While You’re Thinking About Summer, I’m Planning Winter

I know we’re in the heat of summer… but who's dreaming of snow?!

One of the stranger things about working in travel is that my mind is almost always someplace other than where I actually am. Sometimes it’s another country. Sometimes it’s another season. And sometimes it’s both.

I suppose that’s what happens when your job involves planning trips months before anyone actually takes them.

My Mind Is Often Somewhere Else

There’s the obvious kind of displacement that comes with planning travel. I can be sitting at my desk in Lynchburg while mentally wandering around Athens, the Scottish Highlands, or a small town in France.

I might be sorting through hotel reviews and imagining how a client will feel when they open the curtains and see the Acropolis for the first time.

Or I’ll be looking at a map to see how far a bed-and-breakfast is from the city center when I notice a café nearby with an interesting name. Naturally, I have to investigate. Then I’m looking at photos. Then I’m on Google Street View to see if it looks as cool as its name. It’s research!

For a few minutes, I’m completely displaced from reality and wandering around in my dreamy-dream world. It’s one of the things that makes the day-to-day work of travel planning so much fun.

There’s Also a Travel Planning Time Warp

The other strange—but completely normal—part of working in travel is what I think of as time displacement.

Back in January, when I was snowed into my neighborhood for several days, my mind was on summer. I was working on warm-weather trips and getting arrangements in place for clients who would be traveling during the hottest months of the year.

Now summer is almost here. The weather is warm. People are heading to the beach, taking cruises, and enjoying long evenings outside.

So naturally, I’m thinking about snow.

More specifically, I’m thinking about ski season and Christmas markets.

While some of you are getting ready for beach time in the Caribbean or an Alaska cruise, I’m happily pondering ski-in/ski-out chalets in the French Alps.

Good Trips Usually Start Months Before You Leave

Of course, there’s a practical reason for all of this.

Good travel planning takes time.

For many trips, planning six months ahead—or even more—is completely normal. Flights, hotels, transportation, tours, and special experiences all need to fit together. The earlier we start, the more options we usually have.

That doesn’t mean every trip needs to be planned a year in advance. But if you have a specific destination, season, or experience in mind, starting early can make a real difference.

The best-located hotels may have more availability. Popular experiences are less likely to be sold out. And we have more time to think through the details instead of simply choosing whatever is left.

Planning Ahead Gives Us Room to Find the Good Stuff

For me, planning early isn’t just about booking things before they fill up.

It gives me time to explore.

I can compare routes, look at neighborhoods, find the hotel with the right location, and figure out whether that interesting little café I spotted on the map might actually be worth a visit.

That’s often where the fun parts of a trip begin to take shape.

A well-planned trip isn’t just a list of reservations. It’s a series of choices that work together: where you stay, how you get from one place to another, how much you try to fit into a day, and where you leave room to simply enjoy being there.

Those details are easier to get right when we’re not rushing.

So Yes, I’m Thinking About Snow

A little part of my brain is always off in another time and place.

In winter, I’m thinking about summer. In summer, I’m thinking about Christmas markets and ski slopes. And on any given Tuesday, I may disappear down a virtual side street in Europe because a café had a funny name.

It’s all part of staying a step ahead and dreaming up the next adventures for my clients.

So yes, summer is here.

But if you need me, part of my brain may already be somewhere in the French Alps.

If you’re ready to talk through your options, schedule a Trip Discovery Call today — and let’s find the right path forward for your next adventure.

Author Bio

Meet Chris Gassler

Chris Gassler is a Europe-focused travel advisor and fluent French speaker who has lived abroad and traveled extensively across the continent. Through Hidden Pearl Travel, he helps travelers plan well-paced, deeply personal trips that feel intentional rather than overwhelming.

---