas for a quick getaway from june 10 to 15 and want comfortable mid range hotels near downtown or main spots for easy access to food and sights without breaking the bank.
any hotel recommendations in austin for that time or tips on areas to stay? what worked well for short trips like this?
I used to always buy a local SIM card whenever I traveled, but after a few trips it started feeling like more hassle than it was worth. Standing around in airports trying to compare prices after a long flight is not fun.
Recently I tried using esim-home before a Europe trip and it was honestly more convenient than I expected. I activated it before leaving and had internet working pretty quickly after landing, which made things easier for maps, trains, and messaging.
Still feels weird not using a physical SIM though. Curious if most people here have switched to eSIM now or still prefer local SIM cards when traveling.
Inspiration for places to go? Solid. But planning the finer details (opening times, prices, etc)? I want my own eyes and brain to do a sanity check.
Hello!
I’m 19 and from Northern Arkansas, I graduate from Army AIT in October, so I’m planning a trip using a wee bit of my bonus money!
I’ve always loved NYC, from the cheesy movies, to the sports teams, to the busy and historic reputation of the city! My girlfriend (hopefully soon to be fiance 😁) is also dead set on a NY Christmas!
I’m planning on leaving on Black Friday (Nov. 27th) and returning sometime around December 7th. I’m only taking this trip because I have the time, money, youth, and excitement to finally be rid of training! My grandma keeps telling me to explore while I’m young, and it just makes me want to take more and more risks.
My main concern is the weather, I’ve never been too far up the East Coast, (my parents hate everywhere that isn’t the South). The trip is about 20 hours from my hometown. I was planning on leaving my car with relatives in NJ, then using public transit the rest of the trip! I love road trips, and have never cared about driving, traffic, or long travels!
Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!
ive been wanting to visit iceland for years and finally planning a trip next october with my partner for about 8 days. we want to focus on the south coast for the waterfalls glaciers and black sand beaches plus hopefully catch the northern lights since the nights will be dark enough then.
i found guidetoiceland online and they seem to have great trips in the south coast with small groups and good guides so im thinking about booking one of their tours to make it easy. it looks like they handle the driving and timing so we can just enjoy without stress.
what exact spots along the south coast are best in october for first timers and hows the weather usually then? also any must do things we should add to the plan?
thanks in advance
I’m currently planning out my next couple of travel routes and trying to look past the usual Instagram-heavy recommendations. I’d love to hear from firsthand experiences.
Not sure if this is the right place to ask, but would you personally pay a small amount for a fully planned travel itinerary + budget spreadsheet?
I absolutely love trip planning and already make ridiculously detailed spreadsheets for myself and friends — daily itineraries, transport options, realistic budgets, maps, food spots, timings, backup plans etc.
I’m currently planning a 3-week Southeast Asia trip for my parents (mum’s 60th/dad’s retirement), and it made me wonder whether people actually find this useful enough to pay for — especially people who are overwhelmed planning multi-city trips.
I’m not talking luxury travel agent prices or anything crazy. More like affordable/custom spreadsheets that save people dozens of hours of research.
Genuinely curious:
Would love honest opinions.
I’m genuinely curious how people here handle this.
Every time I start planning a trip, I end up with stuff saved all over the place with Instagram posts, TikTok videos, Google Maps pins, screenshots, notes… and somehow it all becomes a mess when it’s time to actually go and I end up discovering places when I am actually at the destination.
I usually think I’ve got everything saved, but when I sit down to build the actual plan, I realise half of it is lost or I can’t even remember why I saved it,something like save it to neveer watch it again .
So I wanted to ask:How do you personally keep everything organised when planning a trip?Do you just use Google Maps lists, notes, spreadsheets, or something else?
What usually annoys you most about the whole planning process?
Hi I am traveling with my old parents who cannot walk or hike for long periods . I am trying to organize a comfortable Alaska trip but do want to tick all the major sightseeing boxes .
Down below is the rough itinerary I have so far . Could you please help refine it or suggest alternatives ?
12 June - land at ANC around 10:30am, pickup Turo car, drive towards Seward. Grab food on the way . Stop at turnagain arm to enjoy the views . Reach Seward and call it an evening [ need to figure out more viewpoints along the way ]
13 June - major marine tour for Kenai fjords. Currently booked 8.5 hrs but wondering if I should do 7.5 hrs from parents comfort . Spend the night in Seward as well
14 June - drive back to Anchorage with maybe Whittier as a stopover . Did consider Homer but not sure if it’s worth the detour . Reach hotel in Anchorage and sleep
15,16,17 June - no major itinerary but booked TAT Grand Denali tour with glacier landing . Also booked helicopter tour to Knik blue pools and dogsledding on Cataract mountain . Keeping some buffer days here in case tours get rescheduled . Staying in Anchorage all these nights . Open to suggestions here as in how to fill in days . Exploring talkeetna and Hatcher pass is also on my mind
18 June - return the turo car early, and get enterprise car ( Costco deal ) to go to Denali ( and later Fairbanks) . Reach Denali by 1pm, grab lunch , check in at hotel early ( hoping this plays out ) . 2:30pm transit bus to explore Denali NP. Spend night at denali ( grizzly bear hotel )
19 June - leave from Denali towards Fairbanks . Drop off enterprise car at FAI. Pickup turo car . Explore Fairbanks and North Pole ( no activity booked yet ) . Considering watching midnight baseball game , going to Santa home , also driving Dalton highway till Arctic circle .
Fly out of FAI at 1am on 22 June
Is this a decent itinerary ? Potential for improvement ? I can move dates a bit to increase / reduce time in Anchorage area .
I wanted to know if anyone has used these websites which give personalised itenaries and one stop booking for their trips.
What was your experience like and are they actually useful? Would it be better for me to do the planning manually?
What were the drawbacks and advantages did you face while using this?
I am looking to book my next trip but there are so many of these sites and none of them actually provide anything that I cannot do myself.
Flight to Ecuador and my Airbnb there are already booked. Everything from Ecuador to the first 90 days in the Philippines (Manila) I'm pretty set on.
Just an FYI: I did have AI help create this spreadsheet. All the notes were generated by Claude from my thread with it about traveling.
Hey everybody,
I’m the reservationist for two fishing guide companies, one out of Washington and one out of Alaska. I’m trying to connect with travel agents to present them with our services, but I’m not sure what the best way to do this is.
Ideally, what I’m looking for is for them to add us to their list of preferred activities, where they can depend on us to show their clients a good time and adhere to their itinerary. I’d also like to appear on their website for an SEO boost, and we would promote them on ours as well.
Just wondering what the best way to approach a travel agent is with this kind of offer. Open to all suggestions on how to connect.
Trying to hit 4 cities in 10 days and the layovers are killing me. half the trip is just going to be sitting in terminals at this rate. Anyone tried the private charter for a tight loop like this? i'm trying to figure out if the time saved actually justifies the cost or if i'm just being impatient.