Don't Miss These 5 Simple Steps to Research and Plan Travel

Do you love or hate to plan travel? It seems like most people are in one of the two camps. Personally, I love the travel planning and research process and spend far too much time doing so.

This guide will give you 5 easy steps to follow to plan a trip whether you love planning or not, including the tools I use to make the process efficient. Read on!

1. Pick the Destination for you....or not?!

Who doesn’t love dreaming about their next travel destination? Sometimes it’s easy to make the decision, you’ve been dreaming of Paris for the croissants and cheese or Spain for the wine and paella.

I sometimes have a hard time deciding when I plan travel because I want to go everywhere. Someone mentions a country and I say, “I would love to go there!” Here are my tips for either scenario.

Don’t have a specific destination in mind?

Pick your spot based on the best deal! Sign up for a site like Dollar Flight Club or Scott’s Cheap Flights. They will email you ideas for destinations, based on cheap flights available from your airport!
Check out the Explore tab on Kayak to see a full map of where there are good flight deals.
Use a travel quiz like this one on the travel channel or this one from Condé Nast. The quiz asks your preferences, and gives you a matching destination.

Know where you want to go?

Do a little bit of research and find out the best time of year to travel to a location. I like to go during “shoulder season” to any given location (for Europe shoulder season would be April/May or September/October). Typically this can make your trip a little more affordable.
Check for local holidays or vacation seasons for locals, especially if going to another country. Some areas close down for the month of August so the locals can go vacation elsewhere, for example!

2. Book Flights

Next up, book those flights! But, how do you know where to book them and when to book them? Here are steps and top tips:

Set up flight trackers. If you have a destination and date in mind set up a flight tracker or two. Watch the prices for a few weeks to see the trends. and buy when you see a good price! I like Goggle flights to track.
Is there a “perfect” window to book within? For domestic travel you’ll typically get the best deals if you book within 1-3 months before travel. For international travel it’s typically 6-8 months out, but can vary.
Do the same as I mentioned above and use Dollar Flight Club or Scott’s Cheap Flights, to keep an eye out for a deal for your top spot! Don’t rule out a neighboring city if it gets your close to your spot for a budget price!

3. Plan Things To Do

Ok, now you can plan travel at the destination you’ve chosen!

Start with where your interests lie. Do you love hikes? Fine the best hikes in the area. Love wine? Pick out a few great wineries. This can be as loose or as structured as you want. I love a spreadsheet personally to get down all my ideas! (grab my spreadsheet to use below!)

I always recommend finding 2-3 activities you want to do each day, and then factor in lots of cushion time to just enjoy a location or wander. Pinterest is a great research for “things to do” ideas. Click here to check out my Pinterest boards!

Want the easy route? Find a great tour to sign up for. I love a good walking tour or food tour to see the lay of the land and learn something new.

Check out Get Your Guide for tours in any city!

4. Book Transportation & Attractions

Don’t forgot to get an idea of how you will move from place to place, and to book any popular attractions in advance!

Transportation: One thing that I always research before getting to a location is how I will I get from the airport to my accommodation. Sometimes grabbing a taxi or a Lyft/Uber saves a lot of stress over public transport. If you are traveling abroad, you may need to book train tickets ahead of time particularly when moving between countries. I like to use Rome2Rio to check out routes.
Attractions: Do check to see if the attraction you’ve been dying to see requires reservations in advance. This could be a museum you’ve always wanted to visit, that Michelin star restaurant you want to eat at, or a scenic river cruise or train ride to see the scenery. Nothing is as disappointing as showing up during your trip and not being able to visit the spot you dreamed of!

5. Make a Packing List

Are you a minimalist when it comes to packing, or do you love to bring half your closet? I am more so in the middle, but usually force myself to cut down my choices. Here are my tips on deciding what to pack:

Pick out clothes that can all go together. For example go with a color scheme like black, grey, and green. You can intermix items acorss multiple days to make it look like you packed a lot but didn’t really have to.
Check the weather at your destination a few days before your trip. Do you really need that sweater if it’s going to be swimming weather? Maybe not.
Decide which shoes are appropriate. High heels are beautiful, but if there are cobblestone streets you’ll probably regret that choice. I typically take 2 pairs of shoes if I’m traveling with a carry-on only. (the shoes I’m wearing and one more pair packed)
Bring 1 or 2 statement pieces of jewelry only, the rest can stay home.

What are the things you do to plan travel? Let me know in the comments!

Recap of the tools I use:

Flight Tracker: Google Flights
Flight Deals: Dollar Flight Club & Scott’s Cheap Flights
Transportation routes: Rome2Rio
Things To Do: Pinterest!

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Don’t Miss These 5 Simple Steps to Research and Plan Travel