When I visit a new travel destination on a short-term trip, I like to be prepared. If I’m traveling for an extended period of time I don’t mind, and actually enjoy, the adventure of figuring things out on my own. However, for short-term travels it is much more practical to have some kind of a plan ahead of time so you don’t end up wasting precious time.

To accomplish this task of preparing for a travel destination before arrival, many travelers use guidebooks. However, the problem with guidebooks is that they are always out of date, they are the opinion of just one or two writers, and are read by millions of travelers (meaning everyone visits that quiet, pristine beach, and it’s no longer quiet nor pristine).

I’m not saying I’m too good for the guidebook, because I’m not. In fact I use guidebooks pretty consistently during my travels for advice on transportation, hostels, and restaurants. However, for the big planning decisions, like where to spend most of my time, what’s overrated, what’s truly off the beaten track, etc. I find it much more valuable to talk to actual human-beings that have a lot of recent experience traveling through the areas I’m interested in. While guidebooks have to be written with one travel audience in mind, a human can respond to questions and tailor their advice to your personal travel style and preferences.

It’s usually quite easy to find an experienced traveler willing to share her expertise when you arrive in country. But that means you lose precious days wandering around trying to get advice. So, how do you find reliable tips and advice before you even get on the plane, train, or bus?

Finding Travel Experts:

When looking for destination-specific travel advice before I arrive in-country, there are basically 3 places I look:

1. Online forums: I’ve talked about them before, and I’ll mention them again here. Online forums are my favorite places to start looking for destination-specific advice. Post a couple questions in the morning (general, specific, or somewhere in between) and usually you’ll have at least a couple of responses by dinner time.

The big problem with online forums is it’s hard to tell who actually knows what they’re talking about, and who just wants to hear themselves speak. That’s why I use online forums as a starting point. The information is often VERY helpful in beginning your planning, but don’t take it as undisputed fact.

Popular Forums:

• Lonely Planet’s “Thorntree” forum
• BootsnAll online forums
• Tripadvisor

2. Tour operators, hotels, restaurants: Basically any destination-specific business or company that targets travelers as their clients. This is one of my favorite resources because they pretty much have to talk to you! Usually what I’ll do is call up a tour operator or hotel in the destination I am interested in visiting, start with a question about their services, prices, whatever, then try to go off on a tangent about the things I’m really interested in.

For example, last year I organized a trip to Machu Picchu, so I called up a well-known hotel in Cusco, Peru and asked a simple question about their room prices. After the receptionist finished quoting prices, I got her off the topic of hotels and was able to pick her brain on a variety of other activities available in the area. She told me what was popular, what was overrated, what was less well-known, and even emailed me a number of online brochures which proved very valuable in planning my trip.

The downsides to this option are first of all that you have to be weary of salesmen and women talking things up in an attempt to sell you on their services. Usually it’s very obvious when this is happening, but not always. The second downside is that most people you talk to are locals not travelers. As locals their personal preferences and recommendations are not always inline with the desires of an international traveler.

3. Hospitality exchanges: My last tip is one that I’ve just recently begun to take advantage of. When people think of a hospitality exchange they usually only consider the in-country benefits. Having a friend and place to stay when you arrive in-country. However, hospitality exchange networks also offer an incredible collection of travel minds that are available to pick even before you arrive in-country. There are members all across the globe from developed countries like France or Germany to lesser-known and often forgotten countries like Uzbekistan and Myanmar.

Every user in a hospitality network is a member because they are interested in meeting fellow travelers, so all you have to do is sign-in, and contact someone already living or traveling in the destination you are interested in. They are usually more than willing to help you out with loads of tips and advice (afterall that’s why they joined the network), and their advice is usually very reliable. They know the area well, as they live there, but they’re also international travelers themselves, who understand the lifestyle and can work with you to develop the best itinerary to meet your travel interests.

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