Holiday Research

We booked a holiday to Salou a few months back but there had been so much happening that I had pushed it to the back of mind. It only really dawned on me last night that we are heading off on Thursday. While my family and friends had already been to the same area that I'm going to, I hadn't done any of my usual research. I usually would have any trip researched to within an inch of its life, but this time I had nothing. So I took to the internet to gather information.

So obviously my first point of call was to check out my accommodation. I visited the resorts' website to see exactly what facilities were on offer. Not being one to hang around the pool all day I was eager to check out the area around Salou to see what activities were on offer. The resort website didn't offer much information so I had to dig deeper on my own. I visited tourist information sites for the neighbouring towns. This got me further, but I still wasn't satisfied.

From Google Earth I zoomed right in on my accommodation and the surrounding areas. I learned a lot. I had a quick look at Reus airport and was surprised by how small it was. I had a good look at Port Adventura - the rides and more importantly the shops. I checked out how big the towns were and the size of the beaches - as were places that I planned on spending most of my time. Google Earth was an invaluable tool in seeing my destination. A photograph is great to look at but it doesn't really give you any idea of scale.

Thanks to digging around on websites and Google Earth I had a fair idea of what lay in store for me, so naturally I wanted to see what I was in for. By doing simple image searches on Google Images and flickr I was able to get a really good flavour of the town.

Its one thing knowing that something is physically there - to see a picture taken at a particular moment in time, but I wanted to know what ordinary people like me thought of the place. So I paid a visit to Trip Advisor where I read loads of reviews on accommodation, day trips, restaurants, pubs, beaches and most importantly - shopping.

I was really enjoying my research, so I checked a few extra things - the weather, maps of the area - the usual stuff. Wanting to know exactly what was happening in Salou right now I took to Twitter. Using the Search bar I typed in Salou and voila instant access to Salou from my Irish kitchen. This lead me to a really good site where I got even more information. Before I decided to call quits I moseyed over to you tube to watch some videos of the area. While I came across a good few drunken holiday videos, I also found really good ones as well.

All in all after a couple of hours research, I feel quite familiar with the holiday that I have not been on yet. Equipped with such information can only turn a good holiday into a great one.

Here is my Holiday research Checklist.

• Check out the official websites of the place you are staying and where you hope to visit
• Check out the areas tourist offices and don't be shy about emailing them for more information as they are always happy to help.
• Have a look at the area you will be visiting on Google Earth, you will get a better idea of the size of where you are staying and will be able to estimate if a two minute walk to the beach really is two minutes.
• Take a look at pictures of your destination. don't rely on ones provided by tour company, its their job to show you the good side. Look at Google Images and flickr, which can be very useful for truthful pictures.
• Go to travel review websites like trip adviser, experiences that other people have had a very useful for finding out the best and worst places to visit.
• Social Networking websites like Twitter are great for getting a feel for an area, whether you just listen to other peoples comments or you decide to interact with them.
• Checking the weather in the days leading up to your holiday gives you a better idea of what to pack.