I am not always looking for the cheapest place. I am actually looking for a place I like.

How about a new rule (and this one has served me well):

Once you went with a service (restaurant, trip provider, flight ...) NEVER EVER check the price with someone else after you already paid for yours. This way, you won't be disappointed and you can continue to think you struck an awesome deal.

CY

Oh, I like that.  I think I'll adopt it.  It certainly will improve my attitude!

It's not exactly a rule, but I always try to stay calm on my travels and I never do. At some point, people at the airport are annoying me, traffic jams kill me ....

I don't know why, but at some point I get fed up with it and I wish only for a bed in the hotel at my destination. I always fail to stay calm.

I am similar to CY in a sense that I never check the price for food when I am fed or I never look for hotel prices if I already booked. On the other hand, I know my way around the internet to find good deals, so I am pretty sure that I always get the best for my money. 

Andre

Travel Photos 

Hi there guys! Rcon here! Well, I used to plan ahead for the places and things that I want to see and do once I arrive in my destination. It always turns out, however, that my plans do not work out the way I wanted them to work out. So today, I just go to places and do things impulsively every time I travel. 

I think I'm allowed to lose my calm once in a while.  It's useless to pretend you aren't going to, unless you are a pretty phlegmatic person to begin with.  I allow myself a rant a month, with carryovers in case I have a really good month.  Once I'm out of rants, I tell myself I've used up all I'm allowed.  It seems to work, maybe because it is such a silly idea that it makes me laugh a little inside.

Hi Rcon. I agree with you. Being frequent travellers we always used to plan our trip a head. I have now found that it is easier and better if we don't. My husband still likes to go on the package deal trips but I am slowly talking him out of it. Being very independant I love to just go where ever my heart desires while I am away. If I dont feel like doing anything I dont. As to crowds and annoying me I am getting used to that. Travelling with four children and one a baby you have to.

Yeah that works most of the time but not always. Sometimes its good to have a plan. During peak travel season you might not always be able to get a hotel, rent a car ... without having a reservation.

Try going to Hawaii on a short notice and you are pretty much screwed. However once you are there (and booked safely into a hotel) you can be spontaneous and decide what to do on a day by day basis.

Andre

Travel Photos 

I say don't overplan things. I did this during a trip to New York City and it was a letdown when I couldn't do certain tasks. So now I plan a few things and keep the rest of my options open. 

I would also suggest pack light. Especially if you plan to buy some things. You don't want to have to carry too much back on you returning trip.

 If I were traveling with four kids, I'd only look at places that offer baby-sitting services.  I just manage to take care of myself.

 Sometimes you have to plan a little bit ahead.  When I was traveling in New Zealand in 1994, you had to book hostel beds ahead except in Auckland.  Some places had only one hostel, and if you showed up at Fox Glacier without a reservation, your other choice was a very expensive hotel.  I've had to do that a couple of times.  When you expect to pay less than $10 for a cheap room or a bed and end up spending $70 for a hotel room, it hurts.  Getting train and lond-distance bus tickets is wise in some places, too.

That's not as restrictive, though, as having exactly four nights in Paris, booked and paid for in advance, followed by three nights in Amsterdam, followed by five nights in London.  I once met someone who went on a three week trip to Europe and made reservations for every lunch and dinner.  Of course, he was going there more to eat in great restaurants than to do anything else, but can you imagine?

A good idea is not to check anyone’s price, and then not to count other persons' money, etc…. :)

I used to over-plan, too. That was how I was raised. I remember my dad always had gas, food, and hotel costs estimated down to the last cent, and god help the world if anything interfered to change his plans. He could throw a tantrum better than any two year old I've ever met.

 When I started traveling on my own, I slowly started to unwind. I realized it simply didn't matter if the hotel brochure had advertiased "beige" carpets and they were "blue" instead, or if the restaurant had just raised its prices a bit. Planning to spend exactly 22 minutes of looking at an art gallery makes the whole visit an edgy, check-your-watch-every-six-seconds experience.

 When I travel now, I pick a couple of things that I really want do do, and then spend as long as I want doing them. If I have time for anything else, it's just icing on the cake.

 As for minor upsets, I ask myself if I'm still going to care about it in two weeks. If the answer is yes, I speak up, if not I let it roll off my back.

Best advice. I really need to learn how to do this. I get very upset at the slightest problem and that causes myself a lot of stress and problems.

I need to learn how to chill out a bit. I am going to try to remember this advice.

Andre

Travel Photos

I always look around to find the best deals. But after all the looking I just seem to push it aside and go with what I really want.

What Everybody Ought to Know About Travels in 2007?

I gave up trying to plan everything out myself because it never seems to work out the way I planned so this way I don't get frustratred when they don't turn out the way I had planned them.