Researching vacation: Where, What kind, How much?

[katiemack Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close katiemack]

Before you head off to your timeshare vacation, do you do a lot of research about the location?

Where do you seek information? What types of things are you researching and how much time do you spend on it?

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

I do a lot of searching for information. For example, I have been searching for info on the Big Island and Oahu for several weeks as we are leaving for there tomorrow.

I use search engines, specifically "Dogpile" which launches several search engines like Google, etc. in parallel. I will search for general info just by typing in the name of the destination. Then I will look for specific info like "Kona HI Restaurants" etc. For Hawaii, I ran across 2 very good free books for each island so I had them sent to me.

I am a member of Trip Advisor and use their forums to ask questions when I can't find the info on-line.

I can't really say how much time I spend because I start searching a few months before and do it almost everyday. Some destinations don't require nearly as much searching as others.

[buff Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close buff]

I like trip advisor too.

I also type in the area on google and then look at travel forums. but some are out dated.

You can also find newsletters or local papers on the web which tell you whats going on.

[Kentonmag Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Kentonmag]

I am also a member on Trip Advisor and go into their forums and resort reviews for info on vacation destinations. I also use RCI reviews and usually set up a destination local newspaper in my online favourites to check local news and "What's On" columns.
Thankfully, due to the home computer, gone are the days when you booked a vacation based on one half a page on a glossy magazine at the travel agents. Some of the places I booked back in the 1970's like that were god damn awful.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

I have not used Trip Adviser very often - but after these endorsements, I think I will.
Thanks for the tip.

[vintner Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close vintner]

I like to look (google) for event calendars for the area and time where I will be resorting. Is there something in the area that I need to see while I am there? I also look for Chamber of Comm. website as they will have good info for events in the area.

[vinolover Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close vinolover]

Other than the timeshare site reviews I read (and write) tripadvisor.com reviews all the time. Also I like their forums. I used to like fodors.com forums but don't find them as useful any more (harder to search since they changed their format). I use yelp.com for reviews of hotels and restaurants. This site skews to a younger age range it seems but I still like to read as much as I can. flyertalk.com has good forums for airline info, hotels and car rental. The major timeshare ownership groups often have dedicated sites for their owners forums (i.e. Silverleaf, Diamond, Wyndham, etc.). Some are restricted to members (owners) but often you can read the boards and get a lot of good info even if you are an exchanger.

I love to see PHOTOS of hotels and timeshares to help me decide where to book (and even after I've booked to find the best rooms). I search on Google and Bing images, flickr.com, picasa.com, and tripadvisor for photos. Also oyster.com has tons of great photos of hotels for a few cities. tripkick.com has hotel reviews and room recommendations. And the major booking sites also have reviews of hotels (and timeshares), Expedia, Travelocity, hotels.com, etc. For cruises the best site is cruisecritic.com, they have excellent forums for all cruise lines, pre/post cruise hotel recommendtions, excursions, etc.

The main thing I take into account when reading timeshare reviews is that on a non-timeshare specific site (like tripadvisor) the reviews are often written by renters, not people familiar with timeshares, so their expectations are different and they usually don't understand basics of timesharing (i.e. no daily maid service).

For location research I use local newspaper websites for info on concerts, events, etc. Local tourism boards vary in how good they are but many are quite good with event calendars, up to date info on sightseeing and activities (or links to this info). And although I don't buy guidebooks anymore (they are out of date so quickly) my local library has fairly current guidebooks to most major locations that I can check out and take with me when I travel.

Last, but these days certainly not least, are travel related apps for our iPhone!

Happy traveling!

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

I like to research the area if I've never been there before. I like having some restaurant reservations made in advance, along with reservations for some "must do" stuff, if needed. It doesn't hurt to know where the best shopping is, either.

I use tripadvisor, and then generally just use google, and go with the info that I find.