The Traveler’s Grapevine: Trip Planning Via Word of Mouth
04. Mar, 2009 
13 Comments
After Bocas del Toro, I wanted to head north into Costa Rica. I had vaguely planned to head to San Jose, but I had no idea where to go. Someone told me about Puerto Viejo, a surfing town just a few hours north. It’s one of the cheapest places to learn how to surf, great hostels and has beautiful beaches. I was sold.
More and more as I travel, I find myself using the recommendations of other travelers, rather than planning hard travel dates. I catch a bus on a whim, find myself in a unknown town and wander around until I find a good place to stay.
There was a time when this would have been unfathomable to me. What no printed maps? No reservations? No carefully crafted itinerary that guarantees I’ll spend most of my time running around hitting a laundry list of sites? But the more that I travel, I notice this shift over time. Some of my best travel experiences have been when I’ve quickly darted off the planned route, on some recommendation, only to happy surprised on arrival. If you’re traveling, here are some good reasons to plan on the fly.
1. Guidebooks, Travel Literature, Magazines (and so on) aren’t written for you. They’re written for a demographic, a general audience and no travel writer can possibly anticipate every perspective. But when you’re hearing about a place first hand, you pepper your friend with questions… “How strong is the internet there?” or “If I don’t want to surf, is there still interesting things to do?” or “Will people speak to me in Spanish there?”.
2. Everything is so positive, until it’s not. Listen, no one is going to trash Panama City in a guidebook, online or otherwise. But if you listen to what travelers say, you’ll start hearing the same things… not much to see, a little dirty, some parts are dangerous and overall it’s underwhelming. You might still want to go, or this candid advice might steer you in another direction. It’s valuable information if you only have a limited time and don’t want to waste precious travel days being disappointed.
3. Travel literature doesn’t “emote”. When someone breathlessly tells you about the amazing time they just had in the town up the road, you tend to listen. Often I’m a little amazed by these stories, because usually the guides I had read were dry accounting of detail, with little to differentiate the outstanding from the ho-hum.
4. Everything changes. This week it’s raining on the Caribbean coast, but sunny and temperate on the Pacific side. Having the flexibility travel according to the on the ground conditions can make the difference between sitting in the rain for a week or enjoying near perfect weather. Beyond weather, local festivals, special events and even how you feel can change where you want to go.
5. You’re opening yourself to chance. You might find yourself in Guatemala for Santa Semana or in Panama for Carnaval or a tulip festival in Holand. If you’re blowing past, because of pre-made commitments, you could be missing out on the highlights of your trip. Allowing chance to drive at least part of your trip, listening to what other travelers are saying, and crafting your journey one step at a time could make all the difference.
How do you travel? Itinerary in hand, down to the bus schedule or do you work out the details as you go?
Generally I have a ballpark goal, like get to a particular country and city by a set date for my flight home. Otherwise though, planning is for fools. The quote I like to use, and I don’t even know if he actually said it honestly, is from Mike Tyson, “Everyone has a plan, until they get punched in the face.” Which in traveling is the equivalent of having a plan until day 1 when nothing is just like the guide book or something else looks more enticing. Go with the flow, it’s not a business plan, it’s a trip
I can’t even guess how many great experiences, friendships and adventures I’ve had because I was willing to play it by ear.
Interesting post. Reminds me of a post I read by Carman Pirie earlier today when he was comparing twitter to farmers markets http://pirie.typepad.com Using his analogy, travelling with a set itinerary is more like shopping for groceries at the supermarket while travelling on the fly is more like shopping at a farmers market. There’s a certain richness of experience. We think twitter is helping people connect in some of the ways you outline, but nothing beats being face to face. Thanks for sharing!
Doug @AuthenticCoast
I travel with a basic itinerary so that I don’t feel totally without direction, but I tend to veer wildly from it. I’m heading to Central America for the first time in June so it’s great to hear that your word of mouth travel planning works well there. Thanks for the post!
Good advice. We’ve set up itineraries, but I want to be completely open to change, so we’ll book nothing other than our first flight. We’ll have a general direction of travel and hopefully get lots of recommendations along the way!
Gillian´s last blog post..Our Whole World On Our Backs
We tend to book one-way tickets and the first few night in a guest house when we arrive in an unknown city. After that, we’ll see how we like a city, talk to locals and travelers, and determine a route around the country and into neighboring countries. First-hand advice from other travelers is usually the most up-to-date and accurate reviews you’ll get; having a flexible schedule allows you to really benefit from it.
We’ve changed plans multiple times because of a first-hand recommendation from someone we’ve met and trusted. “You really should see China NOW before it changes forever” translated into an unexpected three months of travel across the country (and we’re so glad we changed routes to do this). Several recommendations for the Annapurna Circuit at the Nepalese border with India convinced us not to settle for a 3-5 day hike in Nepal. Most of the advice we’ve received from other travelers has been spot on.
Audrey´s last blog post..Visiting Burma: How To Do It Responsibly
I’m definitely one to listen to recommendations – particularly that of locals. The locals will usually tell you of places that are in no guide books. These are the places that they go to because they still remain relatively undiscovered.
My path has changed many times during my journey due to recommendations and word of mouth. And as a result I have made many wonderful connection and smiled with countless beautiful experiences.
Ara Sarafian´s last blog post..Gualeguaychú
Two old Army sayings to ponder on:
‘The best of plans seldom survive first contact with the enemy’
‘The reason things aren’t going to plan is that there never was a plan’
Keith´s last blog post..The Moggie
Christine ,
I find it interesting that perceived value of a guidebook depends on if you consume it or if you write it.
The more people travel, the less they need guidebooks. All the information is out there if you just look around.
Very true!!! should have some flexibility! I usually like to have a place to stay when I get to the destination but leave activities for when I arrive and “feel” the place…
Love your blog! Very inspired by it!
Talking to fellow travelers is so ridiculously important. I always take advantage of the gossip at hostels, full of ideas of places to go. I’ve traveled without guidebooks a fair bit, and asking around (locals, travelers, etc.) has always worked out.
As other commenters have pointed out, creating plans that leave room for flexibility to take advantage of recommendations and word of mouth might be the most important…
I think it is better to make some plan in the first time, but do not make it too tight, leave some space to make amendments, follow your heart and visit places that other travelers or local people suggested. I am not a big fan of travel books as I found facts are always out of date but try to read some.
i don’t buy guidebooks as they’re a bit expensive here in the philippines but i usually just rely on the internet and tips from friends who have already gone to the place we’re planning to go..having an itinerary is a must so as not to miss out on anything but it shouldn’t restrict your schedule that you might not be able to check out a fabulous site or anything else that you haven’t identified beforehand..from plan A to plan Z, your schedule must be flexible enough for you to change plans if there are any hitches to the ones you’ve drawn beforehand..befriending people on the road should be one of the top 10 reminders for any traveler as their knowledge and tips are invaluable.. ^_^
mauie´s last blog post..The Feet and their Story
Great advice, it’s always important to remember that guidebook advice is just a tiny snippet of information from one source. Sometimes those folks haven’t even really done their research, so you’ve got to take it with a grain of salt. I’d much rather get my advice from someone who’s just been there, or even better, lives there. Thanks!
Austin´s last blog post..Travel Chatter: What’s Hot On The Net