You want to travel, but don’t know how to get started with planning the trip?
We totally get it! There is a long way from sitting at home and daydreaming about a destination to actually getting there. I mean, you have to think about travel insurance, visas, booking the flights – and what should you even focus on first? Planning a trip can be quite intimidating – especially if it’s your first time doing it by yourself.
But we’re here to help! After having travelled to many places around the world whether it be for a weekend trip to Lisbon or a one-year trip around the world – it’s safe to say that we had our fair share of travel planning.
So in this blog post, we’ve created a step-by-step guide on how to plan a trip, so that you can finally go to that dream destination of yours. Now let’s start planning!
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1. Choose your destination
The first step in how to plan a trip is deciding where you actually want to go. Are you planning a trip to Rome, Buenos Aires, Australia or Antarctica?
Before you can do any of the next steps, you obviously need to choose your destination. But since you’re already on this page, you probably have a pretty good idea of where you want to go.
So say it out loud: “I want to go to …”, and then move on to the next step.
2. Set your time frame
The second step in how to plan a trip is to set your time frame. Here you have to decide for how long you want your trip to last – a weekend, a week, a month, a year?
But make sure to take into consideration what’s possible with your job and other occupations. When that’s done, then decide on some specific dates for this trip – this is where you set your time frame.
So this step basically goes like this:
- Decide on how long you want this trip to last.
- Check what’s possible with your job and other important engagements.
- Choose some specific dates for this trip that will give you a time frame.
3. Create a realistic budget
Now it’s time to talk about money. Traveling isn’t cheap, and it’s not really fun to go somewhere without being able to afford access to the big attractions.
The cheapest places we’ve ever traveled was in Vietnam and Bolivia. Here we spent around $30 a day per person including hotels, meals, transportation, and sightseeing. However, last summer we went to Amsterdam, which was the complete opposite. Here we ended up spending more than $200 every day on accommodation alone.
My point being, every destination is different, and so is the budget. So it’s time for you to do some research into your chosen destination. Set a realistic budget for your trip, but make sure to count in some extra room in your budget for unforeseen costs. You never know what happens when you’re on the road.
To help you make a budget, check out budgetyourtrip.com for some inspiration.
If the expenses for your destination is bigger than the budget you can afford, then go back to step 1 and choose another destination – or accept that it may take years to save up this kind of money. Please, don’t go somewhere with too little money, it just holds you back from doing the things you came to see. That’s at least my opinion.
4. Save up money for your trip
In this step, the hard work of planning your trip begins. Now you start saving up money for travel!
If it’s just a weekend trip to a destination close by, then you may not have to do this step, but if you’re traveling far away, which requires some expensive flights, or if you’re going away for say 3 months to South America, then you really need to start saving.
Get an overview of your monthly expenses and see what you can put towards travel, and then start saving.
5. Book your flight tickets
Now the real fun begins! In this step, it’s time to buy some plane tickets.
This is always my favorite part of planning a trip because once the flights are booked, I know the trip will actually happen. I just love that feeling!
When booking flights, we always first use Skyscanner to scour the internet for the best flight deals and the best flight routes. Sometimes we buy flight tickets directly through Skyscanner and other times we head over to the airline’s official website and get the tickets there.
6. Book your accommodation
All right, the next step in how to plan a trip is to book your accommodation. But first ask yourself – what kind of traveler are you?
Do you want to stay somewhere neat and comfortable? Then book a hotel room. Do you prefer your own space? Then rent a private apartment. Do you want to meet other travellers? Then try staying in a hostel. Do you want to engage with locals? Then stay in a guesthouse.
You’ll find that there are many types of accommodation options in every city, which means you can often tailor your trip to your exact need. Isn’t it just lovely to be your own travel agent? So take a moment to consider how you want to live during your trip.
We always use Booking.com to find accommodation while travelling. In our opinion, this is the absolute best booking platform for hotels! You get the best overview of the accommodation options available, the ranking and reviews are created by other travellers who stayed there, payment is safe, you can earn genius membership to get great deals, and we’ve never had anyone lose our booking.
We’ve also used other platforms before like Hostelworld and Airbnb, but we keep going back to Booking.com because we just think it’s the best.
7. Get a visa if necessary
No matter where you’re going, always check if you need a visa beforehand!
I bet it’s a bittersweet feeling to stand in the airport, getting rejected at check-in because you forgot to get a visa. Luckily, we never tried that because we always check if we need a visa while planning our trip.
So please make sure to check visa rules at your destination before your trip – at least a couple of weeks before your departure in case there is a long approval time.
To check visa rules, you can either contact the embassy of your destination in your home country – for example, if you’re going to India, then you can contact the Embassy of India. Or you can check visa rules and obtain a visa through iVisa.com.
8. Buy travel insurance
In our opinion, buying travel insurance is one of the most important things you have to consider when you’re planning a trip. If something bad happens to you while you’re on the road, and you can’t the help you need, then your whole trip will most likely be ruined.
A few examples: You get really sick, something gets stolen from you, or you need legal help. All something your travel insurance can help you with.
I (Cecilie) have used my travel insurance 3 times when I got sick – twice I went to a hospital and got treated without having to pay a dime. That’s why I love my travel insurance.
So make sure to check if you already have a travel insurance or if you need to buy one for your upcoming trip.
9. Check recommended vaccines
This step in how-to-plan-a-trip is not necessary for everyone. It really depends on your destination.
Different destinations have different diseases, and in some destinations it’s a really good idea to get some vaccines before you leave. Since we’ve travelled the world for a year, we have had to take a lot of vaccines: Hepatitis A & B, Typhoid fever vaccine, Japanese encephalitis, Yellow Fever, and Rabies.
But don’t worry, you most likely won’t need all of this.
But make sure to check online or ask your general practitioner if you need any vaccinations for the destination you’re heading to.
10. Research attractions & things to do
Now that we’ve covered all the practical steps in how to plan a trip, it’s time to have some fun!
In this part of the planning, all you need to do is lean back and start researching what you want to do during your trip. Are there any specific attractions you want to see? Is there a museum you’re dying to visit? Want to visit a national park? Or maybe do a delicious food tour in a big city? You name it!
Do some research online or get a travel book about your destination – it’s time to get excited about your upcoming travels!
If you want to plan ahead and buy tickets to museums and other attractions, or if you just want to get inspired by what you can do, then check out Viator and Get Your Guide. These are some of the best booking sites where you can book tours and entrance tickets online.
11. Pack your backpack/suitcase
Can you feel it? Your trip is getting closer and closer, and it’s now so close that it’s time to pack! So get your backpack or suitcase out of the closet, dust it off, and put it down. Now let’s fill it!
But before you start packing, make sure to take a moment to check the weather of your destination. Is it summer or winter? What is the average temperature? Is it going to rain, snow or be sunny? You need to pack accordingly!
And a little word of advice – you always pack more than you actually need. So, take out that extra sweater you just packed and leave a little space for a souvenir from your destination. It’s always nice to bring some physical memories home. We don’t do it often enough.
12. Go enjoy your trip!
You’re ready!
Congratulations on making it to the end of this how-to-plan-your-own-trip guide! All there is left for you to do now is to hop on that plane, or bus, or boat, and go enjoy your destination.
We hope you found this planning guide helpful and that you’ll have an amazing trip. Please don’t hesitate to ask us any questions in the comment section about travel planning. We’ll do our best to answer your questions.
Thanks for reading and happy travels!
Want more travel tips? Check out this one: How to survive traveling as a couple.
