A Trip Around France

Scope Creep – we’ve all done it

Biggest problem planning a trip? Scope creep – trying to pack too much in on one trip. It’s the thinking “I’m here already, I might as well go…” Sure, it’s tempting, but we’ve found having more days in one place much more rewarding than one night stops. Even with a luxurious amount of time like 6 to 8 weeks I have to rein in my desires to see it all.

How to prevent scope creep?

1. Start a Google Map and put your destination cities on it.  It’s easy and free, just go to google.com/maps and sign in with your google account (gmail account will do).
2. Get your airline Business Class award flights into and out of the major cities you want to see. This can be the hardest part.
3. Decide on the length of time in each place you REALLY want to go. We like long stays of a week or more in fabulous cities with 2-3 night stops moving from place to place.
4. Figure out your transportation options between cities you want to see.
5. Start paring down your list!

How to Eat Your Way Through Portugal, NW Spain, and Paris

On our trip to Portugal, Northwest Spain and Paris, we ended up with just 5 nights in Paris – not as much time as I would have liked – and mostly 2 night stops on our road trip from Lisbon to Donostia/San Sebastián. This 6 week trip was a terrific itinerary, but after a series of “2’s” we really would have loved a 3 night stop in the Douro Valley instead of two. Lessons learned! For this years Big trip I really limited the number of 2 night stops.

Keep your sanity, relax and spend more time in one place – Happy planning!