I need to admit something.

I lie about places.

Not in here. In here I'll tell you exactly what I think. I wrote a whole issue about how Santorini did not live up to the pictures, and I meant every word.

But put me face to face with someone who just booked it? Somebody who has been counting down for months and already knows what they're wearing for the sunset photo?

I'll tell them they're going to love it.

Because here's what happens if I don't. I tell them the truth, I watch their face drop, and now I'm the guy who ruined their trip before it even started. They remember that. Sometimes they hold it against me.

So I take the easy way out. I smile and I say it's great.

And that's the problem. Because I am not the only one doing it.

Here's the thing though. Talking to someone who has actually been somewhere is still one of the best sources of information you can get. Better than a list. Better than a video. They were on the ground. They know what it actually felt like to be there.

You just have to navigate it properly. That's what today is about.

They're protecting their trip. Somebody spent real money and real vacation days on a place. Then they hyped it to everyone before they left. Admitting it was just okay costs them something. Most people are not going to pay that.

Or they're protecting you. That's my version. They can see you're excited. They do the math and decide that being honest is not worth being the person who took that away from you.

Either way, you get the same answer. It was great. And you have learned nothing.

Their taste is not your taste. If you plan everything and they wing it, you are going to hear about a completely different city than the one you would experience. Same streets, different trip.

Their itinerary is probably recycled. I've written about this before. A lot of people build their trip off the same lists you are about to find yourself. So when you ask what they did, you are getting the internet's answer with a friendly face on it.

Here's the good news. You do not need people to be more honest. You just need to ask better questions.

"How was your trip?" is not really a question. It's a greeting. It gets you "great," and then you both move on.

Try these instead:

That first one is the whole ballgame. Every other question asks somebody to describe their trip. That one makes them think about you, which is the only thing you actually need to know.

And the last one is worth more than it looks. I wrote a few weeks back about how many days a city really needs. The person who has already been is your best source on that.

One warning. Do not fire all of those off in a row. Nobody wants to get deposed about their vacation.

Pick two or three. Space them out. Let them tell it their way and follow whatever they get excited about. Honestly, you'll learn more from what lights them up than from anything they answer directly.

And people love this. Most of us never get asked a real question about our trips. You are not taking something from them. You are giving them a reason to relive it.

Last thing. Whatever you hear, it is still one person's opinion.

Somebody can have a bad night, get food poisoning, fight with their partner, and the whole city gets filed under "terrible" forever. That has nothing to do with you.

I've gone places people warned me about and had a great time. I've gone places people raved about and left flat. Neither one was a waste, because I still walked in knowing more than I would have otherwise.

Take the intel. Leave the verdict.

Make it this:

Do you think I would like it? Why?

Ask that instead of "how was your trip," and watch how different the answer gets.

Have you ever been talked into a trip that let you down?

Keep Traveling,

Andrew