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Jimmy1983

Jimmy1983

Jimmy1983

Soldato
Joined
1 Mar 2007
Posts
4,795
Location
Portsmouth
All those with experience what sites/forum did you use to research your trip? Iam looking from the basic head nets to what places are a must.

Thanks all
 
Depends where you are going.

I did (and still do) most of my travel research from books (although I have jsut started a thread on here wanting advice about a trip).
 
Fly to Rio take in the carnival, onwards to NZ then OZ and then Singapore/Bangkok/Thailand area. Leave late Jan, can't wait Still need to sort insurance aswell.

Yer got a load off books aswell
 
rossyl said:
Best BY FAR is

Thorntree (lonely planet) Forums. http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/index.jspa

The range of knowledge on there, and local knowledge is outstanding. Search old threads first to get an idea before posting your own.
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Thanks, got a few off there books. Did you take the LP books when you went traveling?

Any ideas what blog sites are the best around to use?
 
Seconded on the Thorntree forums - excellent resource for every corner of the world.

To be honest you'll find the best resource is meeting fellow travellers when you're away. You can pretty much always find someone who is coming from/going to your next destination who will be able to tell you all about it, it's a good way to meet people over a beer or two as well :)

hostels.com is good for booking your first couple of nights in a new place. Google any other info, maps, etc. I've found LP books to be pretty good.
 
Lonely planet + bluelist.

But as paulhuk2 says, have a rough plan, but the best advice and adventures come from those made up on the spot and shared with other travellers.

Get your first few nights, and try to stay at least 1 day ahead, ie book 1 night ahead, but even then you can be careless at times depending on the area and add that excitement of risk!!!

When things go wrong you'll laugh about it when you get back, my best stories are from things going wrong due to simply winging it. I seen a lot of amazing things which wern't in the books, and were simply just random, but were we recommended / tagged along on them!

Did you take the LP books when you went traveling?
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I do sometimes but very often lose them, or leave them somewhere. With internet so easily found you'll do ok. Absolute worst case is you can phone home and get them to give you directions to an internet cafe.
 
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boycee said:
Lonely planet + bluelist.

But as paulhuk2 says, have a rough plan, but the best advice and adventures come from those made up on the spot and shared with other travellers.

Get your first few nights, and try to stay at least 1 day ahead, ie book 1 night ahead, but even then you can be careless at times depending on the area and add that excitement of risk!!!

When things go wrong you'll laugh about it when you get back, my best stories are from things going wrong due to simply winging it. I seen a lot of amazing things which wern't in the books, and were simply just random, but were we recommended / tagged along on them!


I do sometimes but very often lose them, or leave them somewhere. With internet so easily found you'll do ok. Absolute worst case is you can phone home and get them to give you directions to an internet cafe.
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Thanks, yer its more a weight issue carrying them. Got the first few nights all booked and sorted.
 
I usually typ ein the palce then tourist. This usually brings up the official tourist site. where you can get a lot of advice.

Tripadvisor is another good website and good old fashioned books are well worth a read. Especially when you can pick them up in Matalan for about £2
 
I found Rough Guides to be better than LP, but both are decent for low to medium budget travel. They can be pretty heavy, so once about to leave one country, I'd always tried to buy / trade the book for a guide for the next country. Generally they were fairly easy to get hold of.

In Vietnam I bought a complete photocopied reproduction of the Singapore Lonely Planet guide from a street vendor. Faced a bit of a dilemma as the 'customs' section of the book said you couldn't import counterfeit items... which my Lonely Planet was! Still, I managed to sneak it in :)
 
Jimmy1983 said:
Thanks, yer its more a weight issue carrying them. Got the first few nights all booked and sorted.
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Just buy them when you land.

I tend to buy either an LP or an RG before I go and then buy one when I get there. If I've bought the same one then I just pass it on to someone else when I leave.
 
[DOD]Asprilla;10795232 said:
Just buy them when you land.

I tend to buy either an LP or an RG before I go and then buy one when I get there. If I've bought the same one then I just pass it on to someone else when I leave.
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Get a pda? and a pdf version of the books, I'm sure there are plenty of versions.

Thing is trusting books can be dangerous, you should never assume. The amount of times I've turned up to a city expecting a bus/rail link to somewhere to be there and find out it's either not there / rare as hell / or costs a fortune. It's always best to check out yourself. When you arrive at the station/airport etc.. Work out how you're going to leave, whether that be in 1 - x days time. If the train you want is only on a Friday, and you arrive on the money you should budget doing stuff in that window. Otherwise you might rush to leave Wed, find out can't and have not much to do in the meantime/ Or in my case, just go somewhere that has a train running to it that day, woo random visit here I come!
 
[DOD]Asprilla;10795232 said:
Just buy them when you land.

I tend to buy either an LP or an RG before I go and then buy one when I get there. If I've bought the same one then I just pass it on to someone else when I leave.
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Tbh, I didnt really liek the idea off carrying books around, a. heavy b. takes up space.

Got an archos that does pdf

Just need to sort maleria tablets out now.....pah the list is endless :(
 
Jimmy1983 said:
Fly to Rio SA, onwards to NZ then OZ and then Singapore/Bangkok/Thailand

6months in total
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Awesome!!

Remember to keep a daily dairy, even if you can't be bothered at times try and write at least a list of bullet points so you can write it up later. I love reading back my diaries and bullet points.

That said now I have a N95, I do video diaries, lots of small clips, they're priceless memory joggers!!
 
Thanks, yer mother has got me a diary book. Do you know off any blog websites, iam thinking this is better than sending out loads off emails all the time.
 
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