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How to plan a trip?
The ins and outs of traveling are not always clear. How to plan a trip? When to go? Where to go? For how long? What to do? Who to go with? How to afford it? How to feel? These questions are all inevitable. The amount of hanging fruit that needs to be picked before stepping off a plane is immense. It can appear overwhelming at times but, clearly, many many people overcome these hangups to create masterful vacations. That means one thing; it’s completely doable!
As with anything else, different people have different approaches to travel. Things to consider for one person may be completely irrelevant to another. Still, the above questions will need to be answered decisively. So, in this piece, we’ll go over how to plan a trip in the purest sense. What kinds of things you need to address, what to expect and so on and so on and so on and so on and s-you get the point.
When is it Time to Travel?
The time to travel also depends on you, on your personality. Are you the type who plans practically, waiting for the most opportune time to go into travel mode? Or do you go with the flow, and let the urge to go elsewhere catch you in the wind? These things will invariably paint your decision-making. How to plan a trip you’ve been building for months to do during your Summer vacation is one thing. How to plan a trip when you’ve just had it with life itself is another. That’s when the dilemma over spontaneity versus planning comes in.
However, in this piece, I want to address the issue of timing less from a practical view and more from an emotional one. How to plan a trip at a certain time? When you feel burnt out, that’s a good sign a little break may do you good. Or, maybe you’ve just visited a museum or watched and been swayed by a foreign culture into travel. Inspiration can come from anywhere after all. Maybe a change of scenery would be nice as well. Many of us spend countless hours working, stressing, and/or both. Traveling is often an underrated remedy to these ills.
Do you have a family? Kids? Traveling creates lifelong memories and could literally change their lives. Do you want them exposed to the wilder world when they’re young or when they’re old enough to fully digest it? Do you value traveling enough on a personal level to justify dedicating time and money to it that could go elsewhere? The emotional arguments are not always easy but I feel often underline the more obvious practical considerations. Your will guides your drive and your drive guides your bank account and your bank account guides your trip. Nevertheless, the when of travel is not solely reflective of you, but of your destination as well.
A big thing to consider for any perceived destination is the weather, with certain countries being clear favorites over others depending on the season. If you wanna see snow and freeze til you die consider Russia, Canada, or Greenland in January. If you want fun in the sun and a horrific tan, consider Bali, Spain, or Hawaii in the Summer. Choosing the season to travel is important as it will present specific challenges and benefits owing to the particular situation in the destination.
Looking Forward Financially
The first thing I do when I ask myself how to plan a trip is to determine how much money I’m likely to need. Start by making a general estimate in your mind based on what you know about the place you’re going to. To start, you should figure out how their local currency converts to what you’re used to. But that doesn’t tell the full story. The numbers can be deceiving and it’s suggested to check average prices for everyday necessities like food and shelter before deciding your budget. Things like this are quite easy to find. I often do a simple google search and read articles referencing the expected daily price of food, transport, shelter, and more.
Don’t think this is only an issue for international travel. Within a country, some areas are cheaper or more expensive than others, so you should check the prices even for domestic travel. Of course, most likely the gap won’t be as big domestically but it’s still likely going to be there, especially if you’re going from the city to the countryside or vice versa. This is many times more crucial to investigate simply for the reason that most don’t assume there is a big difference until they see it firsthand.
How to Plan a trip
So, how to plan a trip and its budget after determining the average prices you’ll pay for necessities? First, ask yourself how long you want to stay, and depending on how detailed you wanna be, try out some math for that time. Some people literally make hour-by-hour budgets and use that to calculate how much money they need for their trips. I prefer to be a bit looser and think the best way how to plan a trip is to be general. Nevertheless, always factor in any specific activities you know you will do and the costs for them, such as tours, going to resorts, shows, or the like. Factor those into your budget asap.
Ideally, you’d be either working or saving money from feet pics to afford these trips. If so, I like to set up a savings account only for travel. NOTHING ELSE! Nothing else matters in life! Anyways, as you earn, set aside money congruent to the time you want to leave. Have a budget in mind, now that you got a time in mind, and grind til then. Some hard decisions will have to be made reflecting if you reach your financial targets or not and be ready to change your original plans to accommodate making less or more money than originally planned.
Spontaneity vs Deep Planning
This is one of the biggest questions for travelers when thinking about how to plan a trip. I think it’s also the most subjective. It really depends on the person, their personality, and how they like to do things. I would lean toward a mix of the two. I think some guidance and overview are good but maintaining a strict travel schedule is too difficult to commit to. On the flip side, being spontaneous can be really fun especially when you go somewhere without a plan and just stumble upon greatness. However, you also run the risk of shuffling around aimlessly and possibly missing a place’s nicest assets because of poor planning.
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Love Yourself!
Both have happened to me, which is why I prefer a middle-grounded one. This is where I create an overview of where I’m going and what I wanna do on a given day and then go with the flow of it, making sure to keep it flexible. However, if you’re a very quick and punctual traveler, a stricter, tighter approach to planning can be good. Making a to-do list, with times, distances and costs considered can bring a lot of order into a potentially intimidating vacation. If you have a clue what exactly you’ll be doing when and how much it’ll cost, you have little to worry about.
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Don’t lose yourself!
On the flip side, forcing yourself into time crunches may seem too binding, especially if you’re visiting somewhere for the first time. How to plan a trip spontaneously? You don’t by definition but I’d say allowing a general sense of purpose to guide you is good. Like, for instance, visiting Cairo and wanting to see a market is an idea. You go to the market and the idea is covered, now you can just explore however you feel from there at your own leisure.
Perfecting the Itinerary
The next step is to delve into the details. So, you’ve decided on a when. You’ve calculated how much. You’ve decided how detailed your plan is going to be. Now don’t just leave the plan standing. Double-check things. Is your money gonna be okay? Is this really a good time to travel? Do some more research to see what places, food, and activities you wanna add or remove from your plan. Iron things out.
At this time, I like to get prepared like buying gear for the trip and thinking about any means of documentation such as cameras, journals, and whatnot. Get a Spotify playlist going hehe. Choose some travel drip. Or maybe that’s just me. Idk I didn’t write this shit. I just wrote this shit. Idk what I’m saying… I need your love now.
Last Details
So, in all honesty, you should probably flip these two. But like fuck honesty. That stuff is overrated? Right Dwylan? (He said yes) Yeah, so you need to check up info for the destination such as diseases, health issue, necessary shots, and the like. This of course applies much more to certain destinations than others. Check for crime-related data too. It may seem overly precautious but it is just good to know. And, unfortunately, it applies doubly for women, LGBTQ, and sometimes people of minority backgrounds so it’s just better to be safe than sorry.
The last thing to do that’s tedious is to make sure you understand the airport-based tomfoolery. Know about visas and the like first and foremost. Look especially at luggage costs and things like layovers and if your luggage can be taken to your final destination in such a case. None of this is particularly fun but it needs to be done to make your life hassle-free upon entering the modern hellhole that is the airport.
Go Time
That was how to plan a trip but this is the moment when your trip is planned fully. There will be excitement and nerves in conjunction. One may overpower the other but they will definitely both be there. Use the airport experience as a last safe space before you land if you’re afraid. You’re still kind of at home, so enjoy some entertainment and relax before the journey really begins. Of course, if you have no nerves, none of this applies.
If you’re traveling abroad, expect some culture shock but let the jetlag help you through it. Everything will iron out soon enough. It’s always weird as hell in the beginning. Traveling domestically can also be like this but either way, patience is king. And, think about it, with all this planning you’ve done, what could go wrong?
In Conclusion
A lot could go wrong actually. You will probably get kidnapped and held for a shockingly low ransom which will bruise your ego enough to make you demand a higher ransom that your parents won’t pay and you’re left with your captors who don’t way you either. So, you just sit and wonder what it ever felt like to be wanted in the first place and how you live with the inability to see it was your own avarice that caused this. At least, that’s what Dwylan told me.
Fuck that though, hope you learned some tings, enjoyed and will return soon for some other Globe Junkie Based Tomfoolery! Bon Voyage!
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