Too Much Information!

Sometimes I feel like I’m being buried alive by information.

As a librarian, research is at the heart of what I do all day. As a DIY travel enthusiast, it’s even worse! In the past your options for travel research consisted primarily of travel books, official tourism websites and travel agents. Now there are new travel blogs being added every day and travel apps are one of the hottest digital markets. Add to that Pinterest and Instagram, which are exploding with digitally altered photos that are designed to entice people like me to visit these “must see” places. How’s a girl to choose?

Eric and I made it our goal a few years ago to do one international trip each year, and it was easy the first year because we both knew we wanted to go to Ireland. Choosing successive trips was trickier, however, as our criteria isn’t something you can just Google search or refine with an app. I wrote a post last year about this struggle (see Neurotic Trip Planning) and I find myself in the same situation this year as we plan for 2019. I’ve narrowed it down to three destinations: Norway, Faroe Islands or Novia Scotia. We’ve been binge watching Vikings, which may have influenced our destination preference. I told someone recently that I wanted a hut in the mountains where Eric could grow a beard and get in touch with his Scandinavian ancestry.

Try searching for THAT in TripAdvisor!

I actually considered river cruises or going through a travel agent in Norway, but as tempting as those Viking and Hurtigruten cruises look I just can’t do it. I abhor mass tourism, especially when it gets so bad that it endangers ecosystems and negatively affects local living. This is happening in parts of Norway, so while those ethereal images I keep seeing on Instagram of the Lofoten Islands might be appealing, there is a part of my soul that shrinks away in horror at the crowds that descend on that lovely place every summer.

If I’m honest with myself, I’ll admit to being selfishly arrogant as well. I don’t want to go where everyone else is going and I don’t want to share beautiful landscapes with hordes of selfie-stick wielding people. If I were a millionaire this would not be an issue. I could easily pay for the privilege of isolated destinations and customized itineraries designed to give me a “true cultural experience.” But I’m a middle-class American who works a traditional job with limited vacation, so creativity and diligent research is a must if I want to find affordable, unique experiences that meet my criteria.

So how do I choose my next destination?

How do I avoid tourist traps but still see the most amazing places?

How do I find hidden gems within my budget?

I wish I could tell you there was one “go to” source, but I have yet to find that perfect site/app/book/agency that will take all my criteria and magically spit out the perfect trip. There ARE online travel agents who do this. Most have a higher cost because boutique travel requires a lot of time and special planning. However, new companies are beginning to appear and the one I’ve got my eye on is a site called kimkim, from the same people who developed TripAdvisor, EveryTrail and TrekPartners. This group matches local travel specialists to your interests so they’re essentially doing the research for you (for a 5% commission). Sounds fair.

If something like kimkim doesn’t meet your needs or you just love to DIY, here are some tips:

SEEK ALTERNATIVES

If your heart is set on a highly popular destination but you want to avoid crowds, visit during the off-season or search for similar locations. For example, when I realized how popular Norway had become during the summer, I searched for “norway alternative” and “instead of norway.” Good travel writers regularly publish articles on topics like this. It’s their job to not only know what’s trending now but also to predict what will be trending soon. If you’re like me, you want to visit those “soon to be trending” places.

FOLLOW LIKE-MINDED ENTHUSIASTS

Once you know what type of travel you prefer, find travel blogs or social media groups that share your interests.

HELPFUL TIP: search destination name + wordpress to limit results to blog posts. Example: novia scotia wordpress

While researching a nordic vacation, I fell in love with a travel writer who lives in Norway. Her blog Heart My Backpack is so well written and her travel style is spot on with my own so I refer back to her site frequently. There are also travel groups within Facebook. I found a good one by searching “nordic travel” in the top search bar. TripAdvisor, Instagram, Pinterest and travel forums are also good sources but they can be overwhelming so proceed with a clear goal in mind.

ASK PEOPLE YOU KNOW

Again, social media can be your friend here. Simply post a question on Facebook and you’ll be amazed how many people will respond or the connections you will make. I recently commented on a family member’s photo while they were in Norway and through that conversation made contact with their cousin who happens to live in Oslo and is an archivist — so of course we received an invite to visit!

CHOOSE WITH YOUR HEART

After all the research and conversations, sometimes the destination choice comes down to pure emotion. I can’t explain why we went to Sifnos this year. I just fell in love with it once I started reading about it and it turned out to be a place I could call home. Sometimes the heart knows best.