My vacation trips are short - but the whole journey is of the longer sort

Dear blog reader,

The inspiration to this blog came from a few magazine subscriptions, a few new releases of great books and a recent trip with plenty of time to reflect. My journeys start very early on. Way before the voyage starts, or even the destination is selected.

My mental start of the trip is typically an inspiration gathering where I look broadly for new places that sound stimulating. I rarely go twice to the same location. So experience new win over the old proven feel good experience. Sources at this stage of they come from magazines, e.g. National Geographic Traveler, Airline's magazines etc.

By the time I pick a destination I research what a route could look like. My trips are rarely a one location trip, but a route to travel. All the best routes in the world have been travelled by someone already, so my job is most likely just to copy some great originals. My new favorite for spotting journeys is the "Great Journeys - travel the world’s most spectacular routes" from Lonely Planet. Already at title level this book trigger my travel mood.

Experiences play an important role on my journeys. And by picking travel partners with similar preferences on what to experience you are on a good track. My trips are typically a mix of adventure, doing the new/different thing you can do at home. Wind down and relax, but perhaps even more so get some personal reflection time. Finally I am to test the local cuisine, ideally together with a local friend or colleagues that can put the meal in the right context. The 1000 Ultimate Experiences is a new fresh book helping me to find more experiences I am interested in pursuing.

When getting to the stage of planning details of my trip I normally read the sections of a Lonely Planet guide around my key experiences. Not for deciding on what to do, more of creating a gross list to pick from when coming to the destination. I normally find some smaller niche interesting things that make it to my want to do/see/feel list. And if you have ever seen one of my marker filled pages, you can see the energy and emotions I build up at this stage.

I let the first steps go on for quite long to create the right desire before I do my bookings. I have converted to online booking for air, car and hotels but book excursions locally after researching the alternatives. The slight premium for late booking is offset by the opportunity to pick the one you like best and can get local recommendations on.

Have your mental journey started for your next trip? If not this might be a trigger, and your voyages will be longer than the actual trip itself.