3 Tips for Planning Places to Visit When You Travel

My family loves to travel together. We enjoy cross-country and short range RV trips, flights to new and interesting places, and cruising.

Being the planner that I am, I like to make the most out of every trip that we take. I always think, “we may never come back to this area again. What is one of the most important things we experience.” These are my top three tips for finding such destinations.

1. 1,000 Places to See Before You Die.

We purchased the book by Patricia Schultz many years ago for planning an extended family RV trip to Yellowstone and Mount Rushmore.

In this book, you select the area of the country you’ll be visiting, for example Colorado. Page after page of top places to visit are provided in the book, including information on where it is located with telephone numbers and websites listed for museums, outfitters, golf clubs, and hotels as example.


2. 101 Places You Gotta See Before You’re 12.

We also utilize a book by Joanne O’Sullivan geared to helping children in discovering the world. In this book, you are provided with an excellent list of places you will love visiting such as a lighthouse, a working farm, and a farmer’s market to name a few. The book lists the top locations for each of these places, along with a resource guide in the back of the book with more information including website addresses.

Little Buddy loved this book because it also provides stickers he can place on places he’s visited. He has a personal goal to see as many of these places as possible. When we’re planning a trip, this is his book to use to give ideas on places he’d like to visit.

This book is also great for times when you aren’t able to make large trips. It helps you to realize to look for areas close by for day trips and short field trips – like a repair shop, a park, or even a really cool place you discover all on your own.

3. Ask friends.

It is nice to be able to tell friends a place we are planning to visit to get their advice on favorite spots along the way. We’ve discovered wonderful campgrounds, restaurants, museums, and other excursions this way. For example on our trip to the Yellowstone, we discovered the drive on Beartooth Pass because my brother-in-law asked friends who had visited previously. While we were too  nervous to take in by RV, we did enjoy it by Jeep. It was one of the most breathtaking views I’ve had in my life.

I also love to ask for advice on Twitter. For example on our trip to Breckenridge, Colorado, I asked the question, “where should we visit on our RV trip?”

I received great advice and lots of wonderful tips. The Great Sand Dunes, Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, and Taos, New Mexico. I also confirmed we should visit Crater of Diamonds on our drive through Arkansas.

We live in such a beautiful and diverse country full of landmarks and exciting areas to explore. My family loves discovering them, one by one.

Where are your favorite places to visit?