My Planning Process

I'm getting ready to go to Niagara Falls for the first time this April. I'm planning to stay on the Canadian side of the falls (I have a passport, might as well use it!) and plan on taking in the falls and Ontario. I thought it might be fun (or tedious...you decide) to give a sort of running commentary as I plan - while maybe dropping some tips and useful websites.

So, onward!

Advice of Friends: The first thing I do is ask people I know who have been there what they would suggest as far as places to stay, eat, or visit. Someone who has been where you are going is going to be the perfect source - a lot of times they'll give you a bit of good information a travel site might not have. They'll also be candid with you about what they really thought of certain places and things. If touring the museum of toothpicks is overly priced and boring, a friend will tell you. Don't ask your enemies though, they might lie.

Things to Do: I really like to start planning a trip by deciding what I want to do while I'm there. A fantastic site for this is www.tripadvisor.com. Under their 'Plan a Perfect Trip' banner you can enter the name of the city, select the 'things to do' button and you're on your way to an awesome list of ways to keep busy. Along with each activity you can read user reviews, visitor ratings, view pictures, and usually get a link to the activity's main webpage.

Guide books are also fantastic sources. Popular series include Lonely Planet, Frommer's, Fodor's, and my favorites, DK Books Top 10 Travel Guides. The Top 10s are usually the guide books I buy. They're nicely organized, and provide lists of top 10 restaurants, hotels, night life, day excursions, family fun, etc., etc. And there's a pull out map in the back. They're quick and easy to read (without huge blocks of text), and provide some great information. Also, because I think you should know, my favorite maps are MapEasy. Their name does not lie, they are easy, and pretty...which while traveling is important.

Also, most cities have an official tourism page. Just typing 'visiting' followed by the city's name into your search engine should do the trick. Scroll through the results a bit and see what you can find. The web addresses might look like these, http://www.visitdallas.com/, http://www.ontariotravel.net, or http://www.cityofboston.gov/visitors/.

I have a notebook that I keep with me while I'm planning trips. When I'm searching for things to do, and I find something promising, I write down its name in the book. Along with that I write down the address, the price of admission and/or parking, the hours of operation, and any special information I may need to know for my visit. (Additional information I write down might that the Maid of the Mist departs every 15 minutes) I take this book with me when I go on the vacation so I don't have to look up all the information again.

A page from my Ontario/Niagara Falls notebook

A Place to Stay: This one can actually be the most time consuming. You don't want to end up sleeping in a flea bag motel. Kayak is a great place to start. By just filling in the required information once, you can search several sites at one time, such as Orbitz and Expedia. Once you find a hotel that is in a good location, and in your price range, make sure you check reviews. Read through them. Kayak will connect you right to reviews from TripAdvisor, which is a fantastic place for finding recommended hotels...or ones you should stay far away from. You might find two or three hotels that sound great and have pretty photos, but nothing but horrible reviews. Of course, some people can never be satisfied so if you're looking for a place with no bad reviews, you'll be looking forever. Just find something that appeals to you, and has 80% good comments.

And that's my process. I know where to stay, what to do, prices and addresses, and I'm set to go!