How has your travel evolved over time?

I was just talking about this yesterday .The internet has made a huge difference to they way I travel and do my research.
I do so much stuff on line, booking hotels and flights .I can check with street view exactly where I am staying, I can check timetables for buses, trains trams etc.
You can check costs and opening times of places you want to visit.
having a phone with internet access makes this possible on the move as is GPS mapping to find out where you are and where you want to go.
you can check listings of retsurants,where they are located their opening times and even their menus.
AND I LOVE IT.

Due to explosion in travel to some places thanks to tours, cheaper flights, democratization of travel due to the internet, and DYI books like Lonely Planet, I have to be more determined to schedule trips off season to avoid huge crowds. High-demand places like some museums require advance reservations and planning to manage the large traffic, whereas they didn't used to many years ago (sometimes decades ago). Very few "undiscovered" places left unless they are really remote and hard to get to. Lots of sources available to plan with, information overload, having to sift through conflicting (or out of date) info, time suck, you name it. Much more fun planning your own stuff than turning it over to someone. But it's truly like performing an additional job that (largely) no longer exists - that of the travel agent - on top of your "regular" job. People complain about how expensive airfares are, but I'm amazed at how inexpensive some can be to allow so many to travel such long distances and with more frequency (by way of a caveat though, I am very aggressive about finding good fares and am flexible about schedule). The budget carriers contribute to this and I'm thankful for them. Obviously travel becomes more affordable as your income goes up - and more doable as you get more vacation.

I read and take advantage of travel blogs, posted photos, tripadvisor, this site, too many to mention. There's so much info out there, but of course largely duplicative so I have to remind myself that more there are diminishing returns to finding ever more "gold travel nuggets" after a certain point. I do learn much more about places I visit ahead of time - so there is much less surprise and serendipity (that's a downside)

Thankfully suitcases and travel gear has changed over time to me more light and flexible...I remember the heavy, hard, boxy suitcase (luckily, it did roll and have an upright handle in lieu of leather belt thingie of the really old luggage)

My first big trip involved a travel agent, travelers checks and a mid trip collect call home. I enjoyed the anticipation of the trip, but spent very little time planning it other than reading through some travel books. Now planning the trip is a big and fun part of it all for me. I enjoy having access to so much planning information right in my living room. Some changes are really helpful to me. Being able to get money out of an arm machine is so much easier than guessing how much I will need in travelers checks and then hunting down places to exchange them for cash. Being able to use my own phone to keep in contact with others at home and my travel partners, and to be able to check the Internet is a huge benefit for me. And then as someone else mentioned - google maps. I love being able to look at the area around hotels. And seeing what a walk from a train station to a hotel will look like is so much more helpful than just reading written directions. And this forum was what first got me into planning my own trips to Europe. I was encouraged by how many other people do this all the time and manage not to get lost or stranded!

I have a brilliant App on my smart phone called Navigation (run by google).It can pick up where I am from the GPS tracker in my phone and I can type in where I want to go and by what method , car , public transport, walking or cycling, gives me a map and directions as well as a rough time it will take.
wish I had things like this 40 years ago.

Hello Zoe! Great question!

We have slowed it waaayyyyyy down. We like to linger in a location and really get to "live" a little. We do not fill every day stem-to-stern with activity, preferring to take our time and clear our heads with a couple of hours of down time each afternoon. We take guided tours when we think they will really add value: a private tour of The Louvre, was a worthwhile splurge for a first visit for example.

We are very Internet dependent in research, but less-and-less rely on TripAdvisor or guidebooks, in particular, for selecting dining or sleeping options as we have become (we think!) fairly adept at identifying a decent restaurant from other sources including just taking a chance on what looks good passing by. No longer a slave to paper books, I love the freedom of reading books on my tablet computer and gladly give up the ability to flip easily through a travel book in trade for lighter weight.

We rent apartments for stays of 3-or-more nights. I am trying to get up the courage to "wing it" on a trip but I am not quite there. When I was in college and toured Europe (on $5 a day) I never knew where the wind (or trains) would blow me. Now I plan A LOT.

We have also slowed down our pace. Waaaay down. More and more we take time to "...smell the roses" rather that just seeing them as a blur. Even if we all live to be 120 years old, I don't think any of us will ever "see it all". So just enjoy the moment.

Since our first trip in '72, we have been forced to do more advance planning especially with regards to hotels. In those days we just went with a standard guide book, hit the TI for hotel recommendations and walked in. Now with the internet everyone one is booking in advance, discounts for advance payments, multi-tiered train tickets, etc. Had taken the looseness out of travel. IMO it has made it more complicated and time consuming. Tough to do things last minute.

I'm under 40 and never planned travel myself before the Internet. But obviously internet resources have gotten much better since 2000. Smartphones are a huge difference, though. An offline GPS map app has been a lifesaver in terms of not getting lost, getting to places on time, and following taxi routes in real time ;) also, translation apps for communication. There is a downside, loss of serendipity, so I try to leave the tech off and just wander sometimes. But not at midnight on arrival day trying to find my hotel! And not when I have tickets to a show that starts at a precise time.

I've gotten more into photography, which has meant stopping longer for pictures, more gear, and being sure to be out at the magic hours (when light is best, early or late).

Psychologically, I've always been a planner so that hasn't changed. I tried to do a U.S. trip with minimal planning and I wasn't happy with the result so I'm confident in my personal tendancy to plan a lot ahead. I book hotels and transport from home, make note of best days and hours to visit critical sights, and have a general itinerary for most days. I hate lines and huge crowds and will plan days around avoiding the worst times. However, I'm less nervous about the plans. It's just what I do to make the trip best for me, it's no longer out of worry.

Finally, I now read more than just guidebooks and overviews. I try to read more detailed history or memoirs about the place.

I made my first trip to the UK courtesy of the USAF. Traveling around the UK on the spur of the moment and finding a hostel or B&B for a cheap price was fun.

As I have aged and things became more global. It has been tougher to find that cheap air fare or cheap place to stay. Also wading thru all the information that is out there can be challenging, but today’s technologies have made some things easier. Being able to use Google Earth and view the surroundings of where I’ll be staying and sites I plan to visit. I find that my travels today are more focused. I now prefer to visit 3-4 major cities for 3-5 nights with day trips to outlying areas. I also find that when I travel today, I move a much slower pace.

It's interesting to me to read posts by travelers of different generations who find that the Internet is interfering with the way they like to travel. As someone who grew up with computers (but didn't have Internet until 1998, my senior year in high school), I didn't think about the fact that the Internet hampers travelers who like to wing it. I just booked my hotel in Amsterdam for 3 nights in October because I didn't want to wait too long. Many other travelers like me know that places fill up far in advance, so we book far in advance and perpetuate the cycle.

I've become more loose with my itineraries. I accept more easily that things won't go as planned and that's okay. I thought I was going to the Mosel River Valley this year but had to cut it out because of the additional expense. I assumed I was still going to Conwy and Caernarfon, though. Then my sister surprised me by saying she wanted to join me in London and stay there for the rest of the UK portion of my trip. So no Conwy and Caernarfon, and now 6 nights in London instead of 2 with a day trip to Cardiff.

I've been on this site for almost 5 years now and have come to rely on it as an invaluable resource. I also consult TripAdvisor but nowhere near as often as this site. I still buy guidebooks and take notes for each trip, as I've done since the early 2000s. I love buying books anyway; traveling is the perfect excuse to buy travel books!

My travels to Europe started with taking organized group tours because I had not discovered the joys (and ease) of independent travel. Now I travel independently and love it. I was never a 'seat of my pants' type of traveler to begin with so I appreciate the internet and how easy it is now to book hotels and transportation; no paper correspondence, no complicated international phone calls ( I know it's easy now but it was complicated to me back then), no sending money orders in multiple currencies to reserve rooms. Now we have internet and instant communication by email or skype, money transfer by paypal, etc.

I enjoyed the tours I took but I look back at them now and wonder how I survived the hectic pace, one night hotel stands, getting on a bus by 8:00 am day after day, not being able to just sit and relax and absorb the place I'm in. I go so much slower now. Luckily I'm retired and can take more time, spending a week or two or more in one place and really get to know it. I may have 'seen' more on the tours, but I 'experience' more now.

Good topic Zoe!

I started out using Travel Agents in 1973 for a $600 American Express tour (kind of like the My Way tours!) for 2 weeks in Madrid, Paris and London which included air fare. Then I just used Travel Agents for the airline portion. In the 80s I remember planning a trip to UK for myself, spouse and our best friends (wife was the Travel Agent, lol!) where I wound up going to a University library that had London telephone books, photocopied pages of hotel listings, then painstakingly wrote about 5 for prices and reservation information! We started out with reservations in London but just used the local TI as we went along. I had stacks of reference material I had photocopied (yes, we did find the watersplash used in the opening scenes of the PBS James Herriot series!). Did not pack light!

I am a planner and I enjoy working on a trip so I have loved the internet! I lurk on this forum and TA forums for whatever areas I'm going to which helps with my research. Thanks to someone here (maybe Claudia in LA?) I saw about the poppies at the Tower of London last year and worked that in. On TA I saw about a photo exhibit of WWI battlefields that turned out to be very interesting.

To me part of the adventure is savoring the research!

Much easier with internet, Trip Advisor, forums. One can find out so much more, so much more quickly! And, it is nice to actually look at photos of a specific room before booking. I also enjoy looking at photos people post on Trip Advisor, showing towns, villages, sights of interest, etc. (In the old days, one had to request brochures in the mail and often hope for the best.)

Also love seeing on-line videos when considering trips. (Example: YouTubes showing how rough seas can be en route to Antarctica and even a You Tube that demonstrated how to catch the train from Rome to Florence. So much is available on line these days!

Travel (as a lifetime goal) also became a huge priority for me about 10 years ago. I set specific goals and worked hard to make those happen.....wanted to accomplish certain journeys while we were young enough to do so.

As far as how my travel has evolved: We've definitely become a bit more up for adventure, as we've accomplished the goal of visiting all 7 continents (with many repeat trips to Europe). We'll never forget having two humpback whale swim next to and under our zodiac, riding a camel in Morocco, hot air balloon views, beginner scuba lessons/dive, etc. (No cliff diving, though....LOL.)

Charming hotels/views/special experiences have become more important to me. It's part of the 'whole package of experience' and memories I then hold dear. We also seek out special experiences figuring, 'when will we be here again?' So, we'll try to 'do it right' vs. our old way of trying to always save a nickel/dime. We also have stopped (for the most part) renting cars to avoid the stress and will take trains/planes/boats/ferries/hire private drivers.

But, I am also a value shopper. It's not about what is cheapest, but what will give us the best value for our travel dollar. Value can include high-end experiences , and best use of one's time (which is also a commodity) while traveling is also a factor in value. When all is said and done, want to feel that we have experienced an enjoyable, inspiring, memorable, educational, insightful experience for our travel dollars. (Our two Rick Steves tours provided that, as did journeys with other brands, and independent travel.) Often we will travel in shoulder season for better value, but mostly to avoid huge crowds. But, if research indicates a better experience during prime time and with a prime provider, we'll go with that.

We also are no longer afraid to take a few hours of resting/chilling out on a journey.....whereas recently as 5 years ago, my spouse used to say to me, 'come on, you can rest when you get home' and we had to be seeing things if we had 30 minutes to spare before a departure!!!

We will also no longer consider a cruise on a mega ship, and the last several ones have been on ships with less than 500 passengers, and we really prefer 300 or less. It's all about really now knowing what we like.

Several years ago, my husband gave me the National Geographic's Journeys of a Lifetime. I put little sticky notes on each page that references a place we've been or an experience we've had. Someday, I'm sure I will tote that book with me to assisted living :) with all my little colorful sticky notes.

Travel is our splurge. It's the experiences/memories we now hold dear vs. material things.

How has my travel evolved? Years ago, we were lucky to do (afford $/time) a weekend trip to Memphis or Gatlinburg...seriously!!!! Okay, it's evolved!!

Such interesting stories!

My first solo trip was flying standby with my Let's Go! guidebook and a backpack, and lists of information from those individual country or regional travel bureaus. I traveled for four months and a couple of days waiting for standby didn't bother me. My family and friends expected a post card or two a few weeks after I had been somewhere, although I think my Mom expected someone from the U.S. Embassy to come carrying a ransom demand.

Having a bathroom down the hall didn't bother me then. Now en suite is a priority. I would go to the TI office in the train station, get in line, tell the TI rep how much I wanted to spend, and a minute or two later walk away clutching a little piece of paper with an address written on it. Lots of people did it that way then. Now, lots of people book in advance and so I usually do, too.

I would buy a Bigliettoabiglietto Chilometrico for 2nd class train travel in Italy, 20 trips or 3000 kilometers for 60 days, could be shared by up to 5 people. Still travel 2nd class, buy tickets far in advance to save some money (no commitment phobia here). Sometimes I miss the spontaneity of staying someplace longer because I like it more than I thought I would.

I tend to spend about the same amount of time in a place as I used to (2-3 nights to 1-2 weeks).

I hate the Schengen 90-day rule. I used to work temp jobs, quit them and travel for 3-5 months or until the cash ran out. Came home with a quarter for a phone call for someone to pick me up at the airport (answering machines put an end to that strategy). Don't miss travelers' cheques. Didn't worry about identity theft. No travel forums so I had to rely on my instincts about what to do, where to go, how to handle an inconvenience.

I am much more of a planner for several reasons (most of them already discussed here). Planning is part of the fun and mentally extends my trip. It allows me to be more efficient with my limited vacation time. It can frequently be a money saver. But my interests have changed too. I am more interested in history and museums than I was 10 years ago so I make more of an effort to see some of those "wait in line" sights that I would have had no problems skipping before.

And I have finally embraced the traveling with a carry on philosophy for most trips. But I still refuse to wash my undergarments in a sink!

Hi Zoe,
Great post! I've enjoyed reading this thread.

I agree with Frank's statement:

In those days we just went with a standard guide book, hit the TI for hotel recommendations and walk in.

I also miss those days... but like many others I don't miss;

• traveler's checks... having to stand in line at the bank(s).
• train schedule booklets for each country-- no internet...
• having to exchange to different currency in each country... before the Euro.

The internet has been invaluable in so many aspects of life, it's a great source of information, but one definitely has to be more discerning. There are always advantages & disadvantages to technology.

When our computers are down at work, there are huge disadvantages & everything comes to a halt!

How has my traveling evolved...hmmm...
I still enjoy leafing through & reading a paper guidebook rather that an electronic book...
I definitely travel light now... I don't generally buy my train tickets in advance because sometimes I just like to be spontaneous & change my plans... Just like you Zoe, I may want to stay in a place longer because I want to explore it longer than initially planned.
I like to travel during the shoulder or off season, so I can avoid the crowds...

Thanks for posting this thread Zoe!

EDIT: I find googlemaps & googleEarth totally amazing! I can "travel" to any place in the world & actually see what it looks like!

Another one who detests the Schengen time limit, but since the US only allowed Europeans visiting here a 3 month visa in the past, pre Schengen days, while we Americans could stay in Europe as long as we wanted, the UK being the exception with its 6 month rule. Compared to traveling 30 to 40 years ago, traveling has become both simpler and more complicated with the advances in technology, ATMs, etc. I hardly reserved in the past but now it's necessary since everyone does it. Hopping on trains used to be prevalent but now mainly allowed in Hungary, Austria, Germany and TER trains in France.

Now, I have to plan out the trips, in the past mainly an outline. You plan now in more detail because the circumstances of travel dictate it. The Euro makes traveling a lot more convenient as does the acceptance of credit cards, in regards to recognising quickly coins of 3-5 countries in your pocket. The internet helps a lot in planning, in particular train routes and times, have used Rough Guide, Let's Go, and Michelin Green guides also to plan. Other travel forums, Trip Adviser, etc I don't use at all, basically ignore them.

Oh yes, pre-euro I would have a different envelope for the money I had budgeted for each country - when the money was gone, I had to move on. It worked until I fell in love with Turkey and "stole" money from the Greece envelope so I could stay in Turkey longer. Overstayed my 6-week visa by four days, but the passport agent was very understanding when I explained what happened. Got across Greece in eight days (third trip there).

I've only been travelling for 4 years and my first two trips--London and Tallinn--I flew in and out of the same airports and stayed a solid week, with long day trips to Edinburgh and Helsinki, respectively. My trip last summer to Vienna and Budapest was longer, 7 days in Vienna and then train to Budapest for 4 days and flying home from there. I needed to see how I felt about solo travel and at first felt better doing it all in one city, then with the knowledge I gained I upped it to 2 cities. This year it'll be Krakow-Warsaw-Prague for 2 weeks. Time and money-wise, at this point in my life, means 2 weeks has to be enough so I do a lot of research to make my time count, but still be sure I have time to relax, too.

Research on the internet is great. Makes for a more efficient trip.
We still rent cars, but don't drive like maniacs for 2 weeks. We now prefer to stay in one place 4-5 days and do day trips--slowly.
No more paying big $ at the banks to exchange funds into local currency. The Euro's great--especially in 2015.
I've been going since 1970. We can now easily go behind the "Iron Curtain." Yaaaa!
We love mixing in a leg on a budget air carrier to a completely different region--if just for a short time. You can go to off the beaten path places that way without breaking the pocketbook.

These are some long postings. I'll stop at that.

Well, I have taken up with meeting RS posters whenever I can! Zoe, nice seeing you today in Ann Arbor at Zingermanns . Fun time to talk about your upcoming trip and of course, the usual gossip about our fellow RS posters:) Have a wonderful summer and do try to meet up with Jo while in Germany.

Planning my trips to Europe is the same now as it was in the year 2001 (my first trip to Europe). I read travel guide books (Rick Steves, Lonely Planet, ...) and reserve rooms in hotels and B & Bs via Telephone and the internet. I did not like the night time airline flights from the U.S.A. to Europe (or Britain). Therefore, I have been going on a day time flight from Chicago's O'Hare airport to London's Heathrow airport, arriving there at 10:30 P.M., sleeping in a hotel near the Heathrow airport, and go on another flight from Heathrow airport to a destination airport in Europe. Now that I have seen the various kinds of things that American tourists like to see in Europe (castle, cathedral, big art gallery, medieval part of a city, vineyards) I wish to do less traveling in Europe, stay at one hotel longer, relax and enjoy the experience of being there. For my next trip to Europe, I am thinking about going to only one city, such as Taormina at Sicily. Hotels there are located at the top of a cliff, 500 Meters above the blue Mediterranean Sea. A cable gondola goes down to the Sea beach. Taormina has an ancient theatre built by the ancient Greeks, and rebuilt by the ancient Romans, with a view of Mount Etna and the Mediterranean Sea coast. And botanical gardens, an exquisite old church, produce market, public squares for sipping coffee or wine and people watching.

I, too, am of the age where you would get off a train, go to the TI at the train station, tell them how much you wanted to spend and how close to the station you wanted to be and, presto! You got a room Travelers checks I don't miss, but must confess I do miss the different currency in each country and the challenge of learning a new on every few days or so. What I mostly miss is the 3 month Eurail pass that allowed you to get on any train, anytime and go anywhere without worrying about buying tickets, validating said ticket, etc. One rainy day in Switzerland, my sister and I totally burned out from touring, decided to take a 6 hour round-trip train ride to pick up mail a the American Express location pre-arranged before leaving home. We rested up on the train, brought a picknic lunch, stayed dry and on the way back to our room, got to read all the mail from home, friends and family. Fond memories, sigh.

We use to think that a trip to Europe had to be two or three weeks long. We now think about European cities when we only have time for a short trip of four or five days. Living on the east coast makes a flight to Europe often shorter than a flight west. We both travel for our jobs and often have hotel points to cash in and that makes it much more affordable. We've done a long weekend in Paris; Thanksgiving in Amsterdam and the week between Christmas and New Years in Istanbul. This year we are planning four days before Christmas in Copenhagen. With the exception of Istanbul, these were all cities we had visited before and already seen the "must see" sights. We've had a great time visiting in the off season and finding the hidden gems.

Yes it has evolved, as much from age and interests, as new technology. I am much more willing to spend money in exchange for comfort and convenience, and more interested in the people than historical artifacts. I still use guidebooks as primary source for planning and information. The internet and forums like this increase the comfort level in making decisions. But the best part of technology is being able to get flight details and airfare easily, which lets you compare destinations and dates better than any travel agent in the '80s could.

Back when we first started traveling, we would live in super cheap one bedroom apartments during the school year (we both teach). During the summer, we would give up our apartment, put all of our things into storage, strap on backpacks and go to Europe for the whole glorious summer! We would tent camp and completely fly by the seat of our pants, staying as long as we wanted in any one place and then moving on to wherever we felt like going next. We used the Let's Go guidebooks because they were really good about honest reviews of campgrounds which was important for us! No internet then so we would tear up the guidebooks, disposing of the pages as we were done with those places.
I think it is much easier to travel now! Now we home exchange and stay in one place for weeks at a time. We've seen most of Europe and now we try to go back to the places we are interested in learning more about and experiencing for a longer period of time. We use Rick's books as well as Lonely Planet. The internet has made it so much easier to do everything now! On the other hand, there is almost too much information, making it difficult to decide and choose where to go and what to do when there! I do love travel forums as I value the opinions of everyone that has constructive, honest advice to share.
I also find that dropping down into street view on Google Earth gives a great sense of a place - I use it to find my way around in advance of arriving in a city. We're going to Oslo this summer and I have already used it to find my way from the train station to the hotel where we will stay for the first couple of nights. It's comforting to me to know exactly where you are going when you first arrive in a place.

I LOVE this thread! I can identify with coping and also enjoying the changes. Yes, I do miss the "good ole days" of spontaneous travel and the 90 day Eurail Pass - I got my money's worth. As someone already posted - it's harder to find an uncrowded back door these days but I have found, as Rick says, just a few blocks away from the "main attractions" it is still possible to find a quiet spot. Thanks everyone for your comments.
Barb

@ Anita...totally agree that in the '70s traveling in western Europe was unrestricted and unfettered time wise and bureaucratically, only visas were needed along with the mandatory currency exchange daily for East bloc countries like Poland, CSSR (known back then), Hungary. Campsites were one option for backpackers other than hostels and university dorms. Now, no border checks (there goes the passport stamps), mandatory visas or currency exchanges anywhere outside of Russia.

As someone who did a lot of budget/youth travelling around 2006-08, I'm really glad I was able to book hostel beds online. Heard about decades past when, at peak season, people would end up trudging around a new city for hours looking for an available bed, or waiting in line at 8am for the hostel office to open. No thanks.

When living in Latin America for several years in the 70s my local travel agent would give me the out-dated copies of the Official Airline Guide--2 volumes, one for the US and the other for the rest of the world. I'd spend time planning trips in South America and dreaming of Europe. Thank goodness computers and the Internet arrived by the time I got to Europe. For a person my age, travel research and planning has evolved many times over.

Our first international trips were in the early 80s. We did a couple of 'big bus' tours of Austria and one of Scandinavia, booked with a travel agent (AAA). We each took the largest suitcase we had- I think 28" or maybe bigger- LOL!!! We then wanted to try something a bit more independent. We booked an independent, but pre-planned trip to London. It included had vouchers for our hotel, a Hop on/off bus tour, theatre, even some meals, but we used the Tube and loved it. Still used the big suitcases, though. We were really starting to build up our confidence. Finally, we discovered Rick's TV show! We decided to try it on our own. Bought his (then "Small World") convertible bags - and are still using them more than 20 years later- and planned a London and England trip all on our own, though we still booked through a travel agent (had to- hubby worked for AAA then). Then we tried Austria, then Norway, and Scotland. Soon we were going 'over the pond' twice a year!!! We even planned and did an around-the-world trip for hubby's 50th birthday!!! We only use public transport- don't care to try to drive over there, would rather relax on the trains. We loved using the BritRail pass- the flexibility was great. We could decide if we want to indulge with 4 star hotels, or be more budget minded. We did like to fly business class whenever possible. It was worth the $ to us to have room and be able to sleep. Unfortunately we had to stop our international travel due to family health issues, but hope to start again.

I tend to do far less advanced planning than formerly. The only things I usually book in advanced are hotels and transportation. I get ideas of what I might want to do before I arrive, but I never try to pigeon-hole specific sites or activities to certain times. Virtually everywhere I've visited in Europe I've stumbled upon all kinds of interesting stuff that no guidebooks mention and it would be a pity to by-pass these little gems just because I need to fit in another site that someone else has designated a "must-see" (a term I hate). So, I've gone from having strict itineraries to only the bare shell of the trip planned and going with the flow from there.

The availability of on-the-go internet connections has even further eliminated the need to carefully research everything beforehand.

Tom, I had to smile when I read your post. Like you I only reserve hotels and transportation ahead of time and leave the actual 'on the ground' sightseeing relatively unstructured. I just looked back at my proposed sightseeing itinerary for my trip last summer and compared it to what I actually ended up seeing and doing. The two lists could have been written by two different people. A good number of planned things such as: day trips, museums, must-see sights, etc were dropped when other things 'in the moment' took their place. When I first started traveling, especially on guided tours, this would have been unthinkable. Now it's what makes a trip a good trip.

The more experienced I get as a traveler, I:
- Slow down, spending more days in fewer places
- Try to travel by train rather than renting a car (not really successful at this)
- Do not pack much lighter than on our first trip in 1999 (but want to try as car trunks have gotten so small)
- Don't push myself quite so hard physically, but my wife still says I am out of control. I used to go to bed at 2 a.m. the last night every time trying to squeeze every little bit of travel fun out of the trip. Now it's more like 10:30. Sixteen years will do that to you.
- Rely on Rick's books somewhat less for hotels (so many other avenues), but still always travel with his books for general guidance and the sights.
- Am maybe a little more receptive when my wife wants to do a river cruise of similar, rather than do it yourself travel. Only a little more though.

My first European trip was as a student at age 19. We had long weekends, two 10-day periods and a 3-week break in the middle. The first 10 day trip was planned by the school and was Berlin and the DDR. No planning needed, but wow was it great. The three week break was dedicated to Greece and Italy and I sat down at Christmas with a friend who would be in England at the same time and we planned out roughly what we wanted to do based on the books we had read. But then due to classic teenage lack of precision in communication we didn't even manage to connect until half way through and that was a miracle. So I had a 10 days in Athens and I used a guide book. The second 10-day period was to France and all I planned was 4 days in Paris and Chartres, 2 days in Tour and then it was improvise. What did the others in the hostel recommend? I went to Carcassonne, Avignon and Grenoble!

Since then the planning gene has kicked in a bit more, but I am still amazingly casual. I love book a bed ahead in the UK and don't mind getting lost. So, while it's easier today with mobile phones and the internet, I still like a bit of serendipity.

Pam

I now require a mattress to sleep on, at minimum.

Thanks so much to all posters! it's been great to read the memories.