5 Travel Planning Tips: How to Plan the PERFECT Trip
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I’ve discovered that travel planning can be a lot of work. There are a lot of little details and factors to take into consideration. But, I have planned multiple types of trips with family and different groups of friends. What I realized is that any trip with any group can be planned using these 5 simple tips.
A lot of times, I end up taking the reins and planning the trip, because I have a system that works. My system for travel planning is efficient, cost-effective, and easy to use. Here are my top 5 tips, in order, on how I create the perfect trip every time:
1. Determine the Non-Negotiables
I named this as the first step, because skipping this step can lead to issues down the road. When travel planning, it is SO important that everyone on the trip feels like they have a say. Everyone creates a story in their head of how the trip will go or how they would like the trip to go. This step gets that narrative out of everyone’s heads and into concrete wants and needs you need to actually plan the trip.
I call this the non-negotiables step, because a lot of people are pretty set on what they like or need from a trip. This has to do with accommodations, daily activities, location, pace, and overall vibe or goal of the trip.
For instance, when I go to the beach with my family, my mom has her non-negotiables. I know that her requests will always be that we have to stay on the beach and that it cannot be a massive condominium complex. I also know on this trip that we never have an itinerary, because the overall goal or vibe of the trip is simply to relax.
On the other hand, when I plan trips with my friends, it is so important to figure out what people want or need from this trip. After having traveled with my two friends to multiple countries and destinations now, I now have an idea of what they like. But, when we went on our first trip, I had to really check in with them on what their requests were.
Are they up for a lot of adventuring or do we need a more relaxed itinerary? Are they okay with road trips or would they rather stay in one place? Do we all need separate beds or do we want the cheapest option? Are they okay with hiking or do they prefer cities? Do they need to be a part of planning the itinerary or would they rather me just do it?
All of these questions are important. Traveling and travel planning can make or break relationships. That is why this step is number one in making sure there are no problems down the line. As long as everyone is head and people have what they need, everything should be good to go.
2. Create a Tentative Itinerary
This step and the next step can definitely be switched based on the type of trip that you are taking. If you are traveling, instead of just a vacation, this one will typically come first: create a tentative itinerary.
The word “tentative” is really important, because you just want to get the general idea of what you will be doing and in what areas. This will then help you figure out what you need for step number 3: book accommodations. Don’t over-plan in this step!! It is meant to help figure out only the things you cannot miss.
What I do in this step first is figure out exactly where I am traveling. Take my trip to Iceland, for example. After searching and discovering that flights to Iceland would be our best and cheapest option, we decided that would be our location. I then discovered that we could take a mini-trip within our trip to London for 24 hours. So, our tentative itinerary now included both Iceland and London.
After this, I did a little research on Iceland and discovered what areas and sights would be the coolest to hit in Iceland and how much time we would need in each place. That was my tentative itinerary. I didn’t plan out specific activities. I figured out how long I would have in each place, the different areas, and my must-see sights. Then, I moved to step 3.
In another example, I took to Arkansas with my sister. We only had 2 days, but we wanted to do a big road trip that weekend and see everything. I created a general list of the top sights that we wanted to include. We didn’t know exactly what each day would hold or how much we would get to, but we knew generally what areas we would hit and where we would land at night.
TIP: The tentative itinerary is really important. It is what you will give to the people you are traveling with before you do anything else. You can show them the areas you are planning to hit and the top sights you all came up with based on your non-negotiables. This way, you haven’t planned a full trip, and you will be able to fix any kinks in the plan before you’re too far into it.
3. Book Accommodations First
I named step number 3 as “Book Accommodations First,” because it really is the backbone of the trip. Not to mention, it is also typically the most expensive portion of the trip (excluding flights on some occasions). While sometimes you will make the tentative itinerary first, this will be the first thing to actually book, after flights. After that, all the other expenses won’t feel so bad.
Accommodations are actually really important when travel planning. If you are on a budget, making sure you book a place that fits either in or under budget can make you feel less stressed about affording the trip. If you are staying in the accommodation for most of the trip or not doing much exploring, making sure you book a place that has all the amenities you want is important. Or, you could be traveling around to different places, making sure you knock out where your accommodations will be helps you plan the entire rest of the trip.
I think it is extremely important to go ahead and book a place. There are so many options these days when it comes to booking. Sometimes, it might be important to have free cancellation. Other times, you might want to have the option to pay when you get there. For hotels, I always use Expedia. Since I travel to destinations of all types, I’ve never really stuck with just one hotel group. Using Expedia helps me earn points from all my bookings and gives me discounts on hotels of all kinds in all locations. I’m a Gold member now for using it for hotels and car rentals so much!
If I’m looking for an accommodation for a group or for a more relaxed trip, I’ll use Airbnb or VRBO. VRBO is actually part of Expedia Group, so if you book with them, you’ll earn points on Expedia as well. All of these options have cancellation policies or payment plans that can help you prepare for your trip.
The only time you shouldn’t make a tentative itinerary first is if you are just looking to get away or go on a vacation. For instance, my mom and I wanted to just get out of town for a week. We really didn’t care where, but we thought it would be fun to get a cabin for a few days. In that case, we really just knew once we found the perfect place, then we could decide what to do around it.
Doing this helps you be a little more spontaneous and actually find adventure around where you stay. Sometimes, it really is important to simply have a good accommodation to go back to. Other times, it is important to simply have a place to stay on your travels. Just book your accommodations first so that you can know exactly what you’re working with, and you won’t have to worry about it again.
4. Check Every Resource
When travel planning, I make sure to check all my resources. Sometimes, one resource might be enough. If it’s a trusted friend, blogger, or website that always delivers – go for it! But, it’s always good to adjust based on you. You might love different types of activities than that person. Foodie suggestions might be more your thing than it is for me. You might discover something they hadn’t even heard of.
All I’m saying is that at this point, there is so much information out there for you to find. If you want to create the perfect trip, do your research. Don’t stop with just one source.
I always start with a quick Google search. This will always give me those classic spots you can’t miss in a place. That is a great starting point. Then, I will do a ton of Pinterest searches. This gives me a little more insider knowledge of real people who have been to these places or live in these places. They give more itinerary details and tips on each place – as well as much better pictures than Google!
I also always ask my friends or family! If you know someone who lives in that place or has visited that place, make sure you ask them. You are friends with them for a reason, so they will usually give you good answers that you know you will like.
The last tip, and a little more time-consuming is to use Google maps. I can’t tell you how many random, but beautiful or cool places I’ve found just from scrolling around on Google maps. All I do is zoom in then scroll and look for all the different location tags around the location I will be in. It’s that simple. It just could take a while, and you may only find one or two places to add to your list. But, this is definitely a great idea when it comes to restaurants.
It will likely take you a few tries to get it down to where you know what you like or don’t like. I always just give myself a ton of options, because I can always narrow it down later once I do a little more research or ask the people I’m going with.
Just make sure you write everything down! Even if it seems just slightly intriguing to you – write it down. If you see it in one place but nowhere else, still write it down. That could be a hidden gem you would have never found out about, and it could be your favorite part of the trip.
If you are really serious about this, it could take a lot of time and effort. But, it always pays off. This way, you have already helped grow your knowledge of a place, and you will be a better tourist because of it. Don’t be afraid to really dig in and discover some hidden gems or off the beaten path items.
Yes, don’t get me wrong, I love the tourist traps sometimes. They are touristy for a reason. But, it’s always fun to discover places no one else is at or local places that are actually authentic. Just check all your resources when travel planning so you are well-informed and well-prepared!
5. Use Google Maps “Want to Go” Feature
I always, always, always use the Google Maps “Want to Go” feature to plan my itinerary. I also always use it to navigate when I am actually at the destination. Based on the tip I shared above, I always do a quick Google search of the city or country I am visiting.
Once on Google, I go to the Points of Interest section and view all of them. From here, since I have the Google Maps app on my phone, I can just easily click the save button, and it will save that place as a point of interest on Google Maps. Note: you can save all these locations as either “Favorites,” “Want to go,” or “Starred places,” so pick whichever works best for you.
It’s extremely easy to save the locations straight from Google on the Internet. But, it isn’t much more difficult to make a list from Pinterest, look up each place on the Google Maps app, and save them that way. If you also do the Google Maps trip of scrolling to find unknown places or restaurants, you can easily click on the name of the location and save it.
Now that you have added everything from your list, travel planning can now be visual. So, again, compile a list based on your research from all your sources. Add each of these points as starred places or as “Want to go” on Google Maps. After this, you can visually see where everything is that you might want to go to.
Make a mental note of those things on your list that are must-sees. Or, save them as a different tag, like “Favorites.” From this visual itinerary or list, you can now begin to eliminate certain locations. If a location is just so far out of the way, un-save it. As long as you aren’t tied to it, you will be okay. Yes, you want to do as much as possible, but don’t sacrifice time and effort when you aren’t sure.
Now that you have all of your points saved, you can easily see how to craft out your itinerary. All you have to do is decide where to start and how to efficiently make your way to each place. This comes with practice, but it isn’t hard. For example, you will start to see how you can group certain locations by day if they are close together.
It’s always better to have your Google Maps be full of options. You never know when you might have more time than you thought. If you do, you can easily check Google Maps and pop over to another place!
If you use any of these tips, please let me know! Or, if you have any other tips you love, feel free to share! Travel planning is so much of the fun of traveling for me, and I love to share my tips on how to make it easier for everyone. Happy planning!
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