Question Number 2...

How do you manage all the planning?

2. First of all, I am lucky because I LOVE planning. Seriously, like almost as much as going on the actual trip.  I love reading guidebooks and forums and writing lists and itineraries.  My husband...not so much. Because of this I end up doing most of the planning.  If there is someone in your travel group who is a natural planner, like me, you will have an easier job of having at least one person familiar with your destination before you get there.  But if this is not the case, just remember to start early.  Planning a vacation should be fun, not stressful.  If you start early enough you can do it when you get the urge or inspiration to do so and not feel a time crunch to get your planning done.

The first time we went to Costa Rica we made hotel reservations for the entire trip.  This was because a) it was our honeymoon and we didn't want any added stress of not being able to find a place to stay after we got off the plane and b) it was Semana Santa which is the biggest travel week for a lot of Central America and every website and book told us to make reservations.  However, once we got there we realized that it was extremely easy to get around, even during Semana Santa.  The hostel staff and locals we met were all happy to help us make plans.  Because of this we ended up cancelling the second half of our lodging reservation and going to an entirely new town and hostel. We were still glad that we had a reservation, just in case, but after this first trip to the country we are confident that we can play it by ear on our next one.

For Costa Rica- Nicaragua 2012 we have a hostel reserved for the first night.  After that we are going to use a general itinerary as a guideline and find places to stay as we go.  This will allow us the flexibility to change our plans and add/skip towns as we go along.

We have pretty much done this for every new country we visit.  We go once with reservations to get a feel for how flexible we can be on subsequent trips.

Additionally, as previous posts have mentioned, I love Lonely Planet guidebooks. Nothing sparks my imagination more than seeing shelves of new destinations waiting to be explored. Now you don't necessarily have to go with LP but definitely feel free to find a guidebook that fits your style of travel. Just remember to use these as guidelines, not strict must dos.  There are plenty of wonderful things to see, people to meet and activities to try that are outside of the guidebooks.

Here are a couple general tips to remember:  

• Call your credit card company to inform them of your travel plans so your cards don't get stopped as soon as you make a foreign transaction.  Also ask them of any fees they charge for currency exchange.
• Call your insurance company to see how long you are covered overseas. If your coverage runs out, get travel health insurance!
• Keep all your travel plans (itineraries, reservations, etc.) in one place like a designated folder or drawer.
• Print out a copy of any hotel or flight reservations for each person travelling.
• Make copies of important documents such as passports and other forms of identification and keep them somewhere separate from the originals.  If your originals get stolen, it will be easier to replace and in some cases you can use the photocopies instead of the originals (like to give your passport number to a hotel or traffic cop).