I’m a travel journalist and these two websites are invaluable for trip planning

The internet can be a useful tool for travel planning if you know where to look. Photo / 123rf
THREE KEY FACTS:
Sarah Pollok is a multi-media travel journalist who covers trends and advice for travel, tourism and aviation. She joined the Herald in 2021.
OPINION
Even the most seasoned of travellers can feel a sense of weariness when staring down at a blank itinerary. Planning a trip, whether it’s to Boston or Bali, can take a significant amount of time, effort and know-how. It’s why the travel agent industry continues to exist (and pull in US$296 billion per year), despite the digital age offering so many DIY options.
Trip planning has become both easier and much more complicated thanks to the sheer amount of information available to the modern traveller. A few decades ago, one could flick through a travel guide and talk to peers who had been to their intended destination.
Today, we can access countless blog posts and Instagram pictures, TikTok clips and YouTube videos as well as a review for almost every airline, accommodation provider, cafe or walking tour. Even if you’re travelling with limited leave and budget, the world is your veritable oyster, which is marvellous until you must decide where to visit and what to do.
I found myself in this fortunate yet tricky position several weeks ago when faced with a week in Italy and no clue how to spend it. After hours upon hours of research, here are two platforms that were unexpected treasure troves of insight and information.
Hear me out. I have never used YouTube for travel research, ever, until this trip. I was stuck trying to decide between two small seaside towns in Italy, wishing there was some way I could just take a walk around the towns and get a feel for what they were like.
One option is to find the location on Google Maps, switch to ‘Street View’ then click around, which can be helpful but imagery is often from 2019 or pre-pandemic and doesn’t give a real-life feeling.
Another tactic is heading to YouTube, where I discovered a whole new category of travel video; walking tours.
Most travel videos are slick productions shared by influencers pushing perfect itineraries, walking tour videos typically involve a traveller uploading raw footage they filmed while walking around a destination.
Now, I love an aspirational video or itinerary inspiration but when it comes down to vetting a shortlist of places, I want the unpolished reality. I want the retired Korean American school teacher who pootles around Amalfi with a handheld digital camera, occasionally turning it around to give his thoughts on the location. Thanks to the latter, I booked a smaller seaside town instead of the crowded Amalfi.
If you’re tossing up between two destinations or a certain attraction, plug it into YouTube along with the words ‘walking around’ or ‘walking tour’ and look for the least polished, recent video. It’ll give you a far better idea of what a place is really like than the influencer content.
While YouTube surprised me with its raw authenticity, Reddit proved to be a goldmine of practical advice.
Content with Instagram and Facebook, I was never interested in Reddit. Little did I know I was missing out on a brilliant travel tool. Begin to plan a trip and you’ll quickly accumulate a long list of important yet niche questions. For me, it was queries like “is the Sita Bus between Minori and Salerno reliable?” or “What’s the best way to get to Naples Airport from Cetera?”; questions you’d want to ask a friend who recently visited.
How to find the answer? Reddit. While it’s humbling to know your itinerary is far from unique, it’s immensely helpful when someone else has asked the exact same travel questions you have, and had them answered by those who have visited or better yet, locals.
From Reddit threads, I learned the Sita Bus is reliable but the roads are windy and less enjoyable than the ferry. I learned to stay in Minori and visit Amalfi for the day, rather than pay premium accommodation prices and avoid a certain airport shuttle company.
Can’t find answers to a question you have? Simply post it to a specific subreddit (for example, my answers were all found in the ‘ItalyTravel’ subreddit).
As someone who often reports on travellers who have been scammed, misled or disappointed during their much-anticipated holidays, I like to do my homework before embarking on a trip.
YouTube and Reddit are the latest platforms I’ve discovered to help with trip planning but they’re by no means the only ones. When seeking itinerary or destination inspiration, I head to TikTok to see dreamy sequences or top tips filmed by recent visitors or search a location tag on Instagram to see what photos people have shared from that spot.
Booking any accommodation involves trawling through review websites such as TripAdvisor or Booking.com to look for red flags and custom Google Maps are the perfect visualisation of your itinerary if you take a certain step when making them.
Sarah Pollok is an Auckland-based journalist covering travel stories and joined the Herald in 2021. She specialises in exploring destinations, explaining travel trends and helping you budget for adventures.