One of the things I truly enjoy about a trip is that period of time between when you’ve made up your mind to go somewhere and when you actually leave. It’s that blissful little spot in which your heart races every time you hear someone talking about, say, Barcelona, or see it mentioned randomly online. That time when you’re still gathering info and feeling like the possibilities are endless. I call this phase "presearch," and, my friends, I presearch hard.

I once read a study that found a traveler’s enjoyment of a trip is proportionate to the amount of time s/he spends anticipating and planning. I would argue that some of my favorite trips came together in very short periods of time, but certainly the real standouts were all marked by a hearty dose of anticipation beforehand. Now I'm not, as you may know, a huge fan of completely planning out a trip before I go. But deciding on a destination well in advance gives you more time to presearch, which in turn makes for a more rewarding vacation experience.

For example, for a two week trip to Uruguay and Argentina, I initially planned to start in Uruguay and then make my way south. Over a period of a few weeks of casually googling things I’d daydreamed about for my trip, I realized transportation was going to be a huge pain in the ass if I went north to south, and I’d lose two whole days to transit instead of only 2/3 of a day due to bus and ferry time tables. IDIOT. Luckily, I still had 5 more months to organize my adventure and work out transit kinks between my four destinations. Once I arrived in South America, I didn’t waste my time waiting for my boat to disembark, but rather enjoyed sipping mate on the beach, catching up with old friends, attending concerts, and sleeping in! 

Point being, the more time you make to play around with different formats for your trip, the more efficient and enjoyable your trip will be. If you’ve traveled a lot, you may feel you don’t need to concretely decide much of anything before you go. But I have found that gathering basic pre-trip info is a must as it helps me make educated game-time decisions when I’m stuck at the Barcelona bus terminal during peak commuter hour..

What information are all those little tabs investigating?

• Flights- to destination and then mid-trip if moving locations

• Transportation options and schedules between different legs of the journey (eg. ferry only runs M/W/F, or price doubles on Saturdays; names of different companies; buying on site vs in advance; bus vs flight cost/benefit)

• Housing availability and options (are hotels full that time of year or rentals priced higher? Do I need to book far in advance?)

• Attractions in the area (cost analysis for comparison throughout trip)

• Festivals or special events (will they affect my transit/housing? Will things be more expensive?)

• Places to eat and average prices for meals

• Backup plans (for big activities, but also the trip as a whole)

• Weather during the time of year you’re visiting

• Vaccinations and visa requirements

• Currency conversions

• Travel blogs about the area for general reference on activities and culture

• Local customs and a little history (don’t be totally ignorant!)

• Translations for 10 phrases every traveler should know

Now, as you’re doing all this casual googling, please, for the love of all things holy, resist the temptation to book! Remember, you are just investigating, becoming more informed. Organize and store this info however you like—on Post-its, Google Docs, Pinterest, OneTab, your amazing brain, etc—just make sure you keep track of what you learn. This is your time to dream big, as well as file away info about the nitty gritty.

After you collect a good amount of research, take some time away from it and let it breathe. Maybe a month, maybe a week. When you sit back down to think about your trip (without looking at your references!), what stands out in your memory? Was there a particular attraction you've been thinking about more than others? Maybe an excursion you’ve gotten excited about? Have you found yourself telling people you’re planning to visit the Sagrada Familia or gushing over the tapas menu at a trendy new Barcelona restaurant? These are good things to pay attention to! They are what’s “calling to you” at your destination.

As you approach departure, book what you've decided you really can’t miss (try to only pick a couple things!). For anything else that stood out, write it down somewhere that you’ll have accessible during your journey: in your phone, a journal, on a Google Doc, etc. Remember though, this isn’t a comprehensive list of every possible activity in Barcelona—it’s a brief inventory of the ideas that were most intriguing to you from your couch at home. Once you arrive in Spain, a plan will start to fall into place and your research will pay in spades [side note: I’ve always wondered–do spades really pay that well??].

Above all, remember that presearch is about knowing the possibilities before you go, not confining yourself to a tight, formatted schedule. It’s a way for you to explore all the potential for fun in your future without committing to anything. Overcommitting just leads to disappointment, and nobody wants that on vacation. It also prevents you from slipping into the magical flow of a trip, and letting it take you along. Enjoy the presearch process; let it excite and inspire you, and psych you up for your trip!