Online travel guides provide inspiration for new destinations

If you love to travel and you’re just waiting for your next opportunity to visit a new and different destination, why not fill in your dreaming hours with some surfing on the net for some inspiration? Do you think you’ve exhausted your travel resources? Of course you haven’t. No one could live that long.

Even airline pilots and stewardesses, who spend much of their time global trotting, don’t have sufficient time to see all the places of interest. There are so many travel forums, message boards and online travel guides you could spend a lifetime seeking out, planning trips and vicariously enjoying those off-the-beaten-track places you’d like to see.

Budget concerns and vacation time notwithstanding, every travel lover has missed at least one must-see in any given trip. You can catch the flu, miss a train or get delayed in customs. That’s all it takes to mess up the best laid itinerary. When you have to head back home, the curtain closes until your next available travel time slot opens. Such are the vagaries of travel.

However, there’s always the next trip. The more you travel, the more tips and tricks you pick up that allow you to make proper allowances and contingency plans when such mishaps arise. Many online travel guides are full of articles, tip boards and forums where you can learn from others the many ways by which you can turn that mishap into an alternate and equally exciting adventure.

One great way to get double your pleasure out of your next trip is to assemble a personal portfolio of every adventure you’d like to experience at your chosen destination. Search out a baker’s dozen – or more – of online travel guide sites devoted to your destination. Here you’ll find the most detailed information on those unusual and little-known places the bigger sites ignore. You’ll find some real gems. Make categories within your portfolio to contain those destinations within a destination that really ring your bell. Museums, nightlife hot spots, walking tours, restaurants, historical sights and shopping are just several examples.

By the time you’ve worked your way through your dozen or so online travel guides, you’ll certainly have more activities than you could complete in a vacation plan. You’ll almost feel as though you’ve already visited!

Now, go through each of your categories and reorganize your list, prioritizing those you feel are must-sees. Remember, this is your trip! You needn’t organize your itinerary to include only those activities the reviewers find irresistible. If food and festivals are your thing, don’t feel obligated to visit every famous museum and thus cut out that side trip to attend a local festival.

In the end, online travel guides are a traveler’s best friend. Visit many, collect your data and then go have the time of your life! Bon Voyage!