Do you plan holidays in detail or decide things when there?

[davidleo]

Having a debate with a friend about this. I like to have most things planned before going away, whereas she's completely the opposite and barely plans anything beyond the flights and hotel.

I think I'd find that stressful, especially somewhere I've never been before, but she says too much planning takes the fun out of travelling.

What does everyone else do? Plan everything beforehand or just decide when you get there?

It depends on the holiday, surely? If I’m going somewhere primarily for the art, yes, I will book the busiest art museums in advance to be sure of being able to get in there when I want. Similarly, if DH is with me, he will book specific restaurants he wants to eat at, if they’re difficult to get a table at.

If we’re renting a house in the Dolomites with friends, the main point is seeing them and hiking, so no booking needed.

I have a loose plan - I will have looked up the main things we want to do, checked what days they are open, if there are any deals for certain days or particular events on that we want to do.
For example we just went to Malta. I asked everyone for particular things they wanted to do, looked to see what was nearby each other on the island etc and then planned some days but was loose on when we did them. I did look up a couple of restuarants that I wanted to go to eg a particular tearooms but most of our meals were just a wander and see where takes our fancy.

I think it depends on what sort of holiday you do - an beach resort is not going to need planning but a holiday somewhere with lots of museums, ruins and culture is going to need some pre booking as otherwise you run the risk of not getting a ticket. e.g., Eiffel Tower, the Colosseum, and Anne Frank's house all book up within minutes of tickets being released months in advance.

For family holidays we have a shared Google maps list where we put stuff that we'd like to see/do. So we know what sort of stuff we'd be doing, but not exactly when. Some things are weather dependent and you can't always plan for that in advance.

I wouldn't like a rigid schedule on holiday.

Something big we prebook, but otherwise we hate itineraries. Our favourite holiday discoveries have all been when we busked around between random bars and restaurants and sights.

Somewhere in between. I like to know the place i'm going too and what food options/attractions are there but dont plan it out like a timetable. Unless its something that needs to be booked in advance. I'd feel stressed if it was planned out too precisely.

I remember going on holiday with the in laws years ago and my father-in-law being disappointed cause he wanted a pudding he had heard about online at a particular restaurant. We went to the restaurant, only to find they weren't able to do it. He was rather disappointed. So I prefer a bit more go with the flow.

No don’t plan. May have a vague idea of things we would like to do or see but will play it by ear once away and see how we feel day by day.

We have a few things we know we want to do/see but don't plan exactly when. If something is extremely popular I might book in advance. I don't like spending time when I'm actually on holiday making too many decisions/faffing/booking stuff, beyond what to wear/ eat!

We often go on holiday with a friend who plans things like he would if he was a travel agent. We love to be far more flexible and will often leave it last minute on plans for the day ,coffee bars etc. We really like it when we ignore his planning and just choose somewhere .He has never not liked the places we choose. Yet he will spend the evenings checking on places that we are going to the next day. Quite often he chooses places that have closed down or are dreadful so that is why we ignore his recommendations. My DH has more of a clue as he used to be a chef so knows to look for a decent place. I often say to our friend apart from the fact he raves on about places that have dreadful reviews he should have been a travel guide. He does admit he is in the wrong when local people tell him the place closed due to health and hygiene reasons. My DH always says he can sus out a good place very quickly. I will often chat with the staff and point out how wrong our friend is when he insists he has found a good place. It is all done in fun and DH then tells him all it needs is a quick look to see how the place is run The other thing that makes me smile is our friend tells people he is vegan but if the veggie menu has more choice and better food he will go for that. Once he even chose an egg based sponge and double cream and the vegan cake was far inferior. One time he had the place in an uproar as he had chosen the same cake as me yet had gone on that using eggs were a terrible idea. People actually laughed loudly when he said he wanted the full butter cake as it looked so much nicer.