Planning
Travelling with parents and older relatives
Multigenerational trips have specific requirements, and most of the difficulty comes from unspoken expectations about pace.
Planning
Itineraries, timing, visas and how long to actually stay.
Planning
The trip you actually want
Most itineraries are assembled from other people’s recommendations, which is why so many trips are competent and unmemorable.
Planning
Coming home and what to do with it
The return is planned less than the departure and matters more than people expect.
Planning
Travelling with a partner without falling out
Trips test relationships in specific and predictable ways, and most of the friction is arrangeable in advance.
Planning
Trips with a purpose
Travelling to do something rather than to see something produces a different trip, and several forms are worth knowing about.
Planning
Travelling with a disability or a condition
Accessibility varies enormously and information is poor, which makes verification the central task.
Planning
What to book and what to leave open
Over-planning and under-planning both produce specific failures, and the line between them is reasonably clear.
Planning
Choosing a destination when you have no idea
Starting from a list of places produces poor decisions; starting from constraints produces better ones.
Planning
Overtourism and travelling responsibly
Visitor concentration has produced genuine problems in specific places, and the responses available to individuals are more limited and more real than either side of the argument admits.
Planning
Visas, entry rules and the paperwork
Entry requirements change frequently, apply differently by passport, and are the traveller’s own responsibility.
Planning
Packing, and why everyone takes too much
The rules that experienced travellers converge on are consistent, and the reason people ignore them is identifiable.
Planning
When to go: seasons, crowds and prices
The shoulder season argument is usually right, and there are places where it is wrong.
Planning
Planning a trip backwards
Most people plan from the destination outward, which produces itineraries that do not survive the first day.