Picture this: you’re in the queue ready to board your plane to a destination you’ve been dreaming about for months!
Announcements are ringing round the airport, passengers are rushing to their gates, and you feel prepared, and ready to relax and explore a new place.
Now let’s rewind a few months. You’re sat in your living room, laptop whirring with a hundred open tabs, and you are getting overwhelmed with stress! If this is your reality, then don’t worry because I feel it too!
I always find the planning exceptionally stressful (which is why I leave most of it to Liam). However, over the years we have found a rhythm that works for every trip, and we thought we’d share some tips to make your life so much easier.
Now you need to bear in mind that this is our planning style and works for the way we travel. We love to be super organised and have an itemised schedule of each day to maximise everything we can see and do. That’s not to say every single minute is planned out but rather just the main things we would regret missing. The time around these is normally kept free to allow us to explore, adapt to our new surroundings and end up on unplanned adventures.
1. Choose your destination wisely
The first and obviously most important thing to consider when planning a trip is where you want to go. Some people like to return to the same place each year whereas we normally head to a new destination.
Whether you’re planning a Spain beach break or a trek through the Amazon, you will still need to consider these four topics:
Cost
For us, the cost is probably the most important factor when planning a trip. We would love to be millionaires, able to travel the world on a whim, but in reality we both work nine to fives and often have to save up or plan our trips on a budget.
One of the most useful tools we use to help cut cost is Skyscanner.
When we get the travel bug, Liam normally heads over to Skyscanner and searches for ‘Edinburgh to Everywhere’. This brings up a huge list of destinations along with their costs so we can easily see what is in budget.
The cost of travelling to a destination will fluctuate throughout the season so if it’s expensive one month try looking at another time.
Time
Another huge consideration is how long you plan to be away for. If we only have a spare few days or a long weekend, we will always look to do a European city break. We put the dates into Skyscanner and up pops hundreds of destinations to choose from. Plus, if Ryanair or EasyJet serves them then you know you can get a great deal.
Now, if we have a couple weeks off, which normally happens around Spring and Summer Holidays, we try to get further afield. While you could spend two weeks in one place soaking up absolutely everything it has to offer, that’s not really for us.
For instance, in our latest trips to China, Russia and the USA we travelled between towns and cities so we could get a more authentic feel for the country and explore more locations.
Weather
Wondering why that flight and hotel is looking so cheap? It’s probably because it’s off season.
Just the idea of it being off season might put a lot of people off but it really pays to do some research. If it’s only cheap because the weather is a bit cooler or rainier that time of year then you might feel it’s still worth going for the cost.
We live in Scotland which is a lot colder and rainier than a lot of the world. For us its normal that most places in their off season will still have better weather than home!
This is how our yearly travel looks:
- February – Perfect time for a short city break. The weather is getting less dull, but the remaining cold will still keep a lot of tourists away.
- April – The ideal time to visit most hot countries as they will be warm without yet getting the blistering summer sun. We get a few weeks off for Easter so aim to travel somewhere that would be too hot in the summer months.
- June, July and August – Leah is a teacher so gets the full summer off so we have plenty of time to decide on where to go. The nice weather means that we can look to go practically anywhere but try to avoid places that would be better suited for the shoulder months.
- December – By the time December comes round we are fully in the festive mood so we usually look for a place that gives us all those Christmas vibes.
Religious or Cultural Events
This is a topic we feel is often overlooked but can be the difference between an amazing trip and a disaster!
When planning your trip, you should do as much research as possible on any religious or cultural events that are occurring in your chosen destination. Nine times out of ten it will probably be a pleasant surprise when you arrive but on the odd occasion it might mean you can’t do anything you originally planned.
For example, we planned on visiting Jordan in April but discovered that Ramadan was happening at this time. While this wouldn’t be a complete disaster, we would prefer saving the trip to a time when we know all the things we want to do and see would be available.
2. I’ve picked where…now what is there to do?
Once we’ve decided on a destination, we jump on the laptop and instantly start researching that city or country.
We put as much time as possible into the planning phase so that we make sure we get to see the things we want but also because it saves us a ton of time and money once we are there.
When we were looking to go to Norway, we had originally thought that the best idea would be to fly to Oslo and explore around there. But when we researched everything we found that everything we wanted to see was far closer to Stavanger and Bergen so instead did our road trip there.
There are so many places on the internet you can use for your research, but our favourites are:
- TripAdvisor – This ranks the top attractions and things to do in each place. Its great reading all the user submitted comments about a place before you visit as you often found out little time saving secrets (plus its hilarious reading the moany one-star reviews!)
- Atlas Obscura – Quite often if you rely solely on the big sites like TripAdvisor you will miss the smaller, more obscure locations that often make your trip memorable. Atlas Obscura is perfect for this as it lists places that you would never find otherwise. They also have a new mobile app which makes searching on the go even easier
- Travel Blogs – We love a good breakdown of things to do in a place so will often read as many travel blogs from people who have been there as possible. It really helps your own planning process when you read other’s experiences
- YouTube – It’s one thing reading about a place but its another seeing it. YouTube is ideal for all sorts of travel content from the short top ten lists all the way up to the massive multi-episode travel series.
So you’ve done all your research and have a big long lists of things you want to see, what now?
Well, something that we do all the time and would highly recommend is to create your own map on Google Maps. Every time you find something in your research that you would like to see, simply add it to the map.
Once you have added everything you’d like to see, you will get a really good idea of the best area to stay. For example, if you plan on staying in the city centre but everything you want to do is miles outside, why not pick a hotel out there instead. Planning this way will cut down your travel costs!
3. Booking, booking and more booking
Once we have a solid plan in place and have found enough things to make the trip worthwhile, we get to booking. Oh so much booking!
Flights
We always start with flights. You will always be able to find other accommodation, but if you miss out on booking that perfect flight then it could be goodbye to your trip.
Our favourite site when looking to book our flights is Skyscanner. It’s very simple to put the dates and location in and let it do its work.
We differ from some travellers in that we don’t always go with the cheapest option that Skyscanner suggests. That’s because, even though its sometimes cheaper to book through an agent, you get more security and peace of mind booking direct with the airline
This became very apparent to us when we had numerous holidays to cancel during the pandemic and being able to deal with the airline directly rather than a third party made the stressful process just that tiny bit easier.
Accommodation
Okay, so the flights are secured, what now? Well, it’s time to look for accommodation.
This is one of our favourite parts as it starts to make the trip feel real. We also loving spending hours checking out each different place and looking at hotels that are miiiiiiiles outside of our budget.
When we snap back to reality, we will likely head over to Hotels.com to see if there is a good deal there. There normally is and what makes it even better is that for every ten nights you book, you get a night free! We’ve used about five of these free nights so far and it feels fantastic staying somewhere you haven’t paid for.
If we are looking to be in a destination for a bit longer, we find Airbnb a better option. Reason being is that if you find a stay that includes a kitchen then you will save a lot of money making and prepping your own food rather than eating out all the time. Plus, they often have access to washing machines so you can keep your clothes nice and clean.
When thinking about accommodation options we thoroughly recommend looking back at your Google Map and seeing where the attractions are located. Try to put ourself as close to them (or public transport routes) as possible. Once you, found the ideal place, add it to the map too!
Attractions
If you have your flights and hotels booked, then the last thing to sort is all the things you want to see and do.
A lot of people we know leave this to the last minute or just turn up at the place expecting to be let in. This might work for some places but for others you will just be turned away and have to find something else to do.
We try to book as much as possible in advance, so we know that we are guaranteed to get it. It can be quite a lot of prep work before you go but it means that once you are on holiday you don’t have to worry or wait in huge lines as you’ll have booked your ticket weeks before.
When we visited Dublin we went to Kilmainham Gaol. The tickets for this are released four weeks in advance and sell out incredibly fast. We booked ours at 7:30am on the day they were released and even then they were already starting to sell out. If you had expected to rock up at the door a buy a ticket there you’d be very disappointed.
4. Entry requirements
With the upheaval in travel since 2020 it’s imperative you check the entry requirements for the country you are travelling to before you go. We have made many travel choices in the past two years based on entry restrictions alone.
For example, we chose to go to Norway in October 2021 as they required no tests for entry for fully vaccinated travellers – same for Dublin in February 2022. We chose the USA for April 2022 as they required only a proctored lateral flow for entry for fully vaccinated travellers which we were confident in passing.
However, these things have been changing on very short notice so we keep checking right up until we leave to make sure we have correct and up to date information. For us, this always comes from the UK Foreign Office website but we recommend you use your own country’s information as it will be most relevant to you.
In addition to this, it’s also very important you check the visa requirements for countries too. Being British passport holders, we usually find we are eligible for visas on arrival or in the case of Europe we haven’t been required to do anything. However, when travelling to China and Russia we had lengthy visa processes to go through which had to be done months in advance.
5. It’s the homestretch…what now?
So, you’ve got a couple weeks to go and it’s time to round up the final bits and pieces. Now for us (and probably most of the population) this usually means packing, last minute shopping and manically remembering to turn off all the plugs before we leave for the airport.
However, there are some important things you may be too busy to remember:
- Travel insurance – Being able to benefit from the EHIC system in Europe for many years on our trips, when we started branching out into other continents we found that we needed additional travel insurance. It’s crucial you buy this before you leave and don’t wait for something bad to happen first. This is because unless it’s annual insurance most companies will not cover you for holidays that have already commenced. This has been very important in the past few years with COVID as insurance is not likely to pay out if you took it out after you discovered you could not travel. It’s also just good peace of mind in case you require medical attention when abroad.
- Check your baggage allowances – There is nothing worse than turning up to the airport and discovering you have overestimated how much luggage you can have. Each airline will have different baggage restrictions so it is important you double check especially if you are taking more than one flight to your final destination. The airport costs for excess baggage fees will also eat in all the money you put aside for fun so check the weight before you leave the house!
- Airport transfers – If there’s one thing I always recommend to people when travelling to a new country, it’s to know what to do when you land in the airport. If you’ve been a long flight you’ll likely be sleep deprived, uncomfy and hungry. Couple this with arriving late at night in an unusual place and it’s a recipe for disaster. To make your life less stressful and your trip more enjoyable, check what your options are before leaving your home are so you have a clearer head on the other end.
Now there’s so much more that could be recommended and suggested but we feel these are the most important things for trip planning. As I said in the beginning it can be very stressful, but it can also be so much fun (especially if you find a method that works for you!). Do you have any tips for planning a trip? Drop them in the comments below as we’d love to read them.
