Tip: Use Social Media to Help Plan Your Next Trip
We're lucky enough to live in a time when everyone is able to post photos and videos from the road, sharing the best and worst moments of their travels in real time through apps like Snapchat and Instagram. For better or worse, social media is here to stay, so brace yourself for the humble brags and all those inspiring-yet-jealousy-inducing vacation photos that keep filling your feed — because they can actually help you plan your next trip.
Say you're going to be visiting a new place, somewhere you know almost nothing about. That's exactly what happened last summer when TPG Assistant Editor Nick Ellis was sent on a four-day trip to Dakar, Senegal. Though the purpose of the trip was to redeem Etihad miles on a partner carrier to an exotic, off-the-beaten-path destination, it took a few turns on TripAdvisor and other travel sites like Lonely Planet to get an idea of what to do there. In the end, Nick turned to social media and ended up choosing the places he visited during his time in Dakar because he'd been intrigued by the photos he saw on Instagram, even stopping by some sites he might not have come across otherwise.
Facebook can be useful, too, when it comes to getting recommendations from friends about things to do in a new city. It's also easy to ask the people of the internet for advice via Twitter, especially if you use the #TravelTuesday hashtag. Keep an eye out for travel-themed Twitter chats, which might help you hone in on a new destination, travel style or, if anything, connect you with other like-minded travelers.
To read more on how Nick planned his trip, read his post, How Instagram Saved the Day When Planning a Trip to Dakar.
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