Planning/Pre-planning--too much emphasis?

Joan,

In my opinion, there is no right/wrong answer. Its up to the individual(s) to make a choice/decision, but that should be made with the best information at hand, to do so will probably not be the best.

If the traveler has unlimited resources (time & $$$) then who cares?

If the traveler has LIMITED resources, than it will make a big deal or if they are traveling with others in tow. Can you hear it now, "are we there yet" or "why didnt you get the ticket before hand" while that train/plane/bus that is full and the last one leaves you behind. or you are standing in front of the last hotel in town thats been booked for months since you didnt get the notice that X was putting on a concert and all of the places are full and have been for months.

So, i would at the minimum find out the particulars as in, how frequent, how full, any savings buying early....ect before i make a decision. Even that process maybe more than some people would like.

For me, im spending alot of $$$$ going some where to see something(s) and i sure want to be able to do those things. If its really really really important to me and if there are lines up the wazoo, then i will be sure to get tickets in advance if possible. If not, i will be the first in line to get them.

others that travel may have a different view, but thats fine since again, there isnt any right/wrong way, but the way that fits the user.

with regards to the Munich to Prague train. Im on the fence about that one and am looking at the train myself, but im also looking at the bus. From what i understand, the bus takes about 1 hour less (if all goes well) than the train. Its about a 5 hour ride by train. So, what im also looking at is COMFORT since i will be warming a seat for at least 4 hours.

Also what i understand is that the buses can fill up too. If thats so and i choose to do the bus, i will definitely buy my ticket/seat in advance.

just what i get out of planning is that i get in the mood/mindset to go and to examine what i want to do/see once i get there not to stop outside of the train station/air port and say "duh - what do i do now". If anyone cares to and try to do some planning, its not that big a deal. Id rather do some "upfront" planning now than to get there and loose valuable time & $$$ "wishing" i had done/known it before i went.

happy trails.

For must see attractions it would be valuable to know that such are: a) open, b) tickets available and c) major repairs (scaffolding, limited access,etc.) will not significantly degrade your experiences. Arranging transportation for longer distances and securing hotels in advance can save you a bundle if you know your itinerary and are willing to stick to it. In short, planning can be helpful in some circumstances. You be the judge.

Everyone plans differently. There is no right way or wrong way. If I had an unlimited amount of time and money to spend on my trip then I might be willing to wing it. Sadly, that's not the case.

What do I do to save money? I spend time researching where I can stay to get the biggest bang for my buck, euro or whatever. The decent inexpensive places go early because it's so easy now to research and book on the internet. The same with trains. If you book when the tickets become available you can save a significant amount of money. Last minute train travel (with the exception of regional trains) can increase what you pay by a large amount.

What do I do to save time? See above. I don't have to spend time on the trip searching for a place to stay. I arrive, go straight to where I'm staying, drop my bags and I'm ready to explore.

I don't plan my days to the minute. I always have an idea of what I want to see and what days those things might be unavailable. I also try to group things geographically. Other than that, I just see how it goes. I might not get to everything, or I might discover something new. I don't worry over it either way. Trips are to be enjoyed, not stressed out about.

......unlimited amount of time and money to spend on my trip then I might be willing to wing it.......
That is not a completely valid statement. We are always been very loose in our planning and did not find it more expensive to do so. But the internet is changing the game. The shift pricing policies of rail lines is forcing more advance planning than in the past when there was one fee and cheap railroad passes. We are now pre-purchasing more rail tickets. There is an segment of travelers who insist on planning to the last minute because it gives them a high degree of comfort. Some might call them control freaks or worse. I am sure there is a higher percentage on this site and similar sites because these site attract those kinds of people. They need lots of information. But it similar to over emphasis on security, pickpockets, clothing, etc. It is just the nature of any travel related site.
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Other than some changes regarding rail, we still travel with a lot of loose plans and don't believe it is necessarily more expensive to do so especially at the hotel level.

As for Munich to Prague, if you walk up to the bus that day, or even a few day before travel time, the fare to Prague is 66,20€. It is only with advance purchase that you can get fares as low as 29€. By the way, the bus only has reserved seating, included in the fare.

The train does take an hour longer and the published fare is 69,10€, with no discounts for advance purchase. However, you can purchase a Bayern-Boehmen-Ticket at an automat right up to the time of travel for 26€ for the first traveler, 4,50€ for each additional traveler up to 5 total. That takes you from anywhere in Bavaria (not just the Munich ZOB) to Pilsen. A Czech Rail ticket from Pilsen to Prague is 100 Kc (about 3,65€).

So two people can go by train, without any pre-purchase, for less than 20€ each vs 66,20€ each if you buy the bus ticket (if any are still available) less than 3 days before the time of travel.

But how would you even know this unless you did some pre-planning? Without pre-planning you'd have the choice between 69,10€ for the train (vs 18,90€) or 66,20€ for the bus (vs 29€), or more probably, no choice, since the bus would already be sold out.

I don't plan minute-by-minute, but I do have my travel arrangements made - I know if I'll be using regional passes (Länder tickets) or I'll have longer trips already ticketed with Savings Fares - and I've researched the town websites and made lodging reservations. I also have a pretty good idea of what I want to see (why even go there if you don't know that), but I'll be flexible. I keep my daily expenses for everything to around $100, single occupancy. I don't think I could do that without a lot of advance planning.

We do talk to travelers who plan too much. It's good to make a list of what you want to see and to fit it onto a calendar. But then, you still need to allow yourself some flexibility to change or skip something on the list if it just becomes to much, the weather doesn't cooperate, the restaurant is closed for a holiday, etc. Not agreeing some flexibility with your travel partners could lead to disappointment and friction.

We also hear from people who are about to depart without much of a plan. That flexibility has some associated costs, such as not getting an advance-discount on a train ticket or not getting into your first choice of hotel. They may spend more time learning about sightseeing/transport/hotel options during their valuable trip time. The longer the trip, the more relaxed and flexible the plan can usually be.

If something does not require a reservation, such as most trains in Germany, then my preference is not to reserve. In this example, a German railpass can be both cheap and flexible, for travelers making 3 or more train rides, especially the Twin pass version. The French TGV trains are opposite - they require reservations, can sell out, and a railpass doesn't add any flexibility, therefore that's a ticket I would lock in months ahead for the best price.

You have to have a Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C.

Plan A: What you think you'll do the next day as you crawl in the bed.
Plan B: What you decide to do when you crawl out of the bed.
Plan C: How to get help getting to the nearest looney bin in case Plan A and Plan B are ever the same.

Gross examples within the very few recent years:
. Having a boat reserved in England, but arriving on the continent a couple of weeks early with the idea of goofing off in Brittany, but driving out of the rental lot at Roissy and heading for Amsterdam and Copenhagen.
. Landing at Roissy with the idea of heading to southern France and northern Spain, but turning around north of the Arctic Circle in Norway, but still getting in a bit of Burgundy since we got back to France with time to spare.
. Being called to get my tail out of a sheep field in Scotland to get home forthwith to catch a flight to London.
. Going to a funeral in Lyon and coming home via Cairo, Tel Aviv, Bangkok, Kyoto, and Tokyo.
. Planning to go to central Germany to do something, but finding a good deal on a flight to southern Spain at the airport and casually driving to southern Italy and back.
. Coming home late at night from a guy trip to England and France and finding the washing machine primed so we could leave for Portugal the next morning.

We've given up planning. What we do is buy tickets to somewhere when the price looks okay - - anywhere kind of central, or central to an interesting lobe, on a continent is fine. Often they're way out in the future, so there's other trips in between. We pretty much know what there is in the world. When the time comes, we leave. Spur-of-the-moment trips get jammed in there somehow.

Car reservations get taken care of in the dead time at the departure gate. If my wife decides she needs the car for a few days to go somewhere I don't give a rat's rear bumper about, she dumps me at a train station. There's always a cheap place to sleep. I haven't been in a darn art museum for years - - there's never a line a maritime and natural history museums. You don't have to pay for parking at trailheads. Sheeps and cows don't pick pockets. Ambiance costs and usually sucks. I travel about as cheaply as anybody when you get to the bottom line.

Thinking and planning makes your head hurt.

I enjoy doing the research ahead of time for rail (when there is the possibility of discounts), flights and lodging. I know what I want to see in the places I am going to and reserve for tickets so there are no surprises (closures or really really long lines). I don't plan ahead for meals. We like looking at menus in windows and making decisions on the spot. A so-so meal isn't going to make us too cranky. So I like the planning and then leaving it up to serendipity after that.

I love the research and planning stage, but aside from plane and hotel reservations all I do is write out a rough itinerary for my days because some things are only once-a-week occurrences and I'd hate to miss them. I don't buy tickets for any sites ahead of time, but since I know I need to be in Budapest on a certain date I took advantage of the Spar Schiene fare and booked my train ticket. Salzburg and Bratislava I'll just buy at the station.

Even though I am here on this site and try to help the 'planners', when I have some info to share, I am in the "Ed group" when it comes to my own trips. I have most often landed with no hotel reservations , an idea of where I am going and a rental car. Some people don't like surprises on their trips... it is the reason I travel. I don't want to be tied to an agenda or an itinerary...so it might cost a few more dollars (usually not....I travel pretty cheap) the result for me is the freedom I have on my trip and that is priceless. I could end up having to leave the most incredible place in the world because my cheap train ticket is telling me I have to go... not for me. I want my trip to be as flexible and spontaneous as possible... certainly not the kind of trip for everyone, but I love traveling as free as possible. .Saving dollars is important to me but I can find plenty of ways to save money that are not tied to a strict agenda.
My Plan A, B and C ... What plan?:))

Everyone needs to do what makes their trip the best for them. I do spend a lot of time planning what camera equipment and clothing I am going to take...and I have a fairly efficient packing plan:)

I plan more when I travel during the high season and/or if it is my first time visiting a particular city. And by planning I mean having a rough idea of what I want to do each day and purchasing tickets in situations where it will save me a lot of money or a lot of time waiting in line. But even in this situation, I leave a 1/4-1/3 of my days completely unplanned. On a return trip, I will "wing it".

Since I can't travel 100% of the time, the planning tides me over until my trip. I agree with the others who enjoy the research/planning stages.

I think also that there is no right answer. You don't have to plan a lot ahead, but there is nothing wrong with doing so. People have to do what is comfortable for them. I am one of those people who first like to plan because I find it fun and it helps me get through months and months of no travel until my next trip. Second, if I did not have hotel reservations, if I didn't know what trains I was going to take and if I needed advance tickets or not, if I didn't know what I wanted to do in each location and how to go about doing it, I would be stressed and not have a good trip. In my opinion you can only over-think the plans if you end up with more plans than you feel comfortable with.

just a comment.

so far i havent seen anyone say they "100% wing it".

to some degree or another everyone has planned their trip(s) to a degree.

People say they are not planners, but in my opinion they are, its just a matter of degree.

happy trails.

If it floats your boat to plan your entire vacation down to the last hour (not common, but we see it here sometimes), who am I to object? I wouldn't want to follow such a rigid schedule and it can easily all fall apart like a house of cards... but, your vacation, your time, your money, not mine.

What I don't quite understand, though, is this trend I've noticed within the last two years trying to reserve every and anything possible. I can understand maybe for very popular museums, Michelin-starred restaurants, and other very limited-access experiences... but mountain excursions and boat tours (not reservable anyway)?

I just miss here on the forum too much the sence of adventure.

Adventure (per Merriam-Webster) "an undertaking usually involving danger and unknown risks" is different than limited to no planning/organizing an expensive vacation in Europe that will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for some.

I not sure where Joan or others want to go with this question. This is not the backpacking crowd that says, I will see you in three months. Everyone plans at least a little. Generally you need to have a in and out flight schedule. The least amount of planning, not recently, we have done is to know the airline schedule and have hotel reservations for the first and last nights. Twenty years ago it was harder to make advance reservations but the internet has changed that. We are not control freaks and have not spent a night in a rail station although we were close once.