There’s no one size fits all routine for how to plan trips, though some have no routine at all. I get it. Planning a trip from scratch can be overwhelming, and it may be pushing you to brink of letting a travel agent do the work for you (or worse book yourself on a big group tour), but wait just a minute there. I want to share with you how I plan my travel trips abroad — on a budget.
Step 1: Decide where to go.
I can’t go planning a trip if I don’t know where I’m going. If I don’t have a set destination in mind, but I know I want to travel during a particular time, I jump on Google Flights. I type in my departure airport or airports (you can add up to about three), then I type in the exact dates if I know them, and then I don’t type anything into the destination box.
So for example I’m going to look at flights for 6 weeks out from Glasgow Airport, Glasgow Prestwick Airport, and Edinburgh for a 2 week trip. Note: Google Flights is not paying me for this — I’m just a big fan of this site. 😉
Ok, so I hit ‘search’. And voila! A map pops up with all sorts of potential destinations. Here’s what it looks like.
Then, I can go filter my options. Limit the amount of stops, specify or refuse certain airlines, flight times, bags included, and the flight duration. Below the dates you can specify the price. You can use these to narrow down your trip as need be.
If you’re more flexible with your dates, there’s a cool feature where you can look at flexible dates. Just click on the outbound date. Mine is Sun, Oct 27. Then, you’ll see an option for ‘flexible dates’. Click that then you can choose the month and duration of your trip. This tool will help you get the best deal on flights since you’re not tied down to specific dates. Hooray!
So, I’m going to go in and limit my price to $200 round trip. Whoa! I see a flight for $58 to Copenhagen for the dates that I specified. I’ve been wanting to go there, so I’m halfway sold already!
Ok, so there’s a Ryanair flight for 6:55 pm, no stops. I’m on a budget and Ryanair is a budget-friendly airline (clearly!) so I’m always willing to make the sacrifice of crammed seating and paid snacks. Plus, it’s only 1 hour 45 min.
So let’s say I’m flexible with my flights by a day or two. So once again, I go click on the outbound date of Sun, Oct 27 and it shows me some different prices if I adjusted my dates. This will also help you get the best deal!
But that’s okay — that’s the best flight for my dates! I’m sold. Now just remember to check the airline for baggage fees. Ryanair charges a little bit for a carry on bag, but for that price I’m happy to pay a little extra.
Now, I don’t book the flights just yet. I want to make sure I can find affordable places to stay and that there’s enough things to do and explore while I’m there. Which brings me to step 2…
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Step 2: Find accommodation.
As the’re both budget-friendly, I usually use Hostelworld and Airbnb when planning a trip. I’ve written an article on hostels versus Airbnb — be sure to check it out if you’re debating the two. I skim through and make sure I can find something within my budget. I try to find the most affordable, decent option that is still within easy access to do the things I want to do and see. Once again, I don’t book just yet though. That’s for step 4.
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Step 3. Research and make lists of things to do.
This is either the longest or shortest stage of my process. If I’m only visiting one destination, it takes no time at all. If I need to map out multiple destinations during one trip, then it will add more time to how I plan. This is because I’d need to sort out buses, trains, timetables, etc. I may need to go back to step 1 and book additional flights, and I’ll definitely need to go back to step 2 for booking more accommodation.
But this is when I hop over to Pinterest and use my beloved Ecosia search engine (a search engine that plants trees with its profits!) to find out things about my destination.
There I read articles by fellow bloggers and travel writers and jot down some things. I have a journal I use for all my planning.
I divide my list by things to do and see, food, coffee, bars, and parks. Since I’m on a two week trip, I’m going to look into other destinations surrounding Copenhagen. I might spend some time in Sweden since it’s within easy access. So, I make all those lists.
For finding local events, I check Facebook, research “What’s on in [insert city],” or even check out Airbnb’s experiences.
I research things like “hidden gems in Copenhagen,” “What’s on in Copenhagen,” “How to get from Copenhagen to Malmö, Sweden.” I usually first check Google Maps for directions. It typically shows bus and train timetables. I see that there’s a train service every 20 minutes, so I probably don’t need to book that in advance, but I’ll write down that information.
Using my journal, I jot down a rough guide to my days. For example:
Oct 27: Land in Copenhagen
Oct 29-Nov 1 explore Copenhagen
Nov 2 – Day trip to Helsingør
Nov 3 – Rent a car and drive to Møns Klint
Nov 4 – Go to Malmö, Sweden
. . .It keeps going – but you get the idea. I don’t have every day figured out, but I usually make a rough outline and book accommodation in advance.
Step 4: Check the weather.
I read up about the weather in my destination so I can prepare my packing list accordingly. It’s important to read about the operating hours because depending on the time of the year, certain attractions may operate on a different schedule or closed completely.
Step 5: Book everything.
Hooray! Now I go through and book my flights and accommodation and I’m hyped! Up until my trip, I’ll probably still doing a bit of research or I’ll let the city surprise me. It all just depends on my mood. Sometimes I like the feeling of going to place a little bit clueless. Everything seems a bit more exciting because I didn’t stare at glorious photographs of it online all day…. You know those super extra Instagram pictures who make everything look like 110% more colorful and edit out tourists…
Step 6: Get excited and make sure everything is in place!
Once it’s a couple of days away, I make sure I have everything I need. An empty SD card, all my documents, flight details, etc. I pack all my pro traveler essential items, which you can read all about here! Also, it’s good to check out the currency and familiarize yourself with the exchange rate so to know be confused upon arrival. I’ll also makes sure I know how to get from the airport to the city. There’s a cool service like Kiwitaxi. They’ll pick you up straight from the airport and transfer you comfortably to your accommodation at a fair price.
And that’s basically how I plan all my travels abroad! Have any tips for planning a trip? Let me know in the comments below!
