After our first two trips, I've been spending a lot of time thinking about the resources available for information while traveling and am curious to hear from those of you who have been doing this for a while.On our trips, we tended to default to Yelp for some things like places to eat and shop, but I realized that I ended up going off recommendations from the locals we talked to more often than by what I read on reviews.For other things, like activities, I found the resources pretty limited, or difficult to find unless you already knew where to look...So this brings me to my question:What resources do you use to find information about a place you are visiting, and if there was a service (or app) that allowed you to connect to locals and ask questions based on food interests or activities (hiking, biking, fishing, photography, for example), would you be inclined to use it over the more traditional resources (review sites, forums/discussion boards), or is there a similar service already out there that I just haven't come across?Thanks for your input, I'm interested for future trip planning, as well as gauging interest level in something like this within the traveling community.

We our very low tech folks.....didn't even have a computer or cell phones until we went FTDestinations....."That a way"Stay a week and then move onAfter setting up we would go find a local 'watering hole' and strike up a conversation with the locals.They would give us tips/info on where to go, what to see, where to eat and MORE importantly what was a big waste of time/moniesFor 7 yrs it worked GREAT for us.......Plain ole face to face conversations!

I use books and the Great and Powerful Google! Check out various publications from the Church's.Google has a local guide program where folks from the area are encouraged to describe and document local attractions and restaurants. Problem I've found it's still in it's infancy. High traffic areas have an overwhelming amount of reviews making it hard to separate wheat from chaff. While less popular areas have very little information.

Thanks for your reply, you've said exactly what I was thinking, and that's often what I prefer to do.Being of the generation that is never without my phone, though, I of course started to look for an app that could emulate this experience and help find the locals that were best suited to give the advice we were looking for...what if the best tip just walked out the bar 5 minutes before you got there?I missed my chance to be literate enough with computers to build something like this myself, but I've been thinking a lot about whether or not something like this would be a feasible project, and wanted to get some feedback first.I appreciate you taking the time to reply,-RyanOld-Biscuit wrote:We our very low tech folks.....didn't even have a computer or cell phones until we went FTDestinations....."That a way"Stay a week and then move onAfter setting up we would go find a local 'watering hole' and strike up a conversation with the locals.They would give us tips/info on where to go, what to see, where to eat and MORE importantly what was a big waste of time/moniesFor 7 yrs it worked GREAT for us.......Plain ole face to face conversations!

Thanks for your input.I have the same issues with the standard review sites...just because there's 10,000 reviews for a place doesn't mean a whole lot to me, there's no way to tell who's reviewing and what their motivation might have been.And when it comes to anything besides just food or shopping, there's often little to no info and/or what info is there may or may not be accurate and up to date.GordonThree wrote:I use books and the Great and Powerful Google! Check out various publications from the Church's.Google has a local guide program where folks from the area are encouraged to describe and document local attractions and restaurants. Problem I've found it's still in it's infancy. High traffic areas have an overwhelming amount of reviews making it hard to separate wheat from chaff. While less popular areas have very little information.

Right here is also a good resource.Further in this forum are sub-forums."RV Parks, Campgrounds, and Attractions" is a good place to ask questions or, if you know an answer to a question, to post it. Lots of folks do this. As one of the "locals", if someone has a question about my neck of the woods, or further afield for that matter, I try to offer whatever answers I can provide. There's also "Roads and Routes" here as well. Same thing as above. Detailed information on the best way(s) to get from point A to point B and maybe some deviations as well. In addition to exchanges of information and insider details, I've received PMs from folks asking even more details questions, and again, as a "local" I try to give the query as much detailed response as I can. I'm not alone in this. There's lots of really good folks here with a lot of really good information. I have yet to see any location in these United States that someone on here has NOT been to, or knows something about. So...go there. Ask questions! I assure you, you'll get informed responses from "locals".

Where do get your destination information? | Good Sam Community

Ductape
Explorer
Dec 09, 2017
We use online resources to identify the top attractions, and then we avoid those places. :B

Campground hosts and special interest forums are good sources of local intel, or find a good local diner and ask questions. Most people are happy to share.
docsouce
Explorer II
Dec 09, 2017
When planning my trip. I figure out a rough daily destination then " google" campgrounds, and things to do near that location. RV Parks Reviews is a big help too. Posting here is by far one of the most used tools in this toolbox. The folks here have so much knowledge and have guided my wife and I to what we think are some of the "coolest" spots on our trips. Don't forget to ask around the campground. Fellow campers love to share their experiences. Finally though it's fun just to pick out a place and roll the dice. If you don't like it there is always another campground...
prichardson
Explorer
Dec 09, 2017
State and county departments of tourism publications and websites are good sources of things in various areas. I always make a point to stop at state tourist info centers when they are available at state lines as they are a good source of up to date maps and other information.
link30240
Explorer
Dec 09, 2017
Often when going to a new area I will check https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions

will show lots of things to do in a area your unfamiliar with plus reviews to see if worth the time and cost to go.
rr2254545
Explorer
Dec 09, 2017
We find TripAdvisor to be the best source of restaurant, things to do and also campground reviews.
Veebyes
Explorer II
Dec 09, 2017
If feeling lazy use Trip Advisor. That should cover the well known stuff. The little gems take some further digging. Sometimes the only way to find them is through local knowledge & referral.

As a former very small tour operator for 18 years marketing was always a tough one. I had a good product, think private limo tour on the water, but one cannot survive on repeats & referrals, advertising was the highest overhead. It was more than boat fuel & maintenance combined.

So, for the little guy, do some digging. They are out there.
ncrowley
Explorer II
Dec 09, 2017
rvparkreviews has been asking people for good things to do in the area. I find good stuff there. I also Google "Things to do in X" and get a lot of good info. If I am looking for a good restaurant, Google "restaurants in X".
drsteve
Explorer
Dec 09, 2017
DutchmenSport wrote:

Here's another one from Indiana - the Pink Elephant.

And for an FYI.... here it is:

We have one in Mio, Michigan...
2gypsies1
Explorer III
Dec 09, 2017
We used the local Chamber of Commerce/Visitor Centers, especially in the small towns. We also talked to the locals and campground owners/workers. We looked for more nature-types of things - hikes, four-wheeling places, old mines/ghost towns. We also traveled secondary roads, not interstates.
Fizz
Explorer
Dec 09, 2017
Hard to believe but I remember a time when the yellow pages was a good source of local information. The hard part was finding a phone booth that still had a book.
The good old days when hitting the road was a real adventure, made it up as you went.
Then we discovered the Triptik from AAA.

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