Pre-Travel Jitters! [A]

As of this writing, it's already the first week of April...crunch time! Come May, the Wubs are going to embark on another adventure in three Mediterranean countries: Greece, Turkey and Italy.


What a blessing! It was only two years ago that we were equally blessed to tour Europe and I thought that it was just a once in a lifetime opportunity. Then here comes Greece...Opa!


This May 2010, we are blessed to be going to Greece for Toh to attend his company's International Sales Conference. And after, we are invited to go to Turkey with his boss (and his wife). Then we decided to go to Italy as well, specifically the Tuscany area where we failed to go to last time we went to Europe in 2008.


For most travelers going abroad, the journey begins when one embarks on a plane. But for me, it starts with a lot of planning and research especially when we (together with the hubby) go to a new place/country for tour.


When did I start planning for our trip? Only way back in February. First, we plotted the countries and places where we want to go to then I started searching for the hotels (mind you, countless hotels). Why go through the hassle of searching online when we could opt for a travel agency? First, because we want to limit our budget. Second, we don't like the hustle and bustle of group tours (translation: waking up so early and touring one place to another like you're in Amazing Race). Lastly, there's more adventure in discovering a place by yourself (translation: lots of online research).


Now, about online research. What I do is look for the hotels that fits our budget with the amenities we like such as air-conditioned room, personal toilet&bath, free wifi (although not all), safety box. Then after coming up with a list, I have to check the reviews because you shouldn't believe in everything that is written on the website. Trip Advisor is my most reliable review site. I actually find a lot of interesting and laughable remarks from different nationalities of their definition of comfort and security in traveling. But that's another topic. Next research are the tours, where can we go where it is practical to go on our own and where is it better to take the local tours instead.


But what's most challenging at this leg of the race (oops, too much watching of the Amazing Race) is the ferry connection from Turkey to Greece to Italy. It's hard to find the timetable and the right port. The hotels where were booked at would refer us back to the "unreliable" ferry websites.


At this point, how I wish there's an online one-stop shop service provider of your travel needs and queries. A travel agent? Nah! An online travel advisor. Mhmm, business opportunity? ;-)


Aaargh, few weeks to go and still more to research to finalize our itinerary. As for our targeted budget, we're still halfway there. As Wub would say it, it's miracle time! We await for financial blessings to shower upon us. Now, that's part of the adventure!


Okay, back to research. Anne, calm down, no need to hit the panic button.




~ Anne ~