A few months ago we set off for a six week trip in central America. I booked a place for the first night as I didn't want to be scrambling around at night after stepping off an 11 hour flight. I also booked a room for Christmas as I wanted to make sure we spent it somewhere comfortable. Other than that however, the rest of the plan was left open. With a rough idea of what route we wanted to follow, other decisions were made as our mood (and the bus timetables) dictated. 

|This month we set off for a couple of weeks in Europe, travelling overland from Portugal to London. This time almost everything was booked - I reserved all 14 nights, in 10 different hotels. We also had five rail tickets and a coach ticket already secured before we left, and most of these bookings were non-refundable. Why the different approach? 

There isn't a good or bad way to plan a trip and how detailed you make your plans in advance depends on a number of factors that are very much specific to the trip and to the individuals concerned:

How flexible is your itinerary? In Central America we could go pretty much anywhere. Apart from a fixed Christmas hotel midway through our trip it didn't matter if we spent an extra night in one town or missed another place out entirely. We wanted the ability to change our plans at the last minute. 

How expensive is transport? This is the big factor in western Europe. Travel costs can be very high, yet in France, Spain and to a lesser extent the UK, buying train tickets in advance can save 30-40% off the standard price. Flexibility allows you to walk up to the station and get on whatever is leaving next, but you'll pay a high price for the privilege. We opted to sacrifice flexibility for the cost savings we made on cheap rail tickets. In a relatively short trip there is a lot less flexibility in any case.

How fussy are you about where you stay? If you're happy enough to arrive at 9pm in a new city and roll into the first accommodation you find within your budget, then you are probably not going to waste time booking for beds in advance. If on the other hand you want to have a reasonable hotel room without breaking the budget, it probably pays to seek it out online. You do occasionally stumble into a great place for a bargain price but more often than not you'll find the fleapit that lives off those who don't want to carry their bags any further and will take anything just to know they've got somewhere.  

How much time do you have? If you're short on time as we were in Europe, you don't want to waste it looking for a place for the night. Here, a strategy of securing a bed relatively close to the station is a good one - you can drop your bag and make the most of every hour of daylight to explore your temporary home. 

How much you choose to plan is ultimately down to the individual and only they will know what suits their style, circumstances and character best. The good news is that even for the most meticulous planner out there, you'll often still be left to fly by the seat of your pants when your plans unravel as they inevitably do.