When you’re thinking about taking a trip, what’s the first thing you do?
And where do you go to gather information about traveling?
When I started traveling, you couldn’t use the internet because it didn’t exist.
But now, most people make all of their travel plans online.
Using the internet to make travel plans is handy, but is it the best way to find what you need to know?
I recommend using a combination of online resources and traditional ways to gather information before you travel.
Here’s a list of three ways to find travel information other than using the internet.
1 – Use a Travel Agent
I remember going with my dad to the AAA office to pick up a trip-tick when we were getting ready to travel. You could tell the AAA office where you were traveling, and they’d put together a little booklet with maps and other information for your trip. AAA wasn’t exactly the same thing as a travel agent, but if you were a member, they offered a lot of good information.
Travel agents also can help you plan a trip, but the internet has been hard on the travel agent industry. Before the internet, people went to a travel agent to find good places to travel, and the travel agent would book all of your travel plans for you.
If you don’t want to have the hassle of finding and booking plane tickets, rental cars, and hotel rooms, you can still use a travel agent to take care of everything. It might be challenging to find a travel agent if you don’t live in a big city, but you can use an online search to find the nearest travel agent. And there are some travel agents who work online, so you might not even need to leave the house to use a travel agent.
2 – Magazines
When you think of travel, you probably don’t think about magazines. But there are many different travel magazines that you can use to find fun travel destinations.
Just like travel agents, the internet has been rough on the magazine industry. But there are still a lot of good magazines available. I recommend looking at the magazine section in your local bookstore, as most stores have a travel section in their magazines. Most bookstores also have a travel section for books, where you might take a look while you visit.
Travel magazines can give you a lot of good ideas for your next trip, but remember that magazines are designed to make money. Some of the travel destinations you find in magazines might be advertisements made to look like features, so do some outside research as well when you see something interesting in a magazine.
Most travel magazines also have information available online, so you can see if your favorite travel magazines also offer information on their website.
3 – Networking
I saved the best way to find travel information for last. The best way to gather travel information is by talking to people who have traveled where you’re considering going. People regularly ask Nick Bredimus, who’s been involved in the travel industry longer than many people have been alive, for advice about where to go and what to do while there.
My parents used to travel to a small area a few hours away from where we live regularly. I always heard them talking about it, but didn’t think it was a place I would enjoy.
Eventually, my wife and I decided we wanted to check it out, and my parents were able to tell us what we didn’t want to miss and what we wanted to avoid. While I found some of the same information available online, we learned a lot more from talking to people who had already traveled there.
People love to talk about their vacations and travels, so I always keep my ears open when someone is talking about a trip. While I’m always interested in the best things to do when I travel, I also listen for things to avoid.
I went to Las Vegas one time and stayed at a hotel on the strip. In my mind, if a hotel was on the Las Vegas strip, it had to be a decent hotel. The hotel was a dump, and I found out later that someone I knew had stayed there before. If I’d asked him about it, he would’ve saved me a bad experience.
When you’re looking for travel information, spend some time talking to people you know about their experiences. It’s the best way I know of to get good information before you set off on your trip.