My favorite way to start trip planning is with good-old fashioned books.
One day, I was living my life like normal. And then it hit me: my trip to Thailand was suddenly just over a month away. And besides booking my flights, I hadn’t done any trip planning. Considering it was my first time traveling to Asia, I really needed to get things together. Fast.
The good news is that after so many trips, I have the whole trip planning thing down to a science. (Which is great! Because having things officially planned makes it seem so much more real, and super exciting.) So… when you find yourself with a trip sneaking up on you and no plans, here are a few of my favorite trip planning tips.
1. Start Your Trip Planning With Books
Yes, I know we have the internet at our disposal, but hear me out: I love books as an initial resource when going somewhere I don’t know much about. The problem with the internet is that the wealth of information there is so extensive, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. A book, on the other hand, has finite information, and its authors have made the decision to include only this information.
For that reason, books can make a great starting point. And once you’ve gotten a general idea of what you want to do, you can always go online for more information later. A few of my favorite travel book brands are Rick Steves Europe, DK Eyewitness, and Lonely Planet.
2. Get Comfortable
Here’s the deal — we’re going to make this into a “thing.” It might take a whole day, it might take a few hours, but either way you’re going to need to sit down with your computer, your books, your credit card, and some coffee. You’re going to need to focus all your attention on trip planning, so you’ll need to find a place where you can do this most effectively.
I have to take myself out of my everyday environment when doing important work, so my favorite thing to do is head to a coffee shop for planning. I love coffee, and it helps me motivate myself, and snacks abound (obviously).
3. Make a Trip Planning Calendar
Let’s start with the basics. Where will you be each day of your trip? There’s a good chance you won’t stay in the same city the whole time; even if you do, you probably know a few activities you’d like to do during that time. Open Google Sheets, draw some boxes, and put little numbers in the corner like a calendar. Now, on any travel days, gray it out to mark that you won’t have to plan anything for that day.
What’s left are the days you have free to plan to your heart’s content. Start filling in the calendar, little by little. What does it look like if you spend 4 days in Bangkok? Or 5 days? How many days does that leave for Chiang Mai? Can you squeeze in the side trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia? This is just a rough draft, so feel free to play around until you feel good about the amount of time you’ve decided to spend in your chosen destinations. Don’t forget to take travel between locations into account. Then, color code your calendar.
4. Book Your Basics
All right, that was probably slightly less than half the battle, but good job for making it this far! Just getting that done can feel like a huge relief. Now it’s time to turn these loose plans into solid plans. This is the part where you’ll need your credit card, because you’re going to start booking. This part, besides the booking itself, will take awhile as you do your research on the available options.
Unless you want to get extremely detailed with your plans, I recommend just booking transportation and lodging before you travel. Start with transportation — in case any of these tickets are sold out, you can still rearrange your calendar a bit if needed. Then book your lodging, whether that’s hotels, hostels, Airbnbs, or a combination.
You can book almost anything else (other than very specific excursions) on the spot during your trip. If you want to book in advance, I recommend reliable platforms such as Viator or GetYourGuide.
5. Tag Important Information
This isn’t technically part of trip planning, but it’s a step you can take now that will make your life easier in the future. (That’s always a good idea.) As you book your transportation and lodging, you’ll start getting confirmation emails with the details of your reservations. Start tagging these emails or moving them to a new folder, whatever works for you to keep this information organized.
In the days before your trip, instead of sifting through your whole inbox, you can go straight to that tag or folder and find all the information you need. You can print copies of these items to take with you, or even access them while on your trip.
There you have it! I hope you’re feeling accomplished. What are your tips for trip planning, or what else would you like to know? Leave me a comment!
-Cathy
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Originally Published on October 9, 2017.
I know you are excited I still worry thinking you are a little girl still. And I remember how scary that country was in decades past. But if I was going anywhere I would go with you. It would be so organized. Have a great time. Love ya and keep a good luck charm in your pocket.