Spontaneous or planned trip...

For me, the answer lies somewhere in between the extremes. For example the trip through southern Africa that we took last year. We did a lot of research and came up with a list of places we wanted to see. Some of those places (eg. Etosha, Kgalgadi, Sossusvlei) appeared to require advance reservations. Other places (eg Okavango Delta) would not be financially feasible if we DID do advance reservations.

So we developed a rough itinerary (the trip would last 2.5 months) that pinpointed several places on the map that we had to hit on specific dates (eg Etosha, Kgalgadi, Sossusvlei). According to the intel, we were going during school holidays and if we did not reserve we would miss these places. We hate these kinds of restraints but the world is becoming ever more crowded so if you don't bend to some of this and commit to dates on popular places you miss them.

So in 2.5 months we had 7 days where we had to hit our mark. Otherwise we were free to do as we pleased.

I like doing the research and anticipating what is to come. These days with people being so generous with their travel info on their blogs and such lots of interesting places/experiences would not be obvious if we did not do research.

But keeping our itinerary loose means we are free to take advantage of opportunities (like last minute deals on safari and tours) as they arise on the road.

I don't research a trip, mainly because I'm too lazy, although I will look up places to stay, difficulty in getting from one spot to the other, etc. I much prefer spontaneous travel, I get to see and do so much more than I would have if I had done the research then stayed on course. I don't like to be tied down to a schedule, although of course some things need a schedule, like a return flight.

I don't see it as an either/or. I can spend hours with the guidebooks before I leave, but rarely make a decision until I'm actually there - somehow it all feels so very different once you're in the hot streets or up the rugged mountain.