Over-prepare then go with the flow

My travel mantra.

I’m definitely a planner when it comes to travel. I’m one of those people who creates an excel spreadsheet to plan out trips. In fact, I was just working on one earlier today for a Utah parks trip with my brother-in-law.

In both the workplace and in life, I’ve always wanted to know all the information possible before diving into something. So when I’m planning for a trip, I’ll do a lot of research. Overkill research usually.

My main goal is to make sure I’m not missing out on something that takes advance planning (e.g. booking ahead) and that I have a general lay of the land for the realm of possibilities when visiting a new place.

I also love solving the logic puzzles of which places to visit in which order, what the most efficient transportation options are, and how I can fit the perfect amount of activity into a trip.

Before heading to a new city I’ll have stared at google maps long enough to have it memorized in my head. I know about 10X the different route plans and day trips than what actually make the itinerary. 

What I end up with is a rough itinerary with the flight and accommodation schedule, main activities for each day, a few tours or classes booked, and a list of can’t miss restaurants and sightseeing opportunities.

But with all this planning, once I’m on my trip I always strive to go with the flow. 

The key for me is having a few things on my travel list that are absolutely can’t miss and everything else becomes malleable.

Of course I’ll have missed something that a local tells me I need to do, or have underestimated how cool something is that I originally thought looked lame. Flights will be delayed, trains will be missed, the weather will change. One day that’s planned for a full day of activity will be a day that needs relaxing instead. You’ll just drink too much another day and not feel like doing anything at all anymore. Heck, maybe you’ll love a restaurant so much that you end up going back there over and over instead of needing to try other places.

A few memories that stick out among many are staying an extra week on an island off the coast of Bali to get advanced scuba and hang out with local friends, taking a train the wrong way to a winery in Italy and instead enjoying happy hour in a quaint smaller town, not bothering to spend the night in Sequioa when we thought we saw enough trees and instead driving another 4 hours that day up to Monterrey, skipping the hedgehog cafe in Tokyo because we randomly saw one on the beach instead, leaving a tour of the Teotihuacán pyramids outside of Mexico City early and calling my own Uber because I didn’t like the restaurant we went to after, and running down the streets of Peru to watch the world cup because the place we thought people would congregate wasn’t the right place at all.

If you don’t appreciate the hecticness of travel, then you’re just going to get stressed out.

Travel is about enjoying new surroundings, embracing the moment, gaining perspective, and just freaking fully enjoying yourself. There’s no point in getting bothered by the things you can’t control, and no point in sticking to a plan because you’re stubborn.

Maybe one day, I’ll be on the Amazing Race and have to figure out everything as I go, but until then I’ll stick with over-preparing, then going with the flow.