Planning our trips is always done with at least 3 months prior to us leaving. We both love not only the aspect of traveling itself, but also the planning phase, where we research the areas, the weather and things to do in the area we want to visit. Since we are AAA members, this is the first stop of our trip, to get maps, triptix and any information of the area we are going to be traveling to. This information lets us know 1- if we are driving, what areas to avoid (for construction/rerouting) and 2- have a map on hand just incase we end up doing something not on our general itinerary. I also like to visit to see what the associates there can help us with: if they have been before, can they recommend a hotel or activity they enjoyed. Getting first-hand experience from someone who has been has always helped guide us to where we want to go and what we would like to do.
After our maps and basic information gathering of the area/city, it is time to hunker down and search the web. I find fellow travel bloggers to be useful in obtaining areas off the beaten path or any unique gems they have found that may have interest to me. Matt, on the other hand, hits the books/magazines and articles on the areas. I have a soft spot for "Top 30 Best..." lists and Matt loves his Nat Geo books, especially when it comes to hikes. These book, while may be outdated after a few years, have tons of tips and tricks he finds useful when planning certain aspects of the trip. With my attention to spots off the beaten path to Matt's love of setting a flexible schedule, we make a great team to plan a great itinerary that fits the way we love to travel.
For our trip to Colorado and Utah, we have pre-booked my flight out. Since this is a work trip for him, and a purely vacation trip for me, I decided to fly out separately, a day later, so I could finish work and meet him out there. And, cost wise, that worked out well, as the cost of the flight was drastically different in flying out a day later. Cost of flights are all about timing and if you can utilize the frequent flyer programs, they can benefit you in the long run. However, being low-key and having the flexibility, can allow you to have a cheaper flight, if you are not restricted by time of departure, luggage or space on the plane. All things to keep in mind when choosing a flight.
As far as rental cars are concerned, we personally have been using one company, which allows us to build a "point system" based on usage. The more cars we rent, the more points we get. And, in turn, that allows us discounts on those car in the future. Again, like the frequent flyer programs, it is all dependent on usage. The more you use, the more you save. Depending on the city and its mass transit will determine if we use a rental car or not. For cities like Chicago and Boston, we did not rent a car. But, for cities like Los Angeles, Miami, and Pittsburgh we did opt for a rental. In Atlanta and New Orleans we were able to use a car service, like Uber/Lyft to get us from the airport to our hotel, but nothing more passed those trips. We found cities like Chicago, that charge for parking your car to be an expense we did not want to incur during our time there, so we skipped a car. Normally a hotel will mention that in their breakdown, so do your research.
So, onto hotels. Certain cities we have used AirBnB, but not many. Most of the time we have been lucky where we have found inexpensive hotel rooms. International travel, like our trip to Paris where hotels are expensive for one night, opted for a small AirBnb for cost savings. This choice is up to you and your comfort level. We have found smaller hotels, like Sun Life Beach Hotel (near Gasparilla Island, FL) in many states which are perfect places to stay, even just for an evening. We have opted for a hotel in both Moab, UT and Denver, CO. For us, in areas like this, we basically use them to drop off stuff, shower, sleep and launch. So, a higher quality hotel/resort does not need to be a high ticketed item (we choose Hilton Garden Inn or a DoubleTree by Hilton for Denver and Moab).
As far as things to do in Denver and Moab, an obvious one for us are the National Parks. Any time we have the opportunity to see one, we jump at the chance. Also, since we participate in the REI's #OptOutside and the Park Systems' #FirstDayHikes each year, we figured this upcoming year would be no different. Canyonlands, Capitol Reef National Park, Arches National Park and Dead Horse Point State Park on our lists. Since these are fairly close to where we will be staying, and they can easily be done in the time we have, we figured the more the merrier. A majority of our time out to the midwest will be for hiking/walking around these areas exploring. If there are any suggestions you have for us, feel free to send us a message and let us know!
No comments:
Post a Comment