Online Travel Research, Helpful or Not?
My journey starts when I have the idea to travel somewhere.
And I just loooove researching all things travel…
One of my essential “go to” travel tools is Online travel research but like anything…
They can be extremely helpful and frustrating.
So this weeks blog is all about how you can get the best out of researching that trip of a lifetime or next trip.
Let’s start with Facebook Groups. You don’t have to be a devotee of Facebook to take advantage of a wealth of information people just like you have to share.
Online Travel Groups Are A Treasure Trove Of Information
They can helpful on so many levels, to name a few:
Finding private guides
🔅Checking out the “classic” tourist places to visit
🔅Transportation and distances
🔅Great places to eat and drink
🔅Off the beaten path hidden gems to check out
🔅What things truly cost
🔅How to deal with emergencies like finding a drugstore, medications etc
How To Behave And Engage In Facebook Travel Groups
All groups have rules that you agree to before you are able to join.
However, that doesn’t stop the trolls, bullies and crazies from vocalizing loudly.
I am your classic “Voyeur” when I join a group. I read, watch and wait.
Just like joining an “in person” group you will send get the vibe and how useful or NOT the group is going to be.
So my best advice is initially…
Watch, Learn and Discover
When you are ready to ask a question be very specific.
My pet peeve is seeing constant posts where people are asking "Hi, what's the weather like in Budapest next week?” or…
“I’m looking for hotel recommendations in Singapore”.
So first off never, ever, ever ask about the weather. There are both apps for that and…
You can never trust the weather much as you might want perfect weather for wherever you are traveling to.
Now, being specific, lets go look at the question on hotel recommendations…
The old story “garbage in / garbage out”.
So if you are looking for something like hotels here are some suggestions for what to include in your posted question:
🔅Do a little research online checking out some hotels to get a feel for the cost of hotels in general
🔅Let people know your budget i.e., a 3 or 5 star hotel
🔅Do you have a location in mind or want to be near specific attractions etc.
🔅What kind of amenities do you want i.e., a Concierge, swimming pool etc.
Providing this information when asking your question will solicit much higher quality responses.
And even when you do get responses….
Do Your Due Diligence
I will often check the persons profile who responded.
What a 25 year old male thinks is a great hotel might be your worst nightmare 🙂
Then I will check out Google Maps and see exactly where the hotel is located in relation to transportation and sights to visit.
I’m looking to see some of the following:
🔅Does the person recommending look like a real person
🔅Are they in a similar demographic to me
🔅Do there travel expectations align with mine
It’s amazing how quick you can start to sift out the fakes, the 2 star budget folks expecting a 5 star experience.
Knowing When To Scroll On By…
Whether its a Facebook Travel Group or the local pickleball club you belong to you know there are going to be some folks who are…
How do I put this politely? 🤨
Well lets skip that and let me be blunt… they are @#$%^ (or commonly referred to as keyboard warriors).
They can be downright critical, rude, or condescending.
If you find a group and some of these folks are lurking about just ignore them but…
I have found some groups where the group culture seems to be toxic.
In that case just leave the group.
Travel Groups Are A Great Source For Finding Private Guides
I have found Online Travel Groups are a great way to find and budget for a guide.
Again this can be a goldmine or a landmine haha.
🔅When it comes to finding a guide, I watch over a period of time to see if they maintain a profile and post in the group regularly or more importantly that other travelers are recommending them on a regular basis.
🔅If I find someone I’m interested in I do the classic vetting of the people who are recommending them.
🔅I then reach out to friend the guide.
🔅I’ll then communicate via Messenger to get a conversation going…
🔅I do this to see how responsive they are and also see if there are going to be any language barriers.
Anyhoo, that will get you started. I can do a whole blog just on finding a guide :-)
Watch Out For Overly Promotional Groups
I’ve been in some groups where it just seems to be one long feed of every man and their dog trying to sell you their specific tour.
I’ve gleaned some tips from them but normally then quickly moved onto other groups.
And remember they are just regular people not necessarily experts!
Like everything you read when it comes to due diligence the people contributing are every day people like you and I…
They are offering their opinion and their personal experience.
Things I do NOT rely on groups for
Anything related to immigration, visas, customs, vaccinations, safety, airline requirements i.e., baggage etc.…
Bottom line anything that has any sniff of regulations or government I go to the official website and do not rely on peoples opinions or one-off experiences.
🔥🔥🔥Hot TIP🔥🔥🔥
In addition to Travel Groups I also check out Expat Groups.
Now not every Expat group will admit you but if they do they can be a goldmine of truly local information and insights.
You can learn all kinds of hidden gems, and what the group members offer is a truly offering “local” view.
They will share tips on quieter spots, authentic restaurants, or neighborhood safety that can be more specific than what tourists typically share.
YouTube
You can disappear down a rabbit hole and never come back.
You can do so much viewing of places you want to see that you can reach a point of why bother because you’ve now seen it all online.
But the great news is I find them great for inspiring me and keeping me focused on making my trip happen because of all that real life video footage of what I’m going to see.
What I find the SUPER helpful for is things like navigating airports, getting off and on trains.
Full disclosure I even started my own YouTube channel and have posted thing that I think might be helpful to other women traveling.
Check out my YouTube channel here and can I ask a big favour?
@FemaleTravelers50Plus >>>HERE
Would you like a video or two and even better SUBSCRIBE to my channel - thanks so much!
I also find videos extremely helpful for checking out what the weather is really like at a location at a certain time of the year or…
Seeing what the locals and tourists are wearing.
Local cultural norms and etiquette.
Avoiding tourist traps.
Tips on money i.e., finding and using ATMS or foreign exchange vendors.
And, I can also get a bit of a handle on safety by seeing who is hanging out at places I might be interested in.
Here are some other helpful tips so that you make the most of your YouTube time without getting lost in information overload.
🔅Limit your time
🔅Be specific about what you will search
🔅Only search for one thing at a time i.e., great coffee shops
🔅Look for videos from people who have similar interests to you and are closer to your age demographic
🔅Do follow up on recommendations from friends and family who you know like to “travel” the way you do.
🔅Don’t forget to save link!!!
I have been caught too many times before I learned this lesson to save a link right away. I’ve often gone down rabbit holes and have so many browser tabs open that I shut them down before I capture the link.
Surprisingly Pinterest has been a relatively new source of information for me.
There is the obvious creation of a Dream Board which to be honest is what I thought Pinterest was all about.
But turns out it is a really good site for all things related travel and in fact I have just started posting some of my own travel experiences there.
Here’s the link and I would love it if you would check out and “follow me”.
RaewynCristWomenTravelOver50 >>> Click HERE
My biggest learning has to use pinterest like I would a google search.
Take a bit of time to think about the key words that will give you results that you are looking for i.e., solo travel over 50,” “budget-friendly hotels,” or “safe neighborhoods in Rome” can tailor the results to their unique needs and make research faster.
When you click on a pin you will often see a website link that will then take you to that content creators website or blog.
Check my pins out and watch how they take you over to a specific blog on my website :-) INSERT LINK HERE
And Last But Not Least, Good Old Fashioned Websites
Travel blogs are great… just look at this one from me haha >>> www.raewyncrist.com
Government and Airline Websites for official information and the single source of truth for things like visa’s, vaccinations, baggage allowances etc.
Official Tourist Information Sites Government and Big Company sites
One of my “Go To’s is >>>Viator.com
Viator is good for large popular destinations but I am a little more cautious for more out of the way places.
While they might offer tours etc. I then cross reference against a local Travel or Expat Group.
Wrapping Up
Whether its inspiration, advice, or connections you are looking for online research really is an essential element of the modern day Traveler :-)
And bottom line do check multiple sources to validate your findings and only official websites for anything government, airline and or any kind of regulations.
Trust your gut and remember if it sounds too good to be true, you’re on to something.
Be careful not to burn yourself out researching…
And do leave space for those wonderful unexpected experiences and surprises you encounter on the actual trip
Stay safe and have fun traveling!
Interested in more, check out my YouTube Channel
If you found this blog valuable head on over to my YouTube channel and take a look, here's the 👉👉👉 link
Female Travelers Over 50 By Raewyn Crist: @FemaleTravelers50Plus
And if you like what you see please consider subscribing to the channel or giving a video a like :-)
So cheers to wheels up to winging your way to your long dreamed of destination.
