Mystery trips

Treemoss2, good post. Thank you. Is fun..

Even if you didnt want to beat to death selecting the flight over, if you go to a place like Google Flights you are hit in the face with so many options you just want to choke on it. That and hotels do that to me.

The actual daily events, sure I plan them out to pretty good detail. But they generally end up being tossed out by day two. The research process is sort of my learning experince for the destination, not really so much to create a rigid schedule.

As for the research of where new to go, very easy. Where can I get to in under 2 hours on a discount flight. There is somehting good everywhere ... so the location isnt important.

I think my wife is a Mystery Traveler:

“You hand over control to someone else and trust them to plan everything. It’s essentially the blind date of travel.”

I guess I'm a mystery traveler because at this time in my life, I can stay in one location for 2-5 weeks at a time. I plan a few things, then wing it for the rest of the time. Really get to know the area, take day trips, etc. I'm OCD about lodging and flights only.

I also plan our flights, accommodations, and ground transportation with no details missed. I also buy tickets to the places that we want to see ahead online. But, we like to stay in one base for a week at a time relax and find things not mentioned in the travel guides. We have been very lucky finding WWII sites that aren't mentioned anywhere,but are shown to us by my husbands cousins and other people in the communities and places to eat there are located in the middle of no where.

I would consider myself a big planner, but I don't think I'm OCD about it. I enjoy learning about places and trying to find things that are less visited by people who travel and/or that have a special appeal to me (like the local public library). I've found some really cool stuff to do that I otherwise would not have done. The itinerary I create, though, is just a guide. It's not a concrete plan that must be followed, except for spots where I've paid for a private guide. I even on occasion skip a group tour I've paid for if a better option comes up (and it's not too big of a hit!). As many have said, the planning is part of the fun. I'm changing jobs/moving this spring and have 2 months with which to play. I'm trying to spend that time smartly.

BUT... I also travel with a friend who likes to plan more than I do. It's pretty fun to go on trips with him; I don't have to do any planning for those trips. This year, it's looking liek 6 trips thanks to my time off -- three planned by me, three planned by my friend.

Mystery trip? I would think about doing it once, but that is a lot of control to give up to someone I don't know!

Some people find the planning more fun than the actual trip! I myself, love the research and planning, but wouldn’t go quite that far. I would do a mystery trip, especially if it was free.

They used to do this sort of thing in England, which gave Paul McCartney the idea for Magical Mystery Tour. The song and album are great but the film was the first setback for the Fab Four.

Planning my retirement slow travel that begins in 2026, I have 6 countries that I will be visiting over 7 months and France is the only one that I have been to before. Since I am spending a minimum of a month in each country, longer in Turkey, I'm not planning it out as I would on a 9 - 11 night trip. I have a few key things listed for the cities I will be at, but nothing will be written in stone since I will have the time in the country/city. My overall plan is to return to one or two countries I have been to previously & visit new countries for the remainder of the months each year.

I’m at the opposite end of a Mystery Traveler when going to Europe, but I think it would be a lot of fun for a domestic trip in the US!

What’s the difference?

• I want to learn (or review) the language of the country I’m visiting to be respectful & kind to the visiting country.
• I like the freedom of going at my own pace in Europe. The independence & “no must-do schedule” each day is exciting & adventurous! In the US, the trip is shorter & doesn’t matter as much.
• Photos are my souvenir, and it’s difficult to take great photos when I am in a group and/or not able to be in certain locations at their prime time of day for photography.

”Posting a planned itinerary for review and receiving many many suggestions that throw it all into contemplative disarray.”

I typically post my next itinerary on the forum while it is still in a very flexible state. The responses and suggestions have been SO appreciated! It’s not unusual for me to add or switch one city because of input from the forum. Mittenwald, Germany immediately comes to mind. My husband & I had a wonderful stay there during our Germany/Austria trip.