Trip Planning Using Social Media
Everyone plans for trips differently. Jeff loves to sit down with a travel book in hand. I however prefer to take to social media. Here are simple ways to use social media to plan your next adventure. Social media is perfect whether you are planning a trip around the globe or just checking out a new place in your hometown.
I love searching Instagram for trip inspiring pictures. If you are looking for inspiration for a trip, search broad tags like #wanderlust or #travel. You are sure to find a few places you are interested in. Photos may feature locations tags. If not, post a comment and find out where the photo was taken! You can use Instagram to figure out everything from what to wear to where to eat. (Already have a destination in mind? Then just add #ig or #travel in front of the destination name.)
I searched #igvenice for one of our upcoming trips and can’t wait to visit!
Pinterest
Pinterest is more than just craft projects. Pinterest is basically a photo travel book. Search your destination and you arr greeted with other travelers’ photos. The pictures usually lead to blog posts and suggested itineraries. Once I’m feeling inspired about a location I scour Pinterest for all things travel. Pinterest will suggest ways to refine your search. I’ve found a handful of travel blogs I love through Pinterest.
My favorite part of Pinterest though is finding off the beaten path locations that we can visit. The Moses Bridge, Star Fort and Tiger & Turtle are all examples of Pinterest travel finds.
Most travel bloggers have Facebook pages and are happy to help you plan your trip and answer a few questions. Shoot these bloggers a Facebook message. Some of the best travel tips come from travel bloggers who are in your shoes (family travel, single traveler, et cetera) If the blogger is from where you are visiting you will end up with local recommendations and may even end up with a personal tour guide.
My best connection when I moved to the Netherlands was Farrah from The Three Under. I Facebook messaged her and she answered all my crazy questions about moving here.
Search twitter to see what is being posted about your travel destination. I typically find good information and a handful of places to follow for my trip. I add museums, transportation systems and towns near the places we will be visiting. I can check my Twitter feed while I’m grabbing my morning coffee and make sure we won’t be disappointed by routine maintenance or closures. Twitter is also a great place to connect with travel bloggers – plus the replies are always short and tweet (err, I meant sweet).
I searched Twitter for Venice and found some great articles about hidden Venice, beautiful pictures of buildings and canals and a few new people to follow for our trip.
Foursquare/Swarm
Foursquare split its features into two separate apps and I find both quite helpful. Foursquare is similar to “yelp.” People leave reviews of places they have visited. I love using this to find restaurants when we are traveling. We get a better fit for restaurants than when we use Yelp.
On our Christmas Market road trip the kids got hungry earlier than we expected. We found a wonderful lunch place in Mulheim. Cafe Vreiheit was kid-friendly with amazing food.
I like to check in on Swarm on our trips as a way to keep track of everywhere we went. It’s so handy to get home and have the name of everywhere we went in an organized list. You can choose not to friend anyone and then your list of where you are will only be available to you.
Periscope
Periscope is another great way to check out a destination before you head there. Periscope allows you to share live movies while getting feedback from your viewers. These videos are archived and available for viewing after the live event. It is a really fun way to ask questions and get answers on a topic.
Two Monkeys Travel Group has a great tutorial on how to use Periscope if you are a blogger. Follow the Two Monkeys Travel Group link and scroll down to the “Who you should follow” section if you are looking for some travel inspiration.
I hope this gives you some new ideas on how to get inspired for your next trip! If these ideas didn’t whet your appetite, you can always follow Jeff’s method of going to a bookstore to flip through travel books.
