For me, travel experiences need only to be organized (enough). What I mean by that is: you need to do some research and planning for safety, budgeting, reservations and overall experience. Doing so allows you to have awareness while traveling, form comfortable budgets and plans for achieving those budgets, and be prepared to see and do all that you love - and not miss something you'll regret.

 

By 'enough', I mean you don't necessarily need to book all of your hotels, flights and connections, daily itinerary or dinner reservations for every night of you trip in advance. What you do need to do is enough research to determine what the overall costs will likely be, what your options are, and things that you want to add to your must-accomplish list.

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My #1 tip and personal method for traveling is to do enough research to create and successfully fulfill a must-accomplish list. Mine usually consists of the following:

• Basic attractions - even these require research sometimes to know when they are closed, for example, and make sure to plan around that

• Stays & reservations - to make sure to get a room at that hotel you have your heart set on or to ensure you can get into popular attractions or restaurants that may require a reservation

• Personal wishlist items - including restaurant/hotel views or interiors, local dishes to try, shops to vist, purchase items 

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Once you've created your list and done some research on how to accomplish the items on your list, you're all set to ensure the perfect travel experience - the one without regrets. That being said, a must-accomplish list and any reservations required to fulfill it are the extent of organization you really need or want while traveling. It is so rewarding and stress-relieving to leave the rest open, whether it's making time for aimless wandering and conversation with locals, choosing to stumble into a nearby restaurant for lunch or postponing a tourist attraction visit for another day. The trick to creating relaxing, unique, spontaneous and fulfilling travel experiences is this balance between organization and going with the flow.