Thoughts on Finishing My First True Trip Report

Wow! For those of you who have been around for a few months, you’ll remember that I started writing a trip report about my trip the Maldives and Rome. Several months later, I have finally finished my first full trip report!

I had an absolute blast writing this out. I had so many memories built into this trip, experiencing multiple cultures for the first time, and getting to use my points and miles to have a fantastic trip all over the world.

You can find a link to every post in the series below.

As I’ve long said, this blog is a labor of love. I think that people are truly looking for authentic experiences from people who don’t make money at all to understand what they can expect about different flights and properties. With that being said, after having finished the COLOSSAL trip report, I have learned several things about writing out a proper trip report.

What I Learned About Writing Trip Reports

They Take More Time Than You Think

Whenever I read trip reports on other sites, I find them very entertaining and insightful. Even if parts are missing, or the person says, “I don’t remember,” about a particular part of the experience, I still always get a great understanding of what I can expect on that flight or at that hotel.

When I set out to write this trip report, I figured I would have all the posts written in 3 or 4 weeks. I work a full time job, and this is something I do on the side. Thus, I couldn’t commit to writing a post every day.

Boy, what an understatement! I figured out my rhythm after a few articles, which helped expedite writing them. However, they still take quite a bit of time to write them, particularly as I have to figure out the best way to go about describing various aspects of the flight or hotel.

I expect it to be quicker as I do more of them (I definitely saw my speed increase as I wrote more of them), but I definitely have respect for people who write a lot of them!

Don’t Be Afraid to Take Lots of Pictures

When I went on this trip, I wanted to document every aspect of this trip so that I could write a full trip report. I was pretty happy with what I did: I took pictures, created a Google Photo album, and then wrote about the trip report with reminders by the pictures that I took.

One thing that I didn’t do though is that I wasn’t as extensive in my picture taking as I thought I was. For example, in my Park Hyatt Vienna hotel review, I didn’t get a picture of the elevator. It’s a cool elevator! I wish I would have had that picture so that I could have shown it.

Thus, moving forward, I’m going to be overly liberal in the number of pictures that I take. This is so that I can make sure I can easily write about every aspect of the experience. I can always delete photos to free up Google Drive space, but I can’t make new pictures come out of thin air.

The one thing I won’t compromise on though is that I still won’t take pictures of a plane cabin or hotel facility if there are kids in the picture. I wouldn’t want pictures of my kids posted on the internet. I also won’t post pictures of people working out. Not cool, but I think readers understand and appreciate that perspective.

Write Them Quickly

My first review in the report was written about a week and a half after I got back from the trip. That was great, as things were fresh on my mind, particularly on the soft aspects of the trip. However, I just published my review of the Austrian Airlines 767 business class. I remember the flight attendants being friendly. However, I would have been able to write more about service if I had been more quick to write them. I wrote some other fun stuff, but I need to be better about focusing and getting them written more quickly.

Thankfully, most of my trips aren’t this intricate. It won’t have nearly as many aspects that I need to write about.

Remember to Savor the Experience

I think this goes back to my philosophy on why I collect points and miles – it’s for the experience. I got to spend quality time with my wife in one of the most romantic places on earth. We were able to see beautiful wildlife, including pods of wild dolphins. We were able to visit Rome over Valentine’s Day, where we ate Italian food and cross some places to visit off of our bucket list.

I won’t trade those memories for the world. While it was fun taking pictures and experiencing the hotels and flights, I sometimes had to remind myself to savor the moment. We had great experiences and a great time that we still talk about regularly. It’s caused us to plan some exciting trips going forward, given that we’ve gotten to explore the world together already. We’re excited to explore it even more!

Conclusion

I had a great time writing my first trip report, and I learned a lot. I look forward to writing more about my trips in the future so that others can be inspired about what they can do with their points and miles.

What did you think about this first trip report? Has it caused you to think about where your points and miles can take you?

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