Category Archives: Travel Prep

Planning for Two Trips

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Okay, so really the trip to the UK is just one trip — and what feels like a short one at that! But it also feels like we have to plan for two trips: obviously there’s the Walking Portion, and then there’s the Rest ‘o The days.

While we are on the walk we have to be prepared for, as one person put it, all four seasons in one day. I doubt very much that will actually happen, but certainly we have to be well prepared for rain. Sadly we also have to prepare for midges. Those are pesky tiny flies that bite. They don’t carry diseases like the mosquito, but I hear they are a terrible nuisance. I’m hoping they hatch later this year and maybe we’ll avoid them, since May is only the start of their pesky lives. We also have to bring trekking poles.

Guess what isn’t allowed in carryon luggage?!

Yep, no poles.

Now some people on various message boards have said they brought them on the plane with no problem at all. Fine. But what if there is a problem and the confiscate them? We are out some rather expensive poles. Others said they ordered cheap poles from Amazon and had them delivered to their first hotel prior to the walk. We are attempting (though not always succeeding) in avoiding Amazon if possible, as so many local stores are failing and I’m pretty darn sure Amazon is part of the reason. In addition, there’s a possibility that the order doesn’t arrive. Who needs that worry? So we will have to check a bag this time. But so it goes. It’s not a huge deal, although we do have a plane transfer so any vital stuff will be in our carryon bags.

We are also doing things that require clothing that is a bit less “rugged”. I already have one reservation for a restaurant in London that does require nicer dressing. So while we have to walking clothes we do have to think about being presentable at places like this restaurant … and maybe a concert if I can find one we want to attend. Time will tell. My hope is that I can still get away with just my boots for the walk and one other pair of shoes. I think it’s possible, but we’ll see.

I’ve already started my mental packing, but I will probably start a written list soon. I use Numbers for all of this: the itinerary, reservations and all pertinent information, possible things to do in each city, and of course the packing list. A couple I follow online both at their website and on YouTube said it’s very handy to have the itinerary and reservations easily accessible so that when you go through customs and are asked for an address you can easily find the first hotel. I’d not thought of that before, but I’ve always had my spreadsheets in any case.

About the Retirement Travelers: They, John and Bev, are such fun to follow, by the way: they sold everything and are doing the full time traveling bit while they are able. I think that sounds absolutely fantastic! And yes, they only do carryon as well. Check ‘em out!

No pictures yet … I’ll post them when we get closer to the trip to show what I have decided to pack. (Not that I won’t change my mind seconds before we head out the door!) We still have a whopping 108 days before our departure date, and I have three symphony sets, two opera runs, and a movie to play, along with teaching my students.

Ah The Searching … and Reserving … And Canceling …

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I probably mentioned this when I was working on The Big Trip, but finding lodging sure is a challenge … and a game.

I had everything booked for this upcoming trip. I do this task by first putting a spreadsheet together. I compare booking directly (which I prefer), to Expedia, Booking.com, and United’s hotel link. I also look at Trip Advisor to see how a place is rated there. I now also look at Oyster.com to see what they have to say.

I then look at a map to see how far the place is from the Center Of Things and any places we must visit, as well as from whatever transportation we will be using in and out of the city.

And I did all that. I was slightly uncomfortable with a couple of places, but I booked something just to make sure we wouldn’t be stranded with no place to sleep.

Then I step away from the computer. This time I did so for … well … maybe 12 hours or so.

And then I go back, because I think, “Hm. Can I do better?!” And today I could. I had already canceled a B&B that made me just a bit concerned: it seemed a bit too difficult to get to (they said not to follow the GPS) and possibly too many stairs for lugging luggage (gee, those two words are obviously related, yes? How did I not think of that before?). I found a better hotel, and was going to book it directly, but thought I should probably check Expedia as well (even though I really dislike using a service … money is money), remembering that on the phone you get more points or whatever it is they give you AND sometimes there is even a price difference compared to the web. Sure enough, it was less — over $100 less than I had expected to pay.

But it’s dominoes, folks.

Since I did that I thought, “I wonder if the next hotel I booked is cheaper that way as well?”

Yep. $165 cheaper in fact. (Still doggone expensive. but that’s the UK for you.)

Now that I’ve gone down the rabbit hole I’ll probably end up looking at ALL the other places I’ve booked to see if I can do better with those as well.

But first I hear an oboe calling my name.

I’ve Been Busy

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I’ve been spending far too much time at the computer figuring out … drum roll … our trip to the UK!

Yep, I’m back at it.

I’ve frequently said I really wanted to do one of those walking holidays. Plus I’ve always wanted Dan to see Scotland (I was there in 1976 and while the memories are vague, I know I loved it). For the walk I first looked at what is called the West Highland Way, but it turns out one needs to plan much earlier and things were full when we decided we were ready to go for it. So instead we are doing the Great Glen Way. That was the first bit we knew we had to get scheduled, because we didn’t want to do any more until that was absolutely set.

In reality I think the Great Glen Way walk is better for a first walk. It starts out very gently, and there are, I think, maybe two days that might have climbs. It begins where the West Highland Way ends, so perhaps we’ll run into people who are finishing with that and can hear about their walk. We walk for seven days — yes, we took the most days we could so we can amble and not feel at all rushed. The company I used to schedule our lodging and luggage transportation is Mickledore, and so far they’ve been great. We don’t yet get the full itinerary, though: we have only paid our deposit and they send the entire packet out after we pay in full and it is maybe a few months before the trip (in case they have to change things up). I know some people do all this planning on their own, and part of me feels as if I’m wimping out having a company do it, but I was just too unsure of what I needed to do. When we go out on the walk we do it on our own: the company only plans for us and then is there to answer calls should we have any problems.

Of course if one goes all the way to the UK one shouldn’t “just” do a walk and go right back home, right? Besides that, our son Brandon will be in London at the start of June so it seems to me we have an obligation to meet up at least for a day. So as it turns out we will end in London, and we needed to fill in the space between ending the walk and “landing” in London. Including our day of flying to our first destination (via FRA), we are out and about for a short 27 days this time.

Stay tuned for more to come about the planning of the trip and all. For now let me just say I’m pretty darn excited and even while we don’t leave for 119 days (not that I would be counting or anything) I am starting to pack in my head! (I’ll have to write about what we will pack later as well, since a walking holiday means a slightly different set of clothes and also means we can’t do all carryon.).

Oh … and our house sitters will be back. Thus, I can write about things here!

Goodbye Peak Design

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Yep. I wrote about this Peak Design bag, assuming I’d carry it to hold my camera, but there are things that bug me about these bags. First, they are stiff which makes them somewhat bulky. In addition, the strap isn’t one like PacSafe has, which can’t easily be cut. And finally, that little pocket on the front is pretty much useless because it’s so tight.


I ordered a PacSafe convertible backpack to give it a go, and it’s now the bag of choice. It can be a purse or a backpack, and it is lighter than the Peak Design. I put an insert in it to hold my camera and extra lens safely, and the insert can also hold a few extra batteries and my little SD card pouch. So it wins!

(The color I purchased is a bit darker than this, but still a gray. It should go fine with my chosen colors for this trip: black, white, and yellow.)

Pondering safety: I like to be the trusting sort, but I’ve read SO many posts by a variety of travel writers about the problems with pick-pockets, and the PacSafe company really has that issue taken care of. (I still hate it, though — the not trusting others. That bugs me. And I sort of feel like the Ugly American.)

You might be wondering if we’ve decided which larger carryon we are bringing and the answer is … WE DON’T KNOW YET! I think we are leaning toward the wheeled luggage but … well … tomorrow we might lean the other way.

Nearly There … and WHEW!

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My research is over when it comes to lodging, and today is the day to finish things up. I was on one city when Dan and I finally did make that (gulp!) decision. So I went back to the lodging site and, lo and behold, it said it had ONE ROOM LEFT for a two. Being the skeptic I am I thought, “They are just doing this to convince me to book,” but book I did. Then I went back to the booking page, to Expedia and Booking.com. Sure enough, no more rooms available.

It appears other people are making plans for the summer as well. Go figure.

Maybe I’ll find this guy again … you never know!

I’m Too Slow For Trains … Well, The Train Site I’m Dealing With, Anyway

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I’m busy working out train travel in one country: if I do all three legs at once it makes more sense since the booking fee is the same for one or for all three. So I booked them. Or so I thought. I reached the payment page. Oops, time ran out on the first leg since I was rather slow. Okay. Fine. Start over. Do it again. Oops, I put the wrong passport number in for Dan’s ticket on one leg. I canceled that leg, so I could reenter things. Wait a minute! Why did the price go up $20 for the exact same thing? Argh!

Sigh.

I deleted everything and will start over tomorrow. I’ll probably clear my cache first too (and certainly need to clear my head), but I was already signed in so that probably won’t make any difference. Of course by tomorrow everything may have gone up. But I’ll risk it because I’m too weary to do this all over again right now.

They really need to give me more time. I am slow and deliberate because I do NOT want to make any mistakes (They charge a fee for any changes, even while I’m paying extra for “semi-flex” to make that fee lower.)

But once I get those three train days taken care of I’ve done quite a good portion of our trip up through mid-July. (I can’t book one earlier trip in a different country yet: their trains don’t open up until two months before the travel date.*)

Grumble, grumble.

Don’t get me wrong, though: I really love train travel! I just don’t like dealing with sites that give me rigid time limits and change fees on me at the drop of a hat (or when I stupidly put in the wrong passport number!).

*Quick Note: I DID find a site that appeared to offer tickets for the country I said didn’t open up ticket sales yet. Interesting Everything looked just fine … but I did a quick search and, sure enough, it’s considered a scam by many. So if you consider using other sites, do investigate first! I am using Rail Europe for at least one country and they are fine, but another one that begins with the word Rail and ends with the word Ninja is NOT a trustworthy site. One always has to remain vigilant!

It’s Loads of Fun But …

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Oh man, do I spend gobs of time on the internet as I try to figure out trains and lodging. It gets a bit crazy.

For lodging I look at Expedia, Booking.com, United (since we fly United), and eventually get to the lodging companies’ own sites as well. I compare prices. I compare cancellation dates. And I try hard to figure out bed sizes. United States bed sizes aren’t the same as other countries’ bed sizes. A double might be small. But it also might be two twins pushed together. Maybe. You just never know! I check VRBO. I write to the people renting a place to ask. And then I wait and hope things are still available when I finally hear back.

And maybe some of you can answer this: when a site says the bed could be “one double or two twins” does that mean you don’t know until you walk into the room, or does that mean it’s the kind where they push two twins together to make the double? Pondering ….

Because we do carry-on only , I love to find places that have a washing machine on occasion. Most of my clothes are hand washable, but Dan’s shirts and jeans take too long to air dry. (I don’t usually travel with jeans because they weigh too much and dry too slowly.)

I’m currently looking for one of those VRBO places with a washer and dryer. I thought I’d located the perfect place, but then saw that their cancellation policy was a bit on the risky side. (It was two months before our arrival.) What with having had to cancel out of things during the worst times of Covid, I’m no longer into risking hundreds of dollars. (Thankfully places during Covid were allowing cancellations right and left. That has since changed.)

I also had to read descriptions and then reviews of places carefully. One looked so good until I read that the flights of stairs (a third floor climb) were so skinny you couldn’t walk up straight up, but had to kind of walk sideways. Um. No thanks. I have to make sure, too, that we aren’t so far on the outskirts that we’d constantly have to call a cab to get anywhere. (We are hoping to use all public transportation and not rent a car.)

So today I looked and looked and didn’t make a single reservation.

Still I find it fun. It’s almost as if I traveled to one of the cities we’ll be visiting. Funny how that happens!