[stavros]

It's great that you had a fun time hanging out with friends, but spending a few days with friends around a pool table and bar isn't really a trip, it's a gathering. Trips tend to be centered around the place you're going to, with experiences you can only have at that place, and nowhere else.

[CharlieDigital]

    > Trips tend to be centered around the place you're going to, with experiences you can only have at that place, and nowhere else.

I think this is a great delineation.

For me, because I'm traveling as a family of 4, the cost of any trip is significant. We did a Japan/Taiwan trip this past winter and the total cost with flights was probably in the $12-14k range. At this level of expense, I'm going to plan as many of the high level details as possible to really maximize that experience and reduce headaches in the moment of travel.

[dangus]

On the other hand a lot of people who book expensive trips to places like beach destinations, resorts, and cruises want to escape the daily grind of planning out and organizing their daily life. They want to just show up and relax and that is completely valid.

Also, I find that a lot of times planned activities ahead of time look a lot different than what you find when you get somewhere.

[CharlieDigital]

You do the planning beforehand so that you can minimize the thinking while there :)

[dangus]

Are you gatekeeping my definition of a trip?

It was definitely a trip. We spent three days on a train and saw scenery. We saw some local sights but were relaxed about it and yes we spent a lot of time chilling in the hostel.

We couldn’t have had that experience elsewhere.

We also met other travelers.