Planning a trip these day doesn’t sound like a hard task, you just write the name of your destination on google and you immediately get all kinds of information and recommendations.
However in practice to have the best trip you have to plan wisely, to make research about the place and compare prices.
Moreover planning a trip wisely not only makes you feel less pressure but only makes the trip cheaper.
For those of you who want to plan a trip wisely but don’t know how I made this amazing guide.
The trip goal
Every trip should have a goal, I know it may sound irrelevant but having a purpose for the trip can help you a lot with planning your trip wisely.
People that plan their trip without knowing the trip’s purpose usually spend their money on attractions they didn’t even enjoy.
There is a saying: He who has a why to live can bear almost any how, so once you have a goal you would be able to achieve it.
Dedicate time and thought, write down exactly what you look for in your vacation and what are your expectations, and your vacation’s budget.
Choosing a travel destination
After having a trip goal you can easily choose a travel destination that fulfills your expectations and wishes, not only attractions but also budget-wise.
Furthermore, I recommend consulting with others before purchasing flight tickets, you can also consult with people via Facebook to make sure that the destination offers everything you need and want.
Explore the travel destination
Expand your knowledge about the travel destination, read about it, ask people who have been there already to tell you things and you also have the option to go to a lecture about the place.
Moreover, read about the local language, the country’s currency, and the culture, knowledge is power the more you know the better your trip will be.
However, be spontaneous and explore new spots during the trip.
Planning routes
Before booking a flight or a hotel, plan a route.
Planning a route will help you with planning the ultimate trip that includes all the places you would like to visit based on where they are placed on the map.
The best way to plan a route, in my opinion, is the app google maps, just pin the places you want to visit and then plan the best route.
Besides google maps, I recommend checking on the internet about nice pre-planned routes.
Moreover, If you would like to travel in several areas of the country you might want to check the local flights as well and include them as part of the route.
Planning forward can make a difference, it will reduce the amount of stress and pressure, you won’t need to deal with booking a place to sleep or spending time planning a route for the next day.
Travel agent
There is always an option to book flights and hotels via a travel agent, but remember that it might be more expensive than booking without a travel agent.
So in what kind of situations is it recommended to use travel agent services?
- If you want to travel without any concerns and prefer that someone else will be in charge of planning the trip, a travel agent might be a great option for you.
- If your travel destination is a place that requires a tour guide (the safari in Tanzania for example). You don’t necessarily need to use an agency from your country; you can use a local agency’s services.
- In some cases using travel agent services is profitable, mostly when the flight is long, travel agents may find you great deals at a lower price compared to website deals.
- If the destination is expensive, it is usually more profitable to use a travel agency that specializes in the specific place. I recommend you to book hotels and flights via travel agencies if your destination is one of the following: Maldives, Seychelles, or Bora Bora.
Always keep in mind that the travel market is big and you can make different bids for the same thing, my tip for you here is to compare between the different offers that way you would always take the best option for you.
Flights
How to pick up the best flight for you?
First of all (as I mentioned before) compare between several websites’ deals.
Look for the best offer for you that has the best engagements, also check out the time of the flight, the number of connections that include in the deal, and the amount of time between the connections.
If your flight does have a connection make sure that you have enough time in between, my recommendation is to have at least an hour and a half between the flights in case of cancellation or delays.
Read the contract engagement especially if you booked a charter flight, make sure to check the company policy, cancellation policy, and the baggage allowance- that way you prevent problems during the trip.
At the end of the booking process check in your email that you got the flight tickets.
Here are my recommendations for travel search engines:
Sky Scanner
Kayak
Alice
Lodging
How to find the best place for lodging?
First compare deals between different search engines. Try to look for the best deal in terms of price and contract conditions.
Check out the reviews about the place in all kinds of aspects: location, cleanliness, and customer service.
Location is one of the most important things when booking a place to stay, make sure that you book a place to stay that is located in a central area or an interesting place.
Moreover, read the contract conditions and cancellation policy even the fine print to prevent future problems.
Moreover, make sure to have an order confirmation it can be printed or in the mailbox.
These are my search engines recommendations:
Booking
Hotels.com
Airbnb
Travel Insurance
Travel Insurance is every traveler’s peace of mind if you would like to have a trip with no worries you should have one.
It is important to buy travel insurance before every trip abroad because you can not predict the future and you can never know what will happen.
Basic insurance in most cases includes 3 things: healthcare, baggage, and cancellation or shortening the stay.
You can use your insurance if you have any problem like an accident, medical problems, flight delays and even lost luggage.
Things you should check before signing any contract:
- If there is any deductible
- What is the health insurance coverage
- How to contact the insurance company while travelling.
After you have the basic insurance you can always upgrade your insurance to cover your electronic devices. In addition, you can upgrade to extreme insurance in case you are going to do any extreme activities during the vacation.
In the process of doing insurance you will be asked questions about your medical condition, be honest with the insurance company and if you have any medical conditions let them know.
It is important to remember that if on the trip you’ll have any health problems that are related in any way shape or form to your medical conditions and you didn’t tell the insurance company, they won’t cover it.
My recommendation for insurance companies in israel are:
PasspordCard
Harel
Matching expectations
If you plan to travel with partners, make sure to match expectations with them.
I wrote another article about how to choose the right partner, you should definitely go check that out.
Share with your partner what your trip goals are.
Discussing in advance will improve the connection between you and also will hopefully prevent some future arguments.
If you go on a trip with no partner my recommendation for you is to set yourself goals as well for the trip
Sources of inspiration
Different platforms can bring you inspiration for your trip such as cool locations for photo shooting, and also hotels, attractions and restaurants.
Travel blogs
On travel blogs you can find different recommendations, tips, information about the place by professional travelers that have been to your destination.
Facebook groups
you can find lots of information and recommendations via Facebook.
Keep in mind though that the people who post on Facebook are not necessarily professional travelers and that they write about their own individual experience.
Instagram
One of the great platforms for finding cool places.
You can search on Instagram the name of the destination and Instagram will immediately expose you to all kinds of pictures that people uploaded.
Pinterest
The best source of inspiration in my opinion.
On Pinterest, you can find vital information about the destination such as recommendations and photos.
And that is it, all left to do is to pack a suitcase and you are ready.
I hope you all enjoyed reading the article.
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