We have always planned our trips, I use an excel spreadsheet! We usually plan how far we wish to travel each day and sus out what accommodation is available and what attractions there are in the town and work out from there how long we plan to stay. Do not usually book to far ahead, but do like to know where we are going to stay at our next stop, making to many bookings in advance can be a pain if you find a town that you really enjoy and want stay a little longer. I'm sure you will get a lot of fors & against for trip planners but it really boils down to what sits right for you, we are all different, the one thing we all have in common, is we really love being out and about, meeting different people and seeing just how vast our great land is "ENJOY".
Colin & Liz
We're like you macka. Just head in a north direction and go where the mood strikes us. Only difference is this year we want to go to the Alice and see some friends.Don't know if the nomad get together is still on but we'll be there in August
Dave
The internet is a goldmine of travel information so are shire tourist information centres, enjoy! You'll only see a fraction of it in your lifetime. Enjoy your travels.
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Cheers Keith & Judy
Don't take life too seriously, it never ends well.
Trip Reports posted on feathersandphotos.com.au Go to Forums then Trip Reports.
We start off with a general idea of where we may go - and perhaps a booking for the first night away, if we think there could be an issue getting a spot.
Then we make it up as we go, depending on what we find at places, what the weather is like, how we wake up feeling, and so on.
When we travelled full time, there were instances where we thought we'd go somewhere for a few days, and it turned into a month.
Even last year, we set out to explore the upper Murray for ten days or so, but along the way decided that the autumn colours in the Bright area were so nice, that we stopped there for the whole time we had.
So - flexibility allows you to get the most out of your travels.
That said, there will be times when you are going to popular busy places, will have to book ahead to get any accommodation, and then stick to the schedule. Examples: Darwin in July, Broome in winter, the coast in summer.
What I would like as a trip planner, is a program on the laptop that shows where you are, you enter distance, or time you wish to drive, and your estimated fuel consumption in liters/100 km, and the computer shows a circle from your starting point showing the roads , towns and refueling points in any direction.
So I can see that I can drive to point X, to this town, it has fuel and will take so many hours driving time and will use this much fuel. Gas stations are in the town.
Oh dear, it appears as though the idea of planning a trip defeats the purpose of going on a trip during retirement pointless. Why, because the whole idea is discovery and finding new spots. A plan is so much like working, the routine of getting up going to work reminds me of a planned trip. A rough idea is good enough for me. My next one, after I get rid of this Ross River Virus, and I have been having a fevered thought, is to work my way to the Kimberley and get on a mothership and go fishing! After that, come home a different way!
Treat tomorrow as a new day, not a planned day!
The very reason to to use a trip planner is to have a look where you could head that day , Not to pre plan your whole trip , You need to have some idea where you are heading on the day other wise you could finish up the garden path .
