| Planning a vacation is usually pretty easy, at least | | | | get away from other people? Or is it just that the |
| when you're content to stay on the beaten path. A | | | | internet has a way of playing to the large crowds at |
| simple Google search turns up all the information you | | | | the expense of the individualists among us? |
| need about tourist attractions where you're going, | | | | Obviously, if you want to find a secluded place to stay, |
| places to stay, things to eat, and how to get around. | | | | avoid Google entirely. Google will only lead you to the |
| Planning a trip to, for example, a place like Paris is so | | | | most popular websites, which invariably try to sell you |
| easy that you can make all the arrangements in just a | | | | a room in some huge resort hotel. If you're going to |
| few minutes on your computer. | | | | use the internet to plan your trip, try to rely on other |
| However, if you're like me, sometimes you want to | | | | sources of information. |
| take a trip that lets you get away from other people. I | | | | I always start with To continue with the Hawaii |
| live in a huge, crowded city, and the idea of vacationing | | | | example, you can go to the Hawaii Craigslist page and |
| in a secluded, solitary natural place is almost too lovely | | | | check the vacation rentals section. Sure, there will be |
| to think about. I picture a cabin somewhere in the | | | | large hotel companies advertising on this site, but if you |
| woods miles away from cities and highways, or I | | | | look closely you'll also find plenty of individuals |
| imagine a cottage just steps away from a beach in a | | | | advertising small rentals. I always disregard ads without |
| place like Hawaii or some Caribbean island. Is this really | | | | pictures, and it's best if the ad discloses the address of |
| too much to ask? | | | | the location, so that you can check a map and make |
| The problem is that when you do a Google search for | | | | sure that it is truly near the beach. Also, if you live in a |
| something like "beach cottage vacations Hawaii," | | | | popular vacation destination like California, Florida, or |
| you're doing what thousands of others have done | | | | New York, check the housing swap section of section |
| before you. If there is such thing as a secluded beach | | | | of Craigslist for people who might want to switch with |
| cottage that comes up in a Google search, it's | | | | you for a week or two. |
| probably in such high demand that it costs hundreds of | | | | If that doesn't work out, try small, local websites or |
| dollars per night. And to make matters worse, there | | | | tourism bureaus. Stay away from the huge sites that |
| are companies out there who have picked up on the | | | | are not specialized for one place. For example, if you |
| popularity of these search terms and have made it so | | | | want to find a secluded place to stay in Jamaica, skip |
| that they lead to websites selling vacation | | | | the Google search and the big travel web sites, and |
| accommodations that are quite the opposite of | | | | go straight to the Jamaica tourism website, which |
| secluded. | | | | offers pages upon pages of listings for vacation |
| So what's the deal? Have we just reached a point in | | | | hideaways. |
| human history where it's simply no longer possible to | | | | |