The key to successful travel is preparation
On the Spot by L.A. Times Travel editor Catharine Hamm
Question: My son and his friend, both 19, have tickets to three games at the World Cup soccer event in South Africa next summer. They’ll be in Johannesburg, but they would like to see as much as they can. Should they use a travel agent? Buy travel insurance? What should they see and do? Where should they stay?
– Karen Mitchell, San Clemente
Answer: Travel is a bit like that final exam you still have nightmares about: You can’t cram for it in one night. So it’s great Mitchell is beginning early. It may take a year to get all the questions answered.
The biggest issue in travel planning, often times, is not the specifics of where to stay and what to see and do but where to start. So for advice, I turned to three travel experts: Arthur Frommer, the dean of travel and longtime guidebook author, and Susan Spano and Christopher Reynolds, both longtime travel writers for the Los Angeles Times.
Frommer’s new book, “Ask Arthur Frommer,” contains a wealth of information on the very topics Mitchell is asking about. He suggests, for instance, using a travel counselor, which is not a travel agent but an advisor who can construct itineraries for travelers. It will cost you, but he thinks it could be well worth it. Frommer also goes out on a limb and names names of businesses and organizations he likes, including airfare consolidators. He doesn’t dismiss using travel agents (and this is a case where using an agent makes sense), but he does suggest that one vet them carefully before choosing.
Spano and Reynolds also are old hands at creating itineraries and making arrangements themselves. Their secret to success is the research part of the preparations. “Basically, what I do is read,” Spano wrote in an e-mail to me. “And then I read. And then I read some more. In that way, my destinations become clear to me.” Spano doesn’t limit herself to guidebooks; she’s especially fond of novels whose authors take pains to get the destination down correctly. “Mystery novels are full of great ideas,” she said.
Reynolds also likes to layer a little human interaction. “I seek out friends and acquaintances and plausible-seeming strangers who have made recent visits. . . . I value firsthand traveler info greatly if I can look into the eyes of the sources and gauge how their tastes may differ from mine.” Both Spano and Reynolds use Internet recommendations but take everything with a grain of sea salt.
“If info comes from a semi-anonymous Web source based on one person’s experience, I don’t trust it as much,” Reynolds wrote.
Good starting points for any foreign journey are the State Department website ( www.travel.state.gov ) and the CIA Factbook ( www.cia.gov/library/publications/ the-world-factbook/geos/US.html). Remember that political pressures and biases can creep into anything, even guidebooks, which you should also have at hand. Don’t rely on just one source to give you the full picture.
Make sure you get your travelers’ input too. Of course, as the mom, you get to tell them, “No, absolutely not.” Yes, they’re young adults, but you’re the one who’s going to be lying awake at night worrying about them.
Veto power seems a small price to pay for the price we pay to turn them into adventuresome (please, God, not too much) adults (and, amen, not too soon).
Have a travel dilemma? Write to travel@latimes.com
[Graphic: Scott Garrett / For The Time]
10 Comments on “The key to successful travel is preparation”
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July 17th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Nonsense: The fun way to travel is to buy an open airline ticket and find the way around yourself; Locally there are an abundance of possibilities/ agents / fellow travellers, who have a much better idea of where to go, just keep your eyes and ears open!
When you are retired like Frommer; sure take the safe/boring journey!
July 17th, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Half that fun of any large travel trip like going to South Africa is in the planning, reading and dreaming about the trip.
If you can get an agent that has been to where you are going then all good and well, but they are rare and far between. Just reading guide books, travel stories and the Internet will arm you with a host of ideas.
July 18th, 2009 at 12:07 am
Totally agree with Dan. Half the fun of traveling for me is the planning and reading up on the country I’m about to visit.
Next come the “hidden gems” that the local people tell me about when I’m there.
Although the sound of landing in a country without having any idea of where to go first, sounds adventureous and care-free, I don’t want to “waste” precious time trying to figure out where to head to first, only to regret it when I get there because it was not something I was too keen on anyway.
Knowledge is golden in my opinion.
July 18th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
As an expat South African living in LA here’s some advice… the best things to see in SA (besides the soccer) are the game parks (particularly the Kruger national park the size of England) and the Cape Town area. Although I grew up in Joburg, I can confirm it’s a little bit of a dump - not much to see besides some cool markets. Apart from the soccer, I’d spend a week in Cape Town (and environs) and a couple of days in a good game park. South Africans are friendly, and it’s relatively inexpensive. You need to be aware of security concerns though - crime is a constant issue, particularly in Joburg, so you have to be alert etc. Apart from that it’s a beautiful country.
July 19th, 2009 at 10:22 am
Every week the link from the print edition of the Times to your Daily Travel & Deal Blog is a bad. The only way it can be accessed is to cut and past the title in Google. This is happening to other stories to, but not as often.
What does Webmaster have against you?
July 20th, 2009 at 3:28 am
Crime is high. The place looks like being in the US, but always be on your guard. Make copies of your passport, before traveling, empty your wallet of everything except for essentials. Use hotel safes, always. Do not travel alone, ever. Do not trust maid service, lock your suitcases while not in the room. Seriously carry only one credit card (place another in the room safe). Be very very careful about ATMs, use only inside banks not in malls or on the street most frequent target for crime. Taxi drivers have been part of the crime, only use hotel taxis. Crime is serious problem. At all times think like you are in downtown NY city after midnite, be smart.
July 20th, 2009 at 5:54 am
As far as the “Buy Travel Insurance?” part of this question, the answer should be “Yes!” for So. Africa because - as the State Dept. travel section at travel.state.gov advises - Most U.S. health insurance plans, including Medicare, do not provide coverage when you encounter an overseas emergency. And Emergency Medical Evacuation will cost thousands of dollars without coverage!
July 20th, 2009 at 7:00 am
At the risk of sounding too self serving, travel insurance is another great tool for preparing for a successful trip. Travel insurance is available from leading travel agents and online at http://www.AccessAmerica.com
July 20th, 2009 at 9:09 am
Any person planning to attend the World Cup in south Africa does need to organize some sort of accommodation before departing frm their countries. There are a few hostels available and not enough hotel rooms. Public transportation between towns in very limited. There are not many flights as well. Our travel company in Berkeley is specialized on World Cup programs and have been to South Africa a few times. If we can be of any assitance, please don’t hesitate to contact us. http://www.Santours.com
July 20th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
I think planning is one of the most important parts of your travel experience. Just returned from a month in South Africa. Even as a travel agency owner I wanted to make certain the details were taken care of prior to departure. Our trip went like clock work. It will be quite impossible to find accomodation during the world cup unless you plan ahead. The postings on the crime element are real and a guide is a very good idea in certain areas. You’ll have a fabulous time and the country and the people are amazing.