Introduction
When we think of leaving the comfort of our homes and houses to explore other areas and places around the world, millions of mixed thoughts, emotions and questions always flash through our minds. Whether you plan on treating yourself for a Luxury Retreatat the amazing rental homes in Lake Como in Italy or just planning to visit your local park for a fun-filled weekend.
This is usually one of the most exciting yet tensed moments of planning for a trip whether you are alone, with your soulmate or with friends as you droll over the thought of the fun that you
are about to experience but you are wary of the fact that you have actually never been there. Will it be fun? Will I get what I am being promised by my advisor?
These are among some of the questions that linger in your mind. Well, there is no need to sweat your way into a vacation or trip as I have dedicated this article to guide you through the best
ways to plan and execute your trip ensuring that you do actually enjoy it rather than getting surprises along the way.
1. Where will I go for my Holiday?
Personally, having visited more than 20 countries in 6 years, there will always be a place or country that you desire to go it being the first time or going back to the same place over and
over again for your own reasons. However, the world is full of fun and diverse cultures and activities to offer and all you have to do is pick out the place.
Well, I have a fun way of making sure I select the best place(s) to make sure that I am content with it. This is the most important part of your holiday planning. What weather do you want to
enjoy? What activities do you want to take part in? This question narrows down all holiday destinations into very few categories which give you a better chance of making the best decision. Whether you wish to go ice skiing, you will definitely have better options researching the best Ice Ski destinations such as Finland or Andorra during the winters.
In a nutshell, you have to carefully decide where you will have fun most as this is definitely the one thing you aim at when going for a holiday. Trip Advisor gives you more information about the holiday destinations that you have in mind including the fare and hotel prices all around the world.
Once you have that out of your hair, planning for your destination becomes easier and fun. Going through your closet with your trip mate or shopping around for the summer dress with your best friend sounds as fun as taking the trip itself. This is fairly true but this is where the tiny and most important details come in.
You certainly do not want to arrive at your destination and find you that you forgot your map or your rental car is not available. This calls for a budget, a checklist and a planner from the
first day of confirming your holiday destination to the last day of your holiday.
2. What is my budget and how much will my trip cost me?
As it is the norm, you definitely selected a budget-friendly destination and a holiday length that will blow your mind away but still keep your wallet in check. Budgeting for your trip is essential as it gives you a range of the amount to spend anywhere where your mind ends up spending less or slightly more. I have vowed to be in the former category with a few tricks and ideas over the few countries that I have visited. This begins with getting the best airline tickets and this usually means booking my flights earlier, traveling during off-peak seasons or using the frequent flyer miles.
You can find cheap fares using sites such as Google Flights or Skyscanner.
This coupled up with the use of frequent flyer miles can guarantee you cheap fares to most parts of the world. You can also mitigate through this cost by getting a travel rewards credit card which you can redeem for flight fares or even hotel fees after meeting their minimum spending requirements. You can sign up for one of these cards as soon as you decide to travel so as to rake up enough points to cater for flights or hotel fees.
You certainly won’t spend your precious holiday time in the hotel room as you can do that in your own home. You will want to engage in activities in your holiday destination as well as
enjoying their local cuisines. This will definitely need intense research mostly by googling their local hotels or contacting a local holiday for a thorough activity planning. This is the heart of your holiday and more time should be allocated for this if you wish to have a fun-filled time. Walking around the local town using Google Maps or Siri would be an expense-free activity and you get to experience the local
culture such as paint festival in India or walking on the Great Wall of China where you can use a taxi hailing App such as Uber in most countries if you get lost or pre-order a rental car if you plan on staying in one town for a long period.
This research will certainly make your life easier as you travel as it gives you a concrete or an idea of the amount you need to have in your account as you travel. Studying the local currency in your holiday destination and contacting your local bank for currency exchange before traveling also gives you an easy time with the locals
At this point, you almost have everything important crossed out on your checklist, giving you time to learn some local dialect or go shopping.
3. Start Packing from Your Checklist
We all have some imaginations of how your holiday will be or how you will be in a particular spot in Bali enjoying the breeze with your best friend in your best bikini or swimsuit. It would be
very unfortunate to get to your resort only to find that you are missing half the items that you intended on having in the trip as it would ruin your plans or add an unnecessary cost in purchasing new items.
Writing down the list of items that you require is the best way to mitigate through the agony of ruining your holiday. Start parking these items systematically and label all bags, pouches, and
containers that you carry to make it easy when looking for something in your luggage. Purchase any items that you do not have early enough in your local shop or through Amazon to give you ample time to try them out and pack them.
4. Plan for your house and bills.
These solely depend on the amount of time that you wish to spend on your holiday but it remains to be a very essential part of your planning. If you wish to have a safari at the Maasai Mara for one month then switch to the Everest for some hiking, you definitely need to inform your billing companies and make the necessary arrangements to reduce the possibilities of fines and penalties. This would also call for more security reinforcement at your home as you do not wish to receive burglary alerts while flying 30,000 feet over the Indian Ocean.
Automating your bill payments and emails is key to a stress-free travel plan as you will be able to keep track of your necessary information on the go. This also prevents you from missing out
on important communications while on the trip.
Remember to make necessary arrangements for your travel insurance and all the medical requirements before setting off for your journey.
It is probably a week before your trip and you are super excited knowing that everything so far has fallen in to place and all that remains is for you to get on the plane.
5. Set off for your trip.
It is time and you have had ample time planning but it all counts if you get into the place on time. Ensure that you leave your house early enough for to check-in your flights and to carry your baggage around the airport.
You have labored through to get to this point and it would only be fair if you fully enjoy the full length of your trip whether alone, with your best friend or your soulmate.
This guideline enables you to have a fun and enjoyable time planning your trip as well as preparing you for a well-deserved fun-filled holiday.
Remember to carry some magazines or motivating stories of your destinations to hype you up for the journey as well as researching the weather and the events taking place at your holiday destination.
Be prepared and enjoy your holiday.
