Whenever I begin to plan a trip, I tend to notice that my mind wanders from one idea to another. I find this to be useful because it helps me come up with options that I may have missed otherwise. However, I also find that this can be a major time-waster, as I end up spending excessive amounts of time on booking something as simple as a hotel or rental car.
Just like in story-telling, there are different ways to plan your travels. There’s a linear approach where you find a hotel, airfare, and maybe a car rental and book your trip. You can save time by booking a package containing all three. Simply enter your information once and you’re all done. There’s also a non-linear, or stream of consciousness, approach. You’ll still get your travel plans made, but you’ll take some detours along the way. Maybe when you’re looking at hotels, you’ll think that a Bed and Breakfast or Airbnb might be a better choice so you’ll look into those for a while. This could also mean that while looking at flights to a destination, you start wondering what options there would be if you drove. There’s a place where you could stop on the way that you’ve always wanted to visit or friends that you’d be able to meet up with. While thinking about this, you remember the points in a program where you can get a fourth night free, or have a free night, or have a gift card, or even a special promotion that’s going on. After going over all of these options, you eventually decide on the details of your trip and book it (leaving open the chance you still change things around a few times before the trip).
Is one of these types of planning better than another?
The linear approach to travel planning is simple and suitable for those who prefer to avoid spending too much time making plans. However, if you’re reading a travel blog, it’s reasonable to assume that you have a keen interest in enhancing your travel experiences. Booking a flight from Expedia, attaching the cheapest car they offer, and staying at the Hampton Inn because they provide free breakfast is not bad, but you might be able to do better by investing just a few extra minutes to plan your trip.
The non-linear approach is more confusing and time-consuming. Once you open up your mind and jump down the rabbit hole, you may spend hours down there, checking different airlines, hotels, rental cars, public transportation, Uber availability, location of the sites you want to see, etc. I know this from experience, as I tend to let my mind wander when travel planning and see where it takes me. Eventually, this can happen:
Guilty as charged.
I completely understand. It’s important to strike a balance between being practical and spontaneous when it comes to travel planning. A straightforward approach can definitely get you where you need to go, but sometimes taking a little extra time to explore other options can lead to some amazing experiences and unexpected adventures. It’s all about finding that happy medium that works best for you and your travel style. However, I don’t think Sharon’s going to be thrilled about us staying in a yurt on our next trip to Tennessee (Note from Sharon: True story!).
Come on, don’t those look awesome? Still not worth me spending time researching that option if we’re never going to do it.
My advice. If you’re a linear planner, open yourself up to some options. Look at things you normally wouldn’t. If you’re non-linear, set some limits for yourself. Don’t go studying the train schedules from Newark Airport to Penn Station and figuring out how fast you’ll need to walk to get to the station so you won’t need to wait for the next train or if it would be just faster to get an Uber to New York but then you’ll be paying the tolls. Not that I’ve ever done that. What would make you think I would have done that?
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