One of the highlights of our stay on Oahu was going to be a visit to the Iolani Palace, the only royal palace on US soil. And then Hawaiian nationalists stormed the palace and took over the grounds, holding it hostage for several days while we were there.

We signed up for an excursion to take a  helicopter ride to the glacier to go on a dogsled ride when we ported in Juneau during our Alaskan cruise. Unfortunately,  a dense fog covered the area that day and helicopters could not take off so our excursion was cancelled.

Climbing the Tower of Pisa was something I was excited to get to do! We bought our tickets in advance and took a train from Florence for the day. We took lots of photos beforehand and planned to walk back to the train station, find some lunch and do a little shopping on the way. That is until my husband sprained his ankle walking down the 296 circular stairs.

Travelling requires you to be ready to deal with the unexpected – both the good and the bad. Often, our travels have offered pleasant surprises and revealed exciting information, views, landscapes or flavors. Once in a while though, as in the situations above, something really disappointing happens. We’ve been very fortunate that nothing that is a real tragedy or complete trip disaster has ever happened to us and of course in comparison the bad things that could happen, we have been really lucky. However, these experiences have taught me what to do when something unexpectedly unpleasant or unplanned happens.

• Handle a medical emergency first. Obviously, if someone is sick or hurt, you need to deal with the problem. I overpack medical supplies and this has served me well in dealing with the sprained ankle (Ace bandage in the kit), UTIs (prescription and OTC meds packed), and stomach upset (I always bring ginger and chamomile which work miracles) and so on. The thing to remember is that most medical issues are not trip-ending, and if you miss an afternoon or day due to illness it is not the end of the world.
• Reassess and consider alternates. How much time do you have? How much do you want to spend (consider that you probably just got some cash back when your plans were cancelled)? Where are you and what is closest? You will most likely to be able to flex your plans and find something else to do that fits your budget and your interests. For this reason, when I am planning a trip, I always make a list of alternate activities and places to go if something on our main list misfires.
• Be open to new things. When the Iolani Palace closed, we instead went to the Bishop Museum, where we learned a lot about natural and cultural Hawaiian history and saw an up-close demonstration of traditional hula dancing. They also had a pretty decent gift shop! It wasn’t something I planned to do, but it ended up being a good experience.
• Focus on replacing the heart of the experience. When our helicopter ride to the dogsleds on the glacier was cancelled it was a big deal, since this was going to be the highlight of our trip. The excursion company had nothing else to offer us, so we talked to vendors on the street and soon planned an excursion to a dog camp in the hills, where we got to see where the dogs train, pet them all (extremely important!), and be pulled by the team of dogs in their summer training vehicle. We had a great time, got to cuddle some puppies, and came home with a nice photo of us in the training vehicle. We didn’t get to walk on a glacier (another time!), but we did get to do what was most important – see the dogs. And we saved a lot of money. If the glacier had been our priority, there were bus tours to go see it. We didn’t get everything we wanted, but we ended up having a great time. The extra cash in my pocket bought me a jade salmon-catching bear carving.
• Don’t be afraid to take the day off. Sometimes the best way to enjoy a destination is to simply relax at your hotel or resort, or to wander and spend some time in a park, beach, or restaurant. I tend to over-schedule our trips, so sometimes forced relaxation can be a good thing.

One of the highlights of our stay on Oahu was going to be a visit to the Iolani Palace, the only royal palace on US soil. And then Hawaiian nationalists stormed the palace and took over the grounds, holding it hostage for several days while we were there. We signed up for an excursion to … Read more →

This is my second in a two part series about trip planning and organization. I spend a LOT of time planning out our trips. I’m definitely someone who likes to have things organized and planned, although I do love the unexpected moments that happen on trips.

Choosing a Destination

Deciding where to go is hard, not because I can’t decide, but because of costs. There are LOTS of places I would love to go, but cost is a major factor. So I usually begin by making a list of places we would love to visit then I plug those destinations into the AAA web site to get airfares. This allows me to narrow things down considerably because the airfare is the most expensive part of the trip. If we won’t be flying, then I take into consideration driving time to each destination.

At this point, we don’t really get to choose the timeframe for our trips. We have one child in college and one who will be in high school, so we fit things in around their school schedules (which have completely different breaks and summers). This often means we’re traveling in early August, when everyone else in the world is too. When our kids are older, I look forward to being able to travel in the shoulder seasons (spring and fall) when prices are lower.

Getting Started

Once we have chosen a destination and made plans, I buy Frommer’s and Fodor’s guidebooks for the location. I read them thoroughly and make notes in a notebook of places to go, things to do, places to eat, and things like hours, web site addresses, entrance fees, and any tips the books have offered. Then I start a Word document where I type in all of the information in an organized way, by city or daily location. Once I’ve done this, a schedule of sorts starts to emerge, based on things we’ve booked and the days and hours places are open.

Using the Internet

I look up every web address I’ve written down and print out hours, addresses, and maps if I think they will be helpful. I visit general toursim web sites for each location and look for links to coupons, places I haven’t read about yet and any tips. Next I check out Tripadvisor.com, where I read through the lists of the top attractions and restaurants in each location. If I find something I don’t already have, I add it to my list. I usually look up attractions and restaurants I’ve noted from the guidebooks to see what people are saying about them on Tripadvisor. This has helped me narrow things down a lot.

Maps

This year I’ve added a new trick to my bag. I created a Google map for each city and dropped pins for where we are staying, places to visit, places to eat and where to shop. One problem I often have is that although I compile a lengthy list of restaurants, we invariably end up out and about and starved. We want to eat somewhere close to where we are and it can be difficult to figure out if anything on my list is nearby. The maps I created will be accessed by our phones, so we can pull them up and look for nearby restaurants when needed.

I always carry a paper map because you can never trust you can connect to the internet. Even a GPS sometimes cannot get a satellite (we had the worst time with this in Aruba). Although the guidebooks I buy have maps in them, I frequnetly find that the free maps you pick up at your hotel or at tourism sites are much better, so I always grab those when possible.

Transportation

We feel most comfortable when we can have a car, but when visiting cities, you really can’t because parking is so hard. So I do my research in advance about public transportation. We usually buy a visitor’s pass for subways – usually there is a 3 day pass you can buy that allows you unlimited access. I make sure to have a subway map with me at all times and I make notes about what subway stops are closest to attractions we will visit.

As convenient as public transportation is, sometimes it is more than we can bear to walk blocks to get to the station, wait endlessly for a train, then hoof it again once you get off. So we always have enough cash for a taxi ride, just in case. I usually will write the name and address of our hotel on an index card and then just hand it to the driver in case there is a language barrier.

 

 

This is my second in a two part series about trip planning and organization. I spend a LOT of time planning out our trips. I’m definitely someone who likes to have things organized and planned, although I do love the unexpected moments that happen on trips. Choosing a Destination Deciding where to go is hard, … Read more →