Travel Advice on Southern Europe
Who can you trust to plan a trip to Italy, Spain or Greece?
In planning trips to Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal and the Mediterranean, you can get advice from websites, guidebooks, travel articles and tourist offices.
Which can you trust? And how can you tell the difference between good advice and bad? The short answer is that you can’t always tell, but there are several ways to test travel information. Before you base your trip plans on any source, ask these questions:
How current is it? Look for dates, or clues in the article itself (mention of events, etc.) Check guidebook copyright dates and look for dates on web entries. You’ll notice that Suite101 articles and blogs are all dated, so you know when each was written. And you can check Suite101 writers’ credentials by clicking the name.
What is the author’s expertise? Is it a blog or discussion from someone who lives there or travels often? Is it a suggestion from someone who has written guidebooks about the destination? Or is it an article by someone who’s taken one vacation there? In general, information by professional travel journalists is more reliable (they not only know how to find the real facts, they travel more frequently). If in doubt, Google the writer or author’s name to see their credentials.
Does the information agree with other sources? If you find one source that says the Vatican is open on New Years Day, while all others say it’s closed (which it is), be suspicious of anything else that author says. That said, things do change, so balance this with checking the dates.
Is the author’s travel style also yours? Great advice for backpackers could be terrible advice for luxury travelers. Does the author give examples of what he or she likes about a hotel or restaurant or just say “this place is great” without letting you know what that opinion is based on? Be sure you’re on the same wavelength with your source.
Is the destination’s own website kept up-to-date? This may be the trickiest of all, because there’s no way to check this until you are there. But do beware that not everyone is careful to update the important travel details on their site, and tourist offices are among the worst offenders. Don’t plan a trip around a tourist office site’s assurance that an attraction is open at certain times without checking. If possible, go to the attraction’s own website for important details. Many tourism sites still list places that are closed for renovation, or that have closed entirely.
A great trip begins with good planning. The more sources you consult in planning a trip, the more you will be able to judge whose travel advice you can trust.
