How to deal with Helpline overload

A great idea - now if I only knew how to do that it would certainly save me a lot of time and writing down each idea.

That's a great idea. I also signed up for a free blog at Google and posted information and links there I could go online once in Europe and see reminders there. Of course, it helped to find a computer to use which wasn't always available when I needed it. So printing out a paper guide works well.

Lisa, that's exactly what I do, too. My Word document is now 14 pages long and filled with dozens and dozens of great ideas, places, eateries, etc., for our upcoming June trip to London, Paris, Bayeux, and Belgium. I also add my to-do lists and DONE items such as hotel, plane, and train reservations and cancellation policies and phone numbers, as well as list of things that must be done at home before leaving. It's a super way to stay organized and have all these ideas handy for taking along on our trip.

I do the word document thing, including web addresses, maps, etc.

I then cut and paste the entire document into a letter, that I email to myself- I then, in Europe, go to an internet cafe, open that letter, and have immediate links to everything I saved. If I need to check a hotel address (or look at the map, to find it), I simply double click on the link, and I'm there.

One other time saver- in that internet cafe, when I'm looking at train schedules, trying to figure out what are my possible connections, I simply shoot a text photo (with my digital camera) of the screen (instead of copying down all that information and burning up $ in the cafe); when I get down to finally figuring out when to leave, I've got all the possiblities in front of me- just by using the magnifying function on my camera.

On TripAdvisor, I use the "save" function that accompanies each article, review or forum post. I have trip folders that are titled "Italy", "Grand Canyon", etc.
On this site, I copy the comment I want to keep, right click, "send to gmail" and send it to a gmail address I set up that is only for travel-related stuff. That way my email travels with me on my iPhone.
I also copy to Word.

A couple weeks ago I realised that it was best to create a document and save what was pertinent to my trip so that I could take it along with me. This website is one of the best!

A great idea nonetheless and thanks for posting.

I've been doing cut and paste, too, I especially found the ideas on Packing Light on this website to be helpful. But the best new idea is using your digital camera to take a photo of information while surfing in the internet cafes. Brilliant!

These blogs are great! I'm so happy to find a community of travelers who love trip planning as much as the traveling.

Wow, what awesome ideas you all have. Thanks for sharing and please keep them coming! We all benefit from them or we wouln't be reading and participating. I have learned so much and will be an expert by July 08 for my next big trip! (Please Euro-have mercy.)

Thanks for the great idea Lisa. I do seem to write things down and then forget where I wrote them or put the note. I have started writing names of restaurants, shops and etc... into one of my two books, I'm trying to limit myself to only two, that I am taking to Rome. I even had an older Map that I brought back a couple of years ago and wrote things down on index cards, glued it to the map and had the map laminated. I probably should have waited until closer to my trip before I had it laminate because I continue to find things of interest.

Thanks for the word document idea.

Hi all...it seems travel planner types are all the same..makes me feel less compulsive. I do the copy and paste thing to a word doc, then print and cut into bits I tape into a small 7x8 notebook with labels for each town we want to visit. We are staying in Radda for a week and I have almost filled the many sections with vineyards, restaurants and parking hints! As we travel in Sept, I plan to use this notebook as a journal to start planning our next visit to Tuscany!

The other great thing about having all information copied and pasted into a word doc is on the back end of the trip. Captions for pictures in your photo album or journal are ready for the printing.

Like Karen I have a small travel journal. It's filled with items of interest that I culled from Rick Steves, LP, Conde Nast, etc. that I copy, then cut and paste into and place in the journal. things like restaurant recommends, Rick's maps, website lists, my flight times, addresses for postcard, etc. It also has open pages so I take scotch tape with me, garner business cards and put them in the journal and write about my travels experiences. When I get back home I have a book full of memories as well as pertinent info for the return trip. I also take the time to print out some digital pics and place them in the journal. When I'm planning my next sojourn I look through these journals again for pointers.

I forgot something...I love markets, so if I find an old or worn travel book (2003 RS Florence) I cut the book's little maps of places like the Duomo in Siena, and tape them also...this way I already have an idea where to start. I don't usually deface books, but....

Thank for the "why didn't I think of that" idea!