Trip Planning

 I love going on trips. There are so many things to get excited about and once planned allows you to build anticipation while looking forward to departure date. BUT, When it comes down to planning large trips I work myself into such a frenzied state. It all starts with questions and spirals out from there. I love experiencing said trip in the moment while I'm stretching and warping actual time through photography. 

In order to address my "planning fears" head-on I want this post to examine them and make them less of my enemy. I would say the biggest concern that gives me problems is dealing with flying and making hotel arrangements. For some reason committing to an airline and paying money out gives me super huge anxiety. I think it's the amount of money, but all I think about is if I'm getting the right thing with all the options or not-options that I feel I need in order to travel to a destination. I have a paranoia about appearing stupid or missing out on a deal. I think it's dumb, but can't seem to un-cling myself from these concerns. 

200,503 Flying man Images, Stock Photos & Vectors | Shutterstock

One way though that I deal with things is approach the whole plan differently. I start by using some kind of travel website like Expedia or Kayak. I find out what options there are then go directly and use the specific vendor's website- like Iceland Air for instance. But in this particular plan for going to Iceland involved using 2 airlines since there was no direct flight from Denver to Reykjavik. So then I had to break flights down further and book a flight using Alaska Air, then Iceland Air so that I could get all the things and learn all of their individual rules. I guess that's part of it too - each airline or hotel has their own rules about baggage allowances, check-in times and other stuff. A tricky thing when you do this is getting enough time between flights to make the transfer AND then what about if the connecting flight is delayed, WHAT THEN? So yeah, that's the stress of all this. I've been real lucky with all these flying things in the past and so I hope my luck and foresight keep working for me.

Another stressor for me is seat selection on a flight. Why? I think it's really stressful for everyone when their trying to get off and out of the airplane with all their belongings. It's kooky how much the need to stuff your bag in an overhead compartment can be, but that what I need. Ugh. 

Well for now that's all I can say about this. I've actually been doing this kind of planning already for awhile, but writing the steps down is what is helping me with the anxiety part.

I learned:

  1. Start with casting a wide net using Expedia to see what the possibilities are.
  2. Consider leaving a day or two early to give your self some extra time.
  3. Go directly to vendor once you've narrowed things down to one vendor. If you find an issue along the way go back to the beginning and start search again.

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