If you wing it on holidays, you're missing out

Travellers who don’t do their research pre-holiday are missing out on much of the fun – and a good restaurant booking on the first night in town.

There are people who, when waxing about the joys of travel, like to say it’s not the destination but the journey that defines meaningful trips to foreign lands. Yeah, whatever.

And there are those who embrace spontaneous moments of free-form wanderlust with no plans, no maps, no idea, just a vibe. Nope. In the words of the classic teen movie Superbad, “It’s not for me.”

I’m one of those people who probably should have been a travel agent. After all, it’s in the blood – both my mother and sister have been in the industry for years. I get inordinate joy from the planning. The meticulous, detailed, to-the-minute planning – weeks, months and occasionally years ahead.

Just this week I found myself on Google Maps timing the walk from our hotel in Palma de Mallorca to a wine bar I have already booked (obvs) on a Saturday night, trying to account for variables such as high foot traffic, wife meandering into espadrille shops and delays getting kids out of the room.

I thought this was absolutely normal behaviour, but judging by the rather extravagant eyeroll from the wife, I expect this is not what most people would consider okay.

I found myself on Google Maps timing the walk from our hotel in Palma de Mallorca to a wine bar I have already booked.

I didn’t have the heart to tell her I’ve also already booked a cocktail dégustation in Barcelona at the world’s No 3 bar earlier in the week that is a 23-minute walk from the hotel.

So yes, I like to be organised. But it’s not just the organisation, although it is all about the organisation, but it’s equally about the anticipation. Researching a trip is almost as much fun as living it – often your imagining of experiences slightly outshines the reality of lost bookings, lost children, overcrowded town squares and overpriced beer.

I love the anticipation of a trip. I’m a massive anticipation builder, to the point sometimes when I might actually overhype myself and my travelling companions.

I didn’t have the heart to tell her I’ve also already booked a cocktail dégustation in Barcelona at the world’s No 3 bar earlier in the week. Picture: Supplied.

It’s not unusual for me to plan a trip many years in advance, occasionally even a little more. For instance, I’m 56 and have already sketched out my 60th birthday in the Dolomites over New Year in 2028-29.

And the anticipation is coded as the trip gets closer. First, there’s the “egg zone”. When the best-before date on a carton of eggs falls in the holiday zone we know we are close. Then we build up to a frenzy when the milk (cow, not almond – that seems to have overly long use-bys) hits the departure date. I WhatsApp family members with carton pics a lot in the lead-up to a big holiday.

Right now, as I type this very piece, we are inside the egg zone, but still outside the milk zone of a trip to Mallorca – it’s a good place to be. Anticipation is heightened but not yet at “inside the milk zone” frenzy level.

I’m 56 and have already sketched out my 60th birthday in the Dolomites.

Back to the planning. I cannot fathom, not even remotely, why people would think it were somehow adventurous or cool or free-form to wander aimlessly around a place they don’t know, looking for somewhere to eat. God, that’s my worst nightmare. Tourists wandering about, being approached by touts for fake food and menus touristiques, absolutely does my head in. Why would you not do some research? It’s not that bloody hard. These are the same people who don’t wear sunscreen, in case you were wondering.

When people tell you they were just wandering around and stumbled upon this charming little spot for dinner that was just exquisite and full of locals, I can tell you either they did their research or they are lying.

What do they say in business? Planning Prevents Poor Performance. The ugliest moments of my life in travel have been wandering aimlessly through crowded streets with kids, and maybe even another family in tow, trying to find a restaurant that caters to every single taste and style – oh, and also has 10 empty seats – outside of course.

Nothing romantic ever came from an argument out the front of a pizza restaurant in Vietnam.

And a tip if you want to take baby steps into the control-freak universe of an overplanner: at the very least, plan the restaurant for the first night you’re in a new town. If you go to the best, most thoroughly researched joint on night one, you’ll almost always get outstanding recommendations from the staff, if you’re nice. Best bars, funnest places to dance (yeah, like I’m going to dance) and best drinks.

My research tools? Well, nothing out of the ordinary to be honest. I like Eater for the US, the Michelin’s Bib Gourmands in Europe, a few substacks and newsletters I trust, the folks at Gregor & Lewis Bespoke Travel (gratuitous plug for sister’s travel business) and anything written by Kendall Hill. 

I know my organisational obsessions might sound like I’m stripping travel of its inherent romance, but I beg to differ. Nothing romantic ever came from an argument out the front of a pizza restaurant in Vietnam. Trust me on that one.

Originally published as If you wing it on holidays, you're missing out