by Catherine L. Tully
Good travel writing starts before you get to the destination. If you want to be a travel writer, you’ll need to get in the habit of doing some legwork on the front end of the trip. Here are three things to do before you go that will help you make the most of your time once you are there:
1. Research the destination on the web.
Take the time to do learn as much as you can about the place you are going. Hit sites like TripAdvisor or Yelp to get an idea of what people are saying about the city. Look at the chamber of commerce page to find local businesses. Scout out reastaurant menus and plan some meals. These days there is no excuse to go to a destination cold. Do some homework… Continue reading Travel Writing: Know Before You Go →
You may have heard of TripAdvisor before–and I’m here to tell you–it can be a useful site. As a matter-of-fact, it has saved me on more than one occasion. One example: I was going to Philadelphia to speak at a conference and had all but booked a hotel I thought would be perfect for the trip. After reading the reviews of it on TripAdvisor, I passed on it and selected a B & B that I probably never would have picked otherwise.
Turns out, the advice was spot on. The place I would have stayed looked shabby and run down compared to the lovely B & B, and I was glad I listened. While you can’t take the opinion of others too seriously, the advice on this site can help guide you toward a good choice. It’s at least worth a quick look before you book that trip.
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