The "work" of travel

The "work" has become so much easier with the internet for sure. I pay all of my bills online and I can't remember the last time I reconciled a bank account - few bills - few transactions!

I use google & maps for almost everything - finding restaurants, hotels, directions, finding laundromats, info/history about the things/places we are, translation

In the past I would have 5 or 6 tour books with me - now everything is digital - so much easier

We travel on the fly mostly so changing plans is rarely an issue but never a problem

On trips longer than 3 weeks we have been known to take a day off - just to chill

I use the time at night or on the train for most of my in trip research - booking a hotel for our next location, checking out the public transportation system, checking the train schedule for the time of the train we want

Our next trip is 80 days - our last trip after 42 days we were not ready to go home - we'll see how we do with 80!

I could definitely spend the fabled year in Europe! Unfortunately my bank account can not!

Hi Laurel - For me it's much the same as you mention. I'm currently planning a 12-night trip (plus a five-night Paris bonus) for three generations in August, and also thinking about how that makes me the tour guide for all of us when we're actually there. So I guess I would add that - for this 8-person trip I'll also have the stress of being the only one who "knows" everything and really being responsible for people's happiness on the trip (well, even as I read it, I know people are responsible for their own happiness, but you know what I mean).

Another element I would add is the nightly downloading of photos, sharing via blog or FB etc.

Luckily my group (my family, celebrating my parents' 50th wedding anniversary, which actually was yesterday) has been very generous in sharing their thanks for the preparations i've undertaken so far, and seem committed to staying flexible. So I think we have a good shot, but still it's a long time to keep that many people happy (especially given the money the adults are spending to do this, and we're not doing a particularly luxurious trip!!!).

Laurel,

What an interesting topic! I can certainly relate to the "work of travel" as I spend months in planning before I ever set foot on a plane. As I usually travel for 1-2 months at a time, there's a lot of preparation involved, and my goal is to do as much work as I can in advance, so that there will be as little as possible to do on holiday and I can just enjoy the destinations.

My work before travel includes......

• Preparing a detailed Itinerary and transportation list.
• Checking medical coverage and vaccinations.
• Pre-program all necessary bill payments for the time I'll be away.
• Arrange home & pet care
• Arrange funds in travel accounts as required.
• Notify all financial institutions of travel plans.

My work during travel includes.....

• Doing laundry when necessary (I typically use a combination of sink washing every couple of nights for smaller items, along with laundromats when needed for larger items).
• Diarizing each day's activities in the evening, once I'm finished touring for the day.
• Blogging when I have time (as long as I have the details recorded in the diary, that can be done at any time).
• Checking E-mail to keep in touch with family, sending text messages when necessary to let them know where I am.
• Backing up some of my photos to my Netbook at the end of each day.

My travel methods always get "fine tuned" a bit each year.

My first to-do in each city is getting to the local tourist office to pick up a paper map, list of current opening hours for the local sights, and other useful information. I visit a lot of smaller cities and towns, for which buses (typically with less complete online information) may offer better transportation that trains, so I spend time at both T.O.s and bus stations, trying to ascertain when buses will be available on the (not-cast-in-concrete) days I'll want them. As anyone dependent on public transportation knows, you inevitably have a fair amount of dead time at stations, waiting to begin the next leg of your journey. It may not be work, but it's non-travel time.

I do my own laundry at night and have a number of the other chores already mentioned, but the best decision I ever made was to set up all my recurring bills for auto-pay, even the credit cards. I'm dependent on Wi-Fi for online activities when I'm overseas, so I try to minimize payment transactions. My card companies have been willing to deal with problems that originated in the US (theft of number, occasional apparently-unintentional double charges) even after I've paid the bill.

So interesting to hear from all of you!

@Christi - Oh yes, we do everything online, but still my (former accountant spouse) must devote some time to the machinations of financial management, like paying that credit card bill as we charge tickets and hotel, and making sure our rent in Rome is paid on time. Digital books are a blessing, aren't they? And Google Maps/Google-anything fabulous, but still, it takes time that I think a lot of people do not think about on two nights here and two nights their itineraries.

@Kim - Ah the stress of travel planner. My Linked-In account lists me a "Chief Travel Planner" for the household. When I add people other than my spouse into the equation, the work level (and stress) goes up a notch. We accompanied dear friends to Venice and Florence, as well as organized their time in Roma, a couple of months ago. It was so much fun, but I felt like everyone turned to me with "Where shall we eat?" and "How do we get to ____?"

@Ken - Doing "the smalls" in the sink is my job too. :-) When there is no laundromat, the larger items as well. I dare not try sink washing major items when we are only staying two nights somewhere (which is rare). Love a self-service laundry when I can find one every week-or-so, and that's why we like apartments. We can always move on with fresh clothes. This trip we only had an apartment one time and I missed the space and that washer! Managing photos takes time, too. And my husband takes soooo many photos! (I love the pre-travel activities, BTW. That's half the fun, not work!)

@acraven - Have you looked at having a VPN (Virtual Private Network)? We find that gives us an added measure of comfort when doing transactions from overseas since we are here full time. That an HTTPS sites. I do a lot of refreshing of my info when on trains between places since I will have read the books weeks (or months!) prior, it is good to re-read the relevant segments enroute and usually I fill my husband in on details at that time.

I would love a year of travel, but cannot afford it. I do very little work while traveling as I get my bills set through bill pay ahead of time and my itinerary, tickets etc... I guess I do my laundry in the sink, but otherwise try to have a real vacation.

Regarding the need to back up photos-I assume that's from a camera because an iPhone with iCloud turned on and with sufficient space will automatically back up?

I just returned last night from a month long trip. May 11th to June 11th.

Seven flights ( six intereuropeon)
Ten hotels ( two were just one night airport stays for 6 am type flights)
One train( Thalys Amsterdam Paris)
Two ferry rides.

Several prebooked tours ( Rural Pub tour Dublin, Bike tour France, Boat Tour Amsterdam)

Prearranged transfers for one 1,5 hour commute out of city to small town for six of us( taxi would have been more expensive)

EXHAUSTING

EXHAUSTED.

NEVER AGAIN.

It was not all the moving about really.. It was much more stressful as I was THE planner for 6 lazy#sses.. sorry.. just tired.. lol

We would arrive in a place ( lets say somewhere a bit well known.. like Paris) and they would say " so what is there to do here"

I started to lose it by then ( this was week 3.5)

They would say " well Ive never been to Paris and you have".. and I would say " you knew about this trip for MONTHS and you did no research.. "

I am never ever doing this again.

Every day it would be " so whats the plan today" "when is our flight ( they all had been forwarded all info) ..etc.

This was not a fun trip for me.. and I loved most of my travel companions.. which was an ever changing group of up to five others besides my hubby and I.. friends met us for part of visits.. family joined us for parts etc.. .. There was however my daughters friend who I wanted to strangle.. " I hate musuems can we go" after an hour at Louvre.. when suggested she leave ( she is 20 and had been travelling Europe for a month before they met up with us.. so very independent ) she'd roll her eyes and sigh and say "no that's fine" and then hump along dejectedly with us.. ( I suggested she go shopping .. I suggested a walk in Tuilleries.. I wanted her to go.. and my daughter and her boyfriend were loving the museum ( my daughters 3rd visit) so they were not going to leave.

I have ten days to go on a 68 night trip.

When completed it will have encompassed:

--21 hotel check ins
-nine flights
--seven rail journeys
--seven countries

Since starting:
--I've caught two colds and a few days of travelers tummy
--I've changed hotels twice after check in and once before.
--I'm supposed to work on my website but I've been procrastinating.
--I try to send laundry out as much as possible rather than do it myself. (But I still wind up doing some.)
--I gave up the idea of nightlife to try to rest as much as possible.
--I only planned some flights and hotels ahead of time. Some places I read about on my train or plane journey to there. (I wanted to see if I could wing it.).
--my bills are paid automatically although I do check them regularly. I've had to deal with a couple of mistakes online since calling would cost me a fortune.

I get to go "home" for eight days before I go out again for a few months. I only have the first week of that trip planned and it starts in 2 1/2 weeks. So I'm planning my next trip while I'm still on this one.

To put it bluntly--I'm tired, I'm cranky and I'm stressed. I have to admit I'm getting old, I'm out of shape and I just don't have the energy I had thirty years ago.

But I'm still enjoying myself

Too funny Laurel - am a recovering accountant! There was a time I tracked every penny - mostly out of necessity for tax purposes. Life is much simpler now - I pay for every thing by credit card then pay cc bill. A quick once over of the charges and I'm done! I have my phone from home with an international plan and use that for for my wifi when making online financial transactions or other wifi is not available.

I am the travel planner - DH shows up! It is a huge undertaking planning for others - you always feel responsible for their having a good time and picking all of the right places to see or eat or stay.

Frank II - when you are ready to retire I'd like to apply!

We have been planning a four week drive tour of England and Wales next October, then returning to the USA via a transatlantic cruise.

The selection of places to visit is the first stage of the planning process. DW and I are both British history fans, so that helps. Also, most of our ancestors are from the British Isles. Our selection of places will be influenced by, but not governed by places where our ancestors originated from. A guide book like Rick Steves Great Britain is helpful as well as some internet research.

Since we want to see the country side and some of the towns we want to visit are not accessible by train, we will rent a car. It appears that one decision regarding a vehicle's transmission is a costly one. I have driven on the left in England before and can do it, but don't want to have the additional worry of shifting a manual transmission with my left hand.

Driving a car adds another element to planning. Parking is expensive in many British cities, so I will try to book us hotels or B&Bs in central locations that provide parking. Also, I will likely purchase a Garmin GPS to assist with navigation.

Since we have been to London, we are skipping London for this trip. Also, the SE of England, since just getting to a place like Canterbury might involve the M25 parking lot.

We have lots of ancestors from all over England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, but cannot do all four countries in four weeks. We plan to start in Bath, then move on to Cardiff, Pembroke and South Wales where my ancestors came from in 1716. Then we move on to the Cotswolds, Warwick, perhaps Nottingham to York where we will stay 3-4 days then taking in Durham, Hadrian's Wall, over to the NW and the Lake country, then back down to Winchester, Arundel Castle (ancestor from there) and to Southampton.

Planning such a trip requires checking things like parking, planning on when to do laundry (understand Brits call laundromats launderettes. Also, we plan to not drive more than two hours on any one day, except for perhaps three of the 28 days.

When booking hotels or B&Bs I use TripAdvisor to assist as well as Kayak for pricing, but book directly with the hotel. One plan that will minimize moving hotels is to stay in the Cotswolds and drive from Chipping Camden to Oxford, Blenheim, Stratford on Avon and other places nearby, but staying in one place for 6 days, with one day to rest and do laundry.

Financial planning is important and one must consider not only hotels, meals, fuel, rental car, parking, but the cost of museums or admissions to sites of interest.

We have some British friends that we met on a cruise and will likely stay a few days with them. It should be great fun. Planning such a trip allows me to enjoy it in advance and perhaps enjoy it more when doing so.

Hi,

We take shorter trips than most here, 10 nights is the norm. We book flights, rooms, the car and go. No maps, no GPS, no itinerary of must see sights, etc. We go to relax in the Austrian and Bavarian alps in general. The preparing for the trip is still a pain.

My travel work is much preferred to my regular work, which is frazzling, to say the least. My usual 2 weeks abroad are a blissful respite from cleaning the cat box (thanks to my wonderful dad who cares for my home & cats), commuting and all the rest of the everyday minutiae.

I schedule bills in advance or pay using my phone, pay check is direct deposit so that's never been a problem. I do sink laundry. Once I've arrived I do sometimes rearrange my itinerary, which will typically have a couple of definites for certain days as I've bought a ticket in advance, but otherwise I keep it flexible.

That's where the work comes in--every night I do my logistics for the next day, I already know what I plan to see and the order, just need to sort out metro stops, etc. I'm good at reading metro maps and all but like to have it sorted so I can stride forth into the metro with confidence..

The feeling of being a stranger in a strange land, i.e. navigating in a foreign language, can sometimes wear on me, as does not having a satisfying conversation for sometimes days at a time (I travel solo). I do call my parents every couple of days, this is normal for us and we need that contact, otherwise my best friend keeps me going with IMs when I'm in my room at night or morning. Keeping up with anything more than that would take away from the respite that is a vacation.

pat's post should be a must read for those inclined, but not yet committed, to organizing and leading a trip with relatives/friends.

So many valid points already noted but will share my habit which lessens the "work" arriving at my destination then again on returning home. I love the planning and find researching locations, knowing the history helps one appreciate the culture, community and, individual highlights much better but, once there love to just relax & take it all in. I travel to Europe from the West coast of Canada 3-6 weeks per year using one carry-on bag. I wear something comfy on the plane but something I'm tired of or is getting to the point of discarding (but still looks fine) and then change my top & undies at the airport washroom & discard those items...arriving at my hotel or B&B in fresh clothes aka no laundry. On my return I similarly discard items I don't want anymore but save one last "throw away" set for the return flight allowing me to land home after 15 or so of flights somewhat refreshed. Bonus: no laundry to do once home and, my carry-on had space for the odd purchases while travelling. I did this when travelling with my three daughters when they were young which saved SOOO much work.

I love to travel and I love planning. The work part for me is transportation. I love figuring out where to go and where to stay, but how to get there - it's just not fun and can take a lot of time. Right now I'm trying to figure out what kind of pass to get for five days in Switzerland in the fall (the tail end of a trip to northern Italy). I'm also looking up train and bus schedules for Italy to get an idea of what our options are. It's boring and tedious.

Once I'm on the trip, transportation is again the work part, at least the flight over and back. The train rides are generally enjoyable. If we rent a car, it stresses my husband out. We've had disasters trying to find where we are staying, so now I do that work beforehand I go so I know exactly how to get there. Sink laundry is a minor pain. Mostly the trip (at least between the flights) is just fun.

Well, this trip involved more "work" than usual. I am in night 30 of an 89-night trip. So far I have had to borrow a friend's computer to finish a paper I had to submit for a conference in Roma in July (on a German keyboard, no less); had to translate menus for six Americans at a weekend of birthday festivities, as well as give touring info to this group for another four days (the 20 Europeans got along fine without me).

My stupid Ohio mom&pop bank told me I had to call them to renew travel notification every 30 days (no online service for this); so yeah, this is work. But ...I AM IN ITALIA!!! All is right with the world.

I think there is a lot of stuff in the planning phase that is work as well. Some of it is fun, mostly the early parts of planning when I am considering the possibilities of an itinerary. Trying to figure out what's possible without being too rushed, is traveling between one stop and the other possible in a day without it being too much of a grind (e.g. really long drives or train rides) starts our being an interesting puzzle, but it can get pretty arduous too. One reason why we have such great trips is that I plan very meticulously, but at a certain point it becomes less fun and more work. I do tend to obsess about things. Trying to optimize for hotel location, price, quality, etc. can be tough too. My wife does not have the patience for the details, and is not willing to help on all of this. When we are traveling I am responsible for figuring out practical items out like how to catch the bus to an outlying sight, whether we can fit sight A, B, and C into one day, and so on. I have learned to plan itineraries to make things easier for us, with more margin for error, and to be content with seeing less, which makes it somewhat less exhausting to do all this "work" while overseas. Also longer stays in each stop so that you do not end up having to do the work of learning the ropes in a new place as often. I also find it a lot of work to pack up for the next move, making sure that I have everything.

@ Pat - Wow! I only had to do that for 8 nights with visiting friends and was ready to explode! We met my son (who likes to fly by the seat of his pants) in London and rather than endure his taunts that I over plan everything and am not spontaneous, I did not plan 2 of the 5 days we were together, so of course I got "what's the plan" first thing in the AM!

I've had friends suggest I plan trips for people (I would, but no longer for free as I have been taken advantage of) and to lead their friends around. Ha! Not a chance. Anyone who leads groups deserves a medal.

@Zoe - Continued happy travels and we'll see you in August! In bocca al lupo at the conference!

@VS - I concur entirely with your statement below

I have learned to plan itineraries to make things easier for us, with more margin for error, and to be content with seeing less, which makes it somewhat less exhausting to do all this "work" while overseas. Also longer stays in each stop so that you do not end up having to do the work of learning the ropes in a new place as often.

We like 5 to 7 nights in a spot, but sometimes a spot is not worth that much time. More and more I am planning our trips for locations worthy of longer stays for these very reasons.

We all see people on this board asking concurrence for their agendas of 2 nights - 2 nights - 2 nights - 2 nights. They may have looked at a fast-paced Rick Steves tour and figured if a tour can do it, so can they. But it is this "work" of orienting, confirming, navigating, figuring out where to eat every day twice-a-day, and so on that makes a short stay so much work for the independent traveler. If you have a guide (like Pat!) you do not experience these things.

Thanks everyone for the interesting discussion.

One thing that makes travel easier for me is traveling alone. I have changed my plans five or six times while waiting for a local bus. I now have a 3-night minimum so I am not rushing around, and in larger cities it's 5-7 nights.

My two fiends, with whom I spend two weeks each summer, are also easy to travel with. We like the spontaneity of unplanned days, choosing restaurants by following our noses, etc. We each say what we want to do/see, sometimes it doesn't happen, but something else does. This week, after twelve days of countryside, I booked us into Bologna for three nights; I was suffering urban withdrawal. It was difficult finding our way into the city hotel with a car, but we were laughing about it after a nap.

Zoe,

"One thing that makes travel easier for me is traveling alone. I have changed my plans five or six times while waiting for a local bus. I now have a 3-night minimum so I am not rushing around, and in larger cities it's 5-7 nights."

I definitely agree! I also find it easier travelling alone (although I also enjoy some time with a RS tour). There have been many occasions where I decided to change my pre-planned sightseeing to take advantage of a serendipitous opportunity. Travelling alone means I can turn on a dime according to circumstances at the time.

Reading this topic brought an old joke to mind. Some soldiers are sitting around after a pretty grueling day and the subject turns to sex. One kid says sex is 90% work, 10% fun, and they begin to analyze how much of sex is work and how much is fun. Finally, another kid gets tired of the argument after a while and says it's 100% fun and he can prove it. They look at him in amazement and he says, "Dang - if there was any work in it, the Sarge would have us doing it."

Pat, I sympathize totally! I have traveled with people who depended on me, and me alone, to entertain them and arrange everything - and then they complained. It is demoralizing. I think this entire thread should be required reading for some of the newbies here - the ones for whom it is their first trip and they are planning to travel for 30 days and want to see 10 cities in three countries. It is hard for them to understand just how exhausting and tedious some of the travel "work" can be, and just how much time it can take for everyday tasks. As for me, I need writing time each evening. I have found that it is easier to stay in touch with home by writing a blog. My parents can follow along, and they know that I made it through the day (I travel alone a lot). My routine bills/banking/appointments are usually done ahead before I leave, as is most of my research, since I LOVE the planning part.

Traveling alone definitely has benefits. You'll be doing all the "work," but only to please yourself. If you make a mistake, there's nobody else to disappoint.

For long-term travel, you'd probably give yourself more flexibility. When I traveled for periods of 6 months or more, I did it with 2-3 night stays at many stops (with more time in cities like London, Paris, Venice, Vienna), but also had complete flexibility to change plans if weather was bad, or I overslept, etc. I've mentioned here before that I read (and agree) that there's sort of a hump at the 3-month point; once you get past that, your rhythm is set and you know you can do the full year. But the lack of cats to cuddle is serious, so you have to take the cats where you can find them.

Many interesting posts, and nice to know others have had the fristration of planning trips for others!

I can honestly say i will never do that again. Its like last time i agreed to be excutrix for an old friend of my moms, having done it for my mom also, never again.

Next trip is going to be a week in the sun somewhere.

I am with Carroll - which is why we like the My Way tours. I can plan my own sightseeing, but even than takes an enormous amount of work in advance. At least as long as I'm working full time (plus), and we're forced to travel in summer because hubby is a teacher, the My Way tours work well for us. If we could go off season and fly by the seats of our pants, that would be preferred.

Situations change, how we manage travel will change, but never will I plan a trip for anyone other than my spouse and step daughter!!

I do our trip planning for my husband and run things by him (mostly with eye rolls). If he ever starts complaining, I firmly say, when you do the planning, then you can complain.

We leave Saturday for Europe- my husband flies back July 4th, and I fly back July 11th. But try adding in all the other complications of life over the past two months and next two months. My job of 12 years ends this Wednesday. New job starts July 18th, Get house ready to go on market to sell by the end of April, close on home sale by end of May, 3 trips down to Monterrey to find and sign contract on new house. Packing old house, 4 trips to dump, more packing and salvation army trips, shopping for refrigerator for new house, April- changed the dates of our trip to fall between jobs, which was basically like starting all over 2 months before our trip. (fortunately it was just changing dates for lodging), more trip planning for Paris and London since I extended my trip 6 weeks ago. More boxes to pack Thursday and Friday before we leave on Saturday. Pack for our trip. Arrive back home, close on new house, move, unpack, start new job. Wheewwwww!!!!

No wonder both my husband and I came down with colds last week. Hopefully we'll be healthy by Saturday.

I do all the planning ahead of time so there is isn't any planning while we travel. We usually take a 4 week trip. I pay bills before we go (sometimes pre-paying if we leave mid month). I confirm everything before we go and occasionally will confirm our accommodations during the trip if it is required for me to do so.

So the only work on the trip is laundry (every ten days so we do it twice), and then every evening I download the photos of the day and write my blog about our day, but I don't consider that "work" it is my downtime.

I really over plan our trips! I already have researched restaurants and their locations/prices, sometimes we go to them and sometimes we don't. I have already pre loaded our navigation with locations we will drive to, bought maps ( I like paper along with the nav) etc. I have googled the neighborhood and "walked" the streets. I already have tickets for things we had to book ahead and I have plans mapped out for each day. Generally I have ideas planned, grouping things together if we are in city, or locations that are close by each other for the countryside, BUT we are very flexible choosing what we feel like doing from the already planned itinerary, or changing it if we find something different.

I do a lot of work ahead of time, starting to plan at least 9 months ahead working off and on as I feel like it. But, it is fun, sometimes overwhelming so starting so far out gives me a break when I'm stressed out. I feel like the better I do in pre-planning the easier and smoother the trip goes. I love going without a care in the world and enough info already learned to get the most out of the trip.

Oh Pat! What a time you had!

I was fearful Pat's experience would happen to me when my brother, SIL and their 2 adult kids and I decided to go to Italy for the first time in 2013. We opted for a RS tour which I was so thankful for....did not have to plan everyone's sightseeing daily or nag the kids to get up. Guide set the meet-up time, kids were usually the first ones there. It worked perfectly and everyone had a great time, including me! Also didn't have to figure out transportation from city to city which was a plus.

Since then I have discovered I really like to travel solo with a combo of Rick Steves tours and independent time. Over the last 2 years I have done my independent time in London/Salisbury/Bath as well as Paris. It is easy for me to plan my time in those places. I do find that the arrival day and the first full day I need to do some concrete planning for activities as I am a little shy about getting out and around. The rest of the time I have a daily schedule in place but am OK with deviation.

Over the weekend I had to spend a couple of hours re-arranging my return flights as Delta completely cancelled the direct LHR/SLC flight on my departure day and rebooked me thru MSP to SLC. That would not have been bad but they only gave me 1h20m transit time which I knew would be stressful trying to get thru Immigration/Customs. I've been backed up in the customs line for 25 minutes there when they did not have enough staff at the desks. (yes, customs...not immigration!) I did have to do work to research my options before I got on the phone with CS...and no I would not take a transit in ATL with 1h30m thru immigration. Good Grief.

Travel work now includes monitoring the rail strike in France and the possibility of flight disruption as well. Hopefully it will be sorted by August! Also am now obsessively checking my Delta reservation...lol.

I also regularly have a number of recurring bills on auto-pay thru my bank but also pre-pay anything else. I try to pay off all my credit cards even if the bill is not due yet. Want to start with ZERO balance showing.

I agree with someone upthread - can't imagine being a tour guide altho it is your job and not your vacation so that reframes it a bit!

Too true MrsEB. Our latest 18-night adventure of 3 & 4-night stays is what caused me to bring up this topic. We prefer a couple of weeks in no more than 3 places, with a "centerpiece" stay of 7 nights. We soon leave on a trip to one place for 4 weeks -- for the first time -- and I am so looking forward to settling in as a temporary local. The 18-night trip we took was much like so many trips we see on the Forum and it tired me out, yet it is difficult to see many places without bopping around with short stays. Just a different type of travel and people planning trips (especially first timers) should be aware of the things-to-do that are not all fun, that are mundane, that need time.

I like traveling alone too! So much less to worry about. This year will be my first trip alone in years. It's so much easier to only worry about your issues rather than having to handle everyone else's, let alone keeping others entertained (in the manner to which they have become accustomed).

I read a theory on why your life seems to speed by so quickly. It said our brain is on autopilot during our daily routines, so almost all of the day is forgotten. When you travel, you're challenging your mind, so your days are memorable and seem fuller/longer. It's also supposed to help stave off the affects of age on your brain - I think of it as atrophy. The challenges, like planning an alternative because of a train strike, might literally be the best part of travel.

That said, I also reach a travel limit where I want to spend time at a home base. I seem to handle 25 percent of my time travelling fairly well. When it gets to 50 or more, I just want to get home and relax.

I think my single biggest piece of "work" when planning and going on a trip is getting my husband to agree with my idea of places, activities and budgets. If it were solely up to him, he would pick the cheapest possible option every time and he isn't quite as open to the idea of splurging every now and then, be it on something expensive (for example, staying in a nice apartment or hotel room with amazing city views) or something "pointless" (going on the London Eye). Believe me, there are definitely things I appreciate about his frugal nature, but when it comes to travel, I tend to come from a place of "I don't know when I will be here again to experience this, even if it's just a great view?" whereas he comes from a place of "what's the point of this?" So, some bickering ensues sometimes, but I think in the end we meet somewhere in the middle and usually have a great time :)

Wow, I'm glad I read through this thread to know others experience my same frustration. First for the work, I plan very detailed ahead of time. That is work, but I enjoy it. On trips I still spend a little time each morning or evening going over the plan for the next day, updating and checking transportation information, etc. I do sink laundry every few days. Of course every change of location involves the work of repacking, and the stress of making all the transportation connections and not getting lost doing so! All of this work is so much better than my daily life work that I don't mind it at all. I often plan trips that are part solo and part with a travel partner. Whenever I have a travel partner, I do all the planning. That is fine because I enjoy it, but it is more stressful when you are planning for someone else. I always have a plan for every day, and sometimes either something doesn't work out, or my travel partner decides not to do one of the activities, or we just take less time doing part of the plan than I expect. Then I will get the, "What are we doing next?" question. Oh, how I hate that question!

I can definitely sympathize with those of you that found it difficult to travel within a group. I just came back from a 15 night trip to Italy with my husband, two daughters (19 & 22), and my in-laws (in good shape 73 year olds). We had been planning the trip for about a year and as soon as my in-laws caught wind of it, they invited themselves along...and there begins the saga.

I was the chief planner of the trip and I had given our detailed itinerary to my in-laws months before the trip, along with the Rick Steve's pocket guides to Rome, Florence and Venice. No feedback, no questions asked until one week before the trip when my MIL asked how we were getting to the places on our 1st day in Rome (our hotel near Ponte Sisto to Borghese Gallery with stops at the piazzas, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Pincio Hill, etc.), even though I had walking times between the stops on our itinerary. Uh oh, first warning goes off in my head. I explain that we will walk but that we would certainly help them find a taxi if they prefer not to. Well, they walked..and they complained... but not to me or my husband, to my daughters..and they complained specifically about me, as I was chief planner.

The best moment of the trip was in Cinque Terre, when we were going to hike from Monterosso to Vernazza. Our B&B owner let my in-laws know that it was a rigorous hike and we explained to them that they could take the train and meet us in Vernazza, but they insisted on going and actually seemed to be doing well. My husband and younger daughter are fast walkers and were the ones ahead of all of us, while my other daughter and I kept an eye on my in-laws, stopping multiple times when we could to let them catch up to the group. Yet after the hike they told my daughter that the hike was difficult for them because we were going too fast and it was because I wanted to ensure we make it to our lunch reservation on time! Never mentioned the reservation until we actually made it to Vernazza and we were 35 minutes early, and their son was the one 15 feet ahead of the whole crew the whole time! This time, I had to say something so I calmly approached them and let them know that they can ask us to slow down at any time. My MIL quickly started walking away so she didn't have to listen to the conversation and my FIL seriously suggested that maybe I was going so fast because I wanted to get an aerobic workout. Exactly! Whenever I want to get an aerobic workout I spend 15k, use up 11 vacation days and fly my whole family to Europe!

The fun didn't end there. We had private tour guides for a few of the sites we visited. Multiple times, my in-laws would walk away as the guide talked to us in depth about a specific part of the site so that they could take pictures of another area. I thought that was a bit rude, and why miss out on the wonderful knowledge being shared with us? I listened to my MIL complain that the Venerians don't know how to cook vegetables, that the vaporetto and train systems are "stupid" because we had to stamp our tickets, and that the Italians do not smile much. Mid-way through the trip, my FIL asked what the significance of Florence was. A mini lesson of the Renaissance was given and still, when we got there he asked about the significance of the Duomo and pointed out some spires to my husband asking if they were mosques. All of us had to stay clear of my FIL whenever we were traveling to our next stop since his backpack was so overstuffed that it extended two feet beyond his back (ok, slight exaggeration!) and he was totally unaware of the people around him. It was so bad that when we were getting settled into our seats on one train an Italian man, in perfect English, told him that if he wasn't careful he would "kill someone with that backpack.."

Ok, rant over. Dealing with my in-laws and trying to keep my mouth shut was the "work" on my trip. Yet, I still had a wonderful time. Croatia (without in-laws) next!

@Fran - That is some story! Should be re

@Fran - That is some story! Should be required reading -- along with several other stories above -- for people thinking of organizing friends and family on a trip!

Many great thoughts here. I love the pre-trip planning, and I love the trips, God-knows, I just wanted to discuss what many newbies do not know: there's stuff to do while on-the-road like re-confirming, changing plans due to weather, learning local transportation, laundry, and life. Great discussion!

Oh my Fran! Next time I'd keep the trip on the QT!

Fran,
I am the trip planner in the family and have always enjoyed that role. Knowing what there is to see were you are going and how you are going to see it saves time and in some ways I get to enjoy it twice, once planning then the actual visit.

Regarding those who invite themselves, I could tell you some stories on that account.

How about an 70 year old Aunt in law that complained about not having butter with the bread for lunch or dinner (in Europe you get butter only at breakfast). She complained about a lot more and it became tiresome. Still, the big issue became that she refused to pay her portion of the check when we all (there were 6 of us) dined together. I was in charge of paying the checks, since four of the six were my family. She refused to pay for the cost of the table, which Italian restaurants charge, any kind of tip, and would sometimes pickup other people's wine and drink it.

Also, she complained about the trip that I had planned and wanted to go elsewhere. We did make a slight change of plans.

Needless to say, I was not happy that she came along. Then the following year, she invited herself again. I refused to pick up the check this time and fortunately the sixth person in the group did that.

Sometimes your relatives are what they are.

Reading all of these has made me feel so much calmer about the trip we leave on in two weeks and brought back memories of our previous trips! Because sometimes you think you are all alone in wanting to throw your travel companions into the canal in Venice.

I actually did threaten our then 11 year old son with this on a past trip. We had checked into our apartment in Venice and while we were busy admiring the view from the balcony, he discovered the espresso maker. Before we noticed he made and drank 4 espressos. All night long, every 20 minutes he wandered into our bedroom to tell us he was still awake. At about 3 a.m. I did, quite reasonably I feel, tell him he was going into the canal unless he stayed put. Needless to say, the next day was not our best.

We have traveled to Europe several times with our kids and as they get older we have to adjust our expectations. One is now an young adult and travels on her own. And with such newfound confidence tends to wander off with her phone turned off. The other is 16 and really likes to sleep in and he is hungry every 5 minutes.

So, we feel quite happy to abandon them both and leave them to sleep in and go out for an early morning wander just the two of us. We need this time to recharge, laugh at them and remember why the heck we do this.

Our imminent trip is 35 days long. Eight days will be spent with another family with kids the same age. And then 4 days with my parents as we intersect on their two week Scotland trip.

No one will read the emails I have sent. Our eldest child was surprised to hear we we going to Switzerland. Even though this has been a matter of discussion for about a year and is on the trip iCal they are all have. My parents now leave all their planning up to me and I have to just smile when they tell everyone what a great trip they planned as they are such great trip planners! Our friends don't like to plan so leave it up to me. So when it is not to their liking I hear about it.

Sigh. It is worth the work though! All the irritations fade and you do make great memories. I better write that down and keep it with me during our trip...

Yes, MrsEB, funnier in retrospect! The next day he kept complaining about how tired he was and actually asked if he could have an espresso. He is barred for life.

Ms L - Must have been a nice, easy Nespresso machine. Great story!

Laurel, unfortunately it was! He can move fast when he wants to!

It is great when with a little time these can turn into stories that are fun to remember.

So the tire (tyre?!) lost in Cornwall that resulted in being lost in the dark and finding an ancient tomb, the dress blown up over my head by an air grate on a busy street in Paris, the time we missed the Eurostar due to a dodgy cab driver that culminated in me yelling "I love you Emile!" to the conductor who got us on the next one- now all good memories!

We have done all the work for the past 9 months or so to get us ready for this trip. You prepare as much as you can so you can roll with the unexpected!

Thank You Everyone for posting. I have often thought it would be 'fun' to invite family or friends along on our trips. You have shown me the correct way.
My husband loves to do all the planning, flights, transportation, routes and accommodations. I like the planning of luggage, clothing and belongings for both of us, the 'to do' list of things before we leave.
We have learned from our trips that 3 weeks is the minimum, limit of at least 4 nights at each stop. Once on the trip we collaborate on the days activities.
We have learned to enjoy getting off the beaten path of tourists. Thankfully my husband enjoys languages and prides himself in speaking several.

While I enjoy the planning phase of travel abroad, I have found it useful to schedule the independent travel portion of our monthlong European trips first, then link to a Rick Steves trip. Since my husband chose not to participate in the planning, he relied on me to tell him the schedule for the day, translate menus, etc. Two weeks of this is akin to travelling with a toddler, and I have been known to snap and tell him I've had enough of being in charge and he has to begin to pick up the slack and make some decisions. That's where the organization and the camaderie of a Rick Steves trip comes in handy. Prevents a lot of marital discord.

Patricia you are right. That is a seldom-mentioned advantage to going with a tour. Saves a lot of arguing and bad feelings.

In terms of pre trip preparations and tasks that I loathe as tiresome necessities.
1) Visas - Organising visas for countries that require them is a right royal pain - online forms, documentation, photos, fees, couriers.
2) Vaccinations & medication - Another boring necessity that also eats a lot of cash when you choose to holiday in more exotic locations.
3) Electronica - Making sure you have gathered together all the necessary chords, chargers, batteries, memory cards, adaptor plugs etc etc. Then you have to consider how you are going to use your phone/tablet/laptop whilst away and take any necessary steps to avoid exorbitant charges.
4) Banking - Ensuring your cards will work exactly as intended when you are away, as well as letting all your card issuers know of your travel plans.
5) Insurance - I do this easily online now, so it's much less of a chore than it used to be.
6) Packing - Once you've decided what you're taking, you then have to ensure everything is laundered, ironed, folded (or rolled).

I think it's important for the enjoyment of your trip that absolutely nothing becomes considered as work while you are travelling. Barring any dramatic unforeseen circumstances, the only real chores to be faced on a daily basis are the constant repacking, managing the laundry and coordinating transport arrangements. However, transport headaches can be minimised with careful planning, building in lots of safety time getting to airports and train stations, as well as avoiding dangerously short connection times.

I would echo the sentiment it is only "work" when I have to travel with friends or family as I am automatically the one they look to when it comes time to plan the day's activities, quickly figure out how to get from Point A to Point B via the local public transit or long-distance trains, read street maps and serve as navigator when walking around a city or town, and be the one tasked with finding great restaurants that aren't full of other tourists and exciting nightlife.

At this point, I will only agree to travel with a very select group of friends or family members that I know are easy going, low-maintenance and willing to travel under the condition that if they are too lazy to figure any of this out on their own, then they just relinquished all rights to b#tch and complain if something goes wrong or they don't enjoy something as much as they expected to. They also have to agree to give me a certain amount of space and time on my own because there are inevitably things that I really want to do that I know they won't enjoy, or I just want some alone time where I can do whatever I want at my own pace.

I did the "Year Around the World" trip on my own and learned from that tremendously. The first couple of months I was traveling at too frenetic of a pace and I got exhausted and really sick which forced me to slow it down so it wouldn't feel like "work". You also realize when it is worthwhile to throw a little bit of money at something to save yourself "work". It's not 1906 so why would I want to stand around my hotel room scrubbing my underwear and shirts in the tub or bathroom sink when I can stop in at the nearest coin-op laundromat to wash and dry everything at once for about 6 Euro (and have an interesting conversation with a local in the process)? Or if I don't want to spend my time in a laundromat waiting on my clothes, is it really so much of a budget buster to spend 10 Euro to have the laundromat wash, dry and fold my clothes for me in the interest of getting on with my day?

With smart phones or an iPad and free WiFi just about everywhere you go these days, I find it pretty easy to do research on the ground as I move along throughout my day. I can now do research sitting in a restaurant waiting for my dinner, in a pub while I'm having a drink, resting my feet for 10 mins while sitting on a bench in the middle of a museum, or in my hotel room at the end of the night.

I guess there is always FaceTime or Skype to see your cats who have been left in someone else's care, but it's definitely just not the same as getting to rub under their chins and hearing them purr.

Pat, I feel your pain. I would never put myself through that. Have heard too many horror stories from relatives and friends who have travelled as a group. Travelling from 'down under' we never have less than 4 weeks away. Not worth it . All our bills are handled by direct debit. Hand wash our smalls daily and when we have 3-4 days in one place, we use the laundrette. We have researched/booked B & B's, trains, tours etc. before leaving home. I print off Google maps before I leave home, so know where to meet for tours, train departures etc. In other words, I put in hundreds of hours at this end to minimise 'the work' when on holiday.

Whenever I start planning a trip, I use Excel. I put in Date, Location, Transportation, Accommodations and Entertainment/Attractions. From there I whittle things down to meet our needs. I also try to limit Entertainment/Attractions to one in the morning and one in the afternoon/evening. Once I have gone over the spreadsheet a half dozen times, I turn it over to my wife for review. She will make a few suggestions (corrections) and the document is roughly finalized. I say roughly because we both know that things change. Let’s face it; no one wants to go on a canal tour in the pouring rain and even though it seemed like a good idea at the time; no one wants to go to the Van Gogh Museum in the morning and the Rijks Museum in the afternoon.

As far as paying bills go, I leave that up to my wife. She is a CPA and has a firm handle on things. I also contact my bank, CU, and CC companies and let them know our travel plans. I also make sure that the funds are dispersed in the necessary accounts and that no ATM cards/CC is set to expire. I’ve had that happen once, but we were able to resolve the issue.

I have also traveled with my Brother and his family and have had the same issue mentioned in earlier posts. I let him know that I was not a tour guide. If he wanted to join us fine, otherwise you're on your own.

Fran and others, I am so sorry about the difficult times you had on trips with family members. I want to share the opposite perspective. We took two trips to Europe with my in-laws, one to London and one to France and Italy. Before one trip, they came to my house(1 1/2 hrs away from their house) a day early because they thought I'd need help getting ready since I had a 15 mo. old and my husband was already in France. The only real low spot was when my 15 mo. old poured her water on my mil on the plane while my husband and fil were comfortably ensconced in another part of the plane ! I am fortunate that my in-laws were always immensely appreciative of my travel planning skills-they once said they wished I had been with them to plan excursions on a cruise they took!

Everyone has some idea of what their family members are like before a trip. If you think it's doable, I would encourage you to give it a try. Now that my in-laws are gone, I cherish the memories I have of our European trips with them.

A few years ago, I was in the stressful position of planning a trip to France so my mother in-law could fulfill her lifelong dream of seeing Monet's gardens in Giverny. She also did not want to go without my father in-law. The problem was, he really had no desire to travel to Europe at all and can really be a grumpy old man at times. I did not want to be "in charge" the whole time and deal with his (at times) negative attitude so I booked my in-laws, me, and my husband on the RS Paris and the Heart of France tour. This was the best way to travel with my in-laws for several reasons. One, I was not "in charge" because we were on a tour. Two, we could get some space apart by not sitting by each other on the bus every day and not sitting next to each other at dinner for every meal. I was a little stressed that my father in-law would violate the "no grumps" policy, but he was well-behaved around other people!

As I plan for my September trip, I'm also recalling something relating to this thread. The "ebb and flow" of preparation. In June, I was ahead of schedule on my plans. I had a good rough itinerary, had set up most of my decisions but felt it was too early to lock anything in (other than my flight).

Now I'm starting to feel like my time is getting really tight. I prefer traveling with a ton of information but only a rough itinerary. This relatively short trip (17 nights), however, involves flights, car rental, bike rental, and some lodging that will need to be reserved which limits my ability to wander at will.

Hi Laurel - thanks for publishing this post so we can all chime in. I love backpacking, seeing the world through others' eyes and learning how I can be happy easily away from the material world.

I recently took a trip to Central America and spent $1200 for 10 days, including plane and hotels.

Try this link for awesome hotel deals: https://www.getsnaptravel.com/ I read about it on Conde Nast Traveller: http://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2016-07-13/snaptravel-is-the-best-new-way-to-get-a-hotel-deal

PM me if you want more info. My "work" while travel is soaking everything in!

Preparing for the trip is indeed work, not only in packing, which 85% was done a month prior to departure date this time. I was traveling solo for five weeks on a trip ending at the end of June. The most taxing part prior is not to forget that certain chores have to be done, ie, paying off the bills before flying out and have them mailed off on certain dates. Of course, I keep these due dates in mind when I'm over there, have gone to internet cafes to pay over the phone, especially when it's long trip say over 6 weeks. Making sure you've done the hotel reservations correctly, that you know on which night you would be staying where. There were several cities this time where I was only staying two nights and then moving, you have be sure they won't be overlapping. To avoid tripping up on the reservations, I write out a day by day trip calendar.

This time I planned for the "just in case" contingency as regards to train travel crossing the Austrian-German border, since when it was most impacted by the refugee crisis only the Salzburg-Munich corridor was shut down/closed. For that contingency I had written down on 3x5 cards going to Passau or Innsbruck and their schedules...luckily no such incidents happened, totally normal only with more security and police presence. Going solo has it advantages, lots of them , and a few disadvantages, such as those moments when you wish you had someone to watch your luggage. The advantages include which train routes to take, day and night trains, where to stay, ie no bickering., the planning...it is all work.

Since we often travel, we have routine tasks, like bill paying and mail receipt automated and accessible online at all times.

Before the trip, we research and plan ahead, but just the basics. While on the trip, we rely on the internet time in airports, coffee shops, hotel rooms and beaches, etc. to fill in the details. We also talk to locals (not touts but "real people") for updated information.

Our trips are usually 3 to 6 months, so we have the luxury of time and we have found that if we take extra time at every place and every task, the "work" is less stressful. The tighter the schedule, the more it feels like work and the less it feels like enjoyment. We try to stay a minimum of a week, if possible, at any location to relax and get to know the place. Even if we have a 2 week trip, we prefer go to 1 or 2 places rather than trying to do 14 cities in 14 days.

The biggest adjustment for me has been my attitude. I used to be more pushy and anxious to see and do as much as possible and I would get upset at delays and time spent on work items, but my wife has taught me over the years to accept that there will be work to do even on a vacation and to not sweat the small stuff. This helps the work become more like an experience and less like a burden.

Pat - I feel your pain and frustration! Have traveled to Paris a lot (10th trip - 90 days - coming up!) and so folks often say I should lead groups. NEVER, especially after reading posts like yours! I have a 12-page Excel chart, updated after each trip and divided by Arrondissement, with info re: museum hours/costs, restos, addresses, closest Metro stop, walking tours, etc. that I use as a resource and share with friends. That way I can easily carry lots of info in my bag instead of books.

I travel mostly alone (but often have friends visit), which makes the planning easier - I only have to please myself and only have myself to blame for problems. I prefer to stay long periods (at least 5 days in one place and often much more) so renting an apartment is much easier than bopping around from hotel to hotel and place to place.

I prefer staying in neighborhoods (5th thru 15th Arr.) rather than touristy areas. I also require a washer in the apartment but use a drying rack for most clothing and take sheets/towels to a laundromat since they soften in the dryer. I like having a kitchen where I can cook all the wonderful things I buy at the myriad street markets (and save money!). I take cooking classes at La Cuisine, which offers many different classes, all in English. I try to have one or two busy days and then a day of rest so I don't get overtired - longer stays allow this. In order to feel more a part of the community, I volunteer at the American Church of Paris to help cook their Thursday night suppers and am active in a couple of expat groups which offer speakers and friendship.

Because of all this, I always hate leaving my beloved Paris and so come back home very rested and ready to start saving for the next trip! It takes me 2 years to save enough for such a long trip and I give up other excursions to do it, but it's worth it to me!

Oh, I forgot - I set up autopay for the months I'm gone so I don't miss a bill. And I always get an apartment with good wifi so I can write my Paris blog so friends can join me vicariously.

I do all the planning for the trips my husband and I take. I love the planning part. I start as much as a year ahead for a 5 week trip.
I have all the hotels reserved . All the routes mapped out. Yes, I always have a good map even now with GPS. I even research restaurants.. Sometimes we go to a small town just for the great bakery. I know all the things to do in each place. We never stand on the corner and say what are we going to do. My secret is file cards for each place with all the info for that particular place. You just put the cards for the day in your pocket and go. I have already familiarized myself with the city so I have an idea where things are. The only frustrating thing is when you get lost, but getting lost is part of the adventure. You can always ask someone for directions, even if you hardly speak the language. Such fun getting to know the people!
Keep on traveling!!!

I agree with many of the posters that the planning is half the fun of a trip. Ken, you nailed most of the pre-trip things I do; I also do a medical directive for our vet and a copy for the house sitter. I leave the name and # for our handyman for the house sitter in case there are any minor maintenance issues that arise while we're gone---fortunately have not had any probs in 30 years.

I am a detail-oriented person so I put the maps, lodging reservations, info on each city/area, etc in its own gallon ziplock bag. Brochures, post cards, entry tickets, etc from each area then go into that ziplock so making trip albums is fairly easy.

We have learned to take a "veg" day as needed and we also split up for parts of days as needed. On our upcoming trip ( 6 1/2 wks in Sept/Oct), we will be celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary so we must be doing something right!

Laundry: sink washing for undies; pac towels really soak up a lot of water so the items will dry faster but the hatchback cover in the car serves as a great drying rack while on the road. Many of the small hotels/B & Bs/pensiones that we prefer will do laundry for a reasonable price, but sitting in a laundromat gives me some alone time as well as time to catch up in my journal. And I've met some great people who have helped with the various machines, shared their detergent and given me site and restaurant tips.

Agree with Cary and the many others who said that planning is half the fun. I also do most of the planning for our trips, usually 3-4 weeks long. I make spreadsheets with our hotels and our tentative itinerary. For use before and after we return, I make a spreadsheet to track costs but only update it after our return. We also keep a folder for brochures, etc. which we refer to when making our photo album. We also do the hand washing routine. We're always happy for towel warmers and radiators. We don't find that work but a short cut to save the time of going to the laundry when we could be sightseeing or in our room resting.

One part of the 'work' that I don't recall seeing (but may have missed) is what we do after we return. Like many travelers, we return with a couple thousand or more digital photos. I like to be organized. I upload and sort by date and time taken, name them with the date and number them, then sort through for the best to include in an online photo album which we have printed (usually at Costco). This can take two or three weeks. I also use those photos and more to make a DVD using Movie Maker. I like to download music of the country to insert in the DVD. When watching the finished DVD, the music and pictures can take us back to that country. We feel what we felt when we were there seeing that beautiful sight or that ancient monument or eating that delicious food! I also update our cost spreadsheet. It's fun to look back and see how prices have changed over the years. Some may see this as too much 'work', but for us, it extends our trip even as we begin the 'work' of planning the next one!

Funny about tours. I've taken one and hope to never take another. If someone can't enjoy actively helping plan a trip, however, they're probably better suited to guided tours.

I totally agree about limiting arguments. If we're on a tour, I'm not the bad guy making everyone get ready for breakfast by 7:30.

I do most of the planning when we traveled with another couple and always asked for input and never got it then on the trips the input would happen with the classic why aren't we staying there so now we travel on our own only.
Mike

I've been the planner for our trips with our friends for the last few years. I spend at least six months researching, planning itineraries, making all reservations, always checking with my crew every step of the way. They okay everything and we've had some good trips together ... Until last fall.
We had a spectacular month-long adventure from Berlin to Dresden to Prague, to Budapest, to Vienna, Ceske Krumlov, along the Danube to Salzburg, Innsbruck, Munich, and Nurnberg. I included everything from everyone's wish list possible, but with almost no input from the other three. When our plan to use the railways was effected by the refugee crisis I was able to arrange private guides and drivers instead. It was miraculous! It didn't cost that much because the two couples shared the costs. Being seniors it was much easier on us physically, and much less stressful.
We always travel to learn and this was the experience of a lifetime.
The sad ending is that our friends tired of us after a month. We had differences about the necessity of tipping our guides and drivers, and the importance of the learning experience over the necessity of stopping early for happy hour. We tried our very best to negotiate any conflicts, but I fear our friendship is over, on their part. I'm deeply saddened. We used to have such good times.
It might be best to travel without others. Sometimes it's enough just to make sure your spouse is happy without more personalities to deal with.
We go alone from now on.
Travel is too important to complicate.

I forgot to thank Rick and Company for their part in helping make our trip so rewarding.
Thank You!
✨👏✨

just barb, I understand completely. I have lost or cooled down two friendships over travel differences - one who had no agenda, anything was fine, then pouted and dominated every activity. The other was a great travel companion, except for the 45-pound suitcase and other assorted bags.