Travel Planning Tips

Travel planning can be overwhelming and frustrating and a poorly planned holiday or trip can end up being a major headache. Let us help you avoid common mistakes in our step by step travel planning guide! 

1  Decide on your destination

Why do you want to travel? Is your goal to relax and unwind, are you interested in history and culture, maybe you’re an adrenaline junkie seeking your next big thrill — the point is, understanding why you want to travel will help you narrow down a destination that’s right for you.

If you’re travelling with your partner or in a group then consider their interests and preferences, even better sit down and have a discussion with the group before you decide on a place, this way everyone can have a good time, do something they enjoy and the whole trip will be less stressful.

Do some research — there are many magazines, websites, blogs and guides available, not only will they help you find a destination based on your interests they will also give you informative guides as well as first hand experience of a place.

Your budget will play a big part in your decision, so figure out a realistic destination based on your budget, after all part of a trip or holiday is to escape the everyday stresses of life and the last thing you want to do is be worrying about money the whole time.

2  How long do I need in a place

Well this all depends on your budget, how much time you can get off work and what you intend on doing?

Once you’ve picked a destination, decide on a realistic length for your stay. The whole point in taking a trip is to relax, have fun and create great memories so make sure you have enough annual leave or holiday.

Don’t try and cram too much into a trip and allow yourself some free unplanned days to relax — some of the best memories and experiences while on holiday are those that are unexpected.

Remember to allow for different time zones and onward travel plans if you’re travelling to more than one place — we always leave a free day before and after travelling to relax as it helps to get over the jet lag and chances are you wont feel like doing much on the first day anyway.

3  Budget your trip

Once you’ve decided on a destination and how long you’re going for check accommodation and flight prices for your intended travel dates — if you’re happy with the costs then you can book off your annual leave at work.

Remember to check for any major events around your travel dates — things such as festivals, conventions and local holidays can massively drive up travel and accommodation prices! If you can’t change your dates then make sure you prepare and book well in advance.

There are many tools at your fingertips when budgeting a trip, there’s apps, travel blogs and various websites that can help you with planning the costs of a trip — check out our travel guides in our destinations page for a breakdown of average costs of accommodation, meals, activities and transport.

When visiting a tourist town consider staying in the nearest smaller town and using public transport as hotel prices will be much cheaper.

Consider rail passes and local transport such as buses, some countries even offer tourist passes for use with various bus and rail networks. You could also save money when visiting by bundling tours or purchasing a museum pass.

Save money by planning your own day trips as well as some tours — some tour operators offer sightseeing tours around a city, but often it is easy to organise these yourself and by using local means of transport not only is it more cost effective, you can concentrate on the things you want to see and miss out the things you don’t.

Research what activities and attractions you’re interested in before a trip and have a look at different transport methods — if you’re staying near a metro station why not use it?

As a general rule of thumb, secluded places will be expensive as they can get away with charging more, bigger cities are often more expensive than smaller ones and most islands tend to be expensive due to added importing costs.

4  Visa requirements and vaccinations

Check and allow enough time for visa requirements and vaccinations. I recently had a friend of mine miss out on a holiday to India from the UK, he had booked his flights and accommodation not realising he needed a visa until the last-minute, he ended up losing out on his holiday along with all the costs! It is easy to find what visa is required for each country on government websites, so ensure you have enough time to apply for a visa if required. It is more and more common for countries to offer an e-visa for tourists from certain countries, but other countries will still require you to send your passport off in order to get a visa.

It seems trivial but always check your passport’s expiry date and remaining blank pages. Most countries require passports to have at least six months in date left on them. Other countries such as South Africa wont allow entry unless a travellers passport contains at least two blank, un-stamped pages.

Ensure you check if any vaccinations are required for your destination, there are websites available to help with this such as Fit for Travel, which is kept very up to date and is what doctors in the UK use to determine what vaccinations are required. We also recommend speaking to your doctor as soon as possible about your trip so you can get booked in as early as possible if required, in same cases they will need to order in the vaccination so it’s important to do this at least 6–8 weeks in advance.

Some countries require you to show a certificate as proof you have had a vaccination, for example Yellow Fever, even if you have only transited through the airport of a country with a risk of Yellow Fever they can still require a certificate. So ensure you also tell your doctor about any transiting flights so they give you the correct advice.

5  Sign up for a travel, reward based credit card

There are many credit cards available that come with sign up bonuses such as free air-miles, or points that can be converted into air-miles, most come with a minimum of 10,000, with some giving you up to 50,000 air-miles! The criteria for these cards is that you usually have to spend a certain amount within the first couple of months but this is pretty easy if you pay for your shopping, fuel and even bills on the card — that’s money you would usually spend anyway. By signing up to a few of these cards you can earn yourself enough points for a free flight to pretty much anywhere in the world!

Some credit cards also offer points that can redeemed against certain brands of hotels or airlines, such as the AMEX SPG (Starwood Preferred Guest) credit card that we use. They offer a sign-up bonus of 10,000 points (when the minimum spend is met) and 1 point for every British Pound you spend, which when you are using it for everyday spending can soon add up. The points can then be used for full or part payment towards a hotel or flight to a huge number of destinations. There is a yearly fee of £75, but if you earn enough points, this cost will be more than worth it.

So if you’re smart and pay the balance off in full each month you can reap the rewards and bonuses of these credit cards with little or no interest!

6  Add extra safeguards by paying on a credit card

Having a credit card can be beneficial as long as you pay them off on time each month, avoiding any fees and interest charges. They offer you an extra layer of consumer protection, what this means is that if you book a holiday or flight costing between £100 and £30,000 and the airline or holiday company goes bust or the holiday wasn’t as described, you may be entitled to make a claim. You are also covered if you have to book a more expensive flight to get home after your airline goes bust as well as any additional costs or losses incurred as a result.

Important note — Although you are covered for package holidays through third-party websites and travel agents if you only book a flight you may not be covered as they are only contracted to sell the ticket and not the flight. You also can’t claim for any costs that you didn’t have to incur for example adding extra nights on to a trip when there is an earlier replacement flight that could have been booked.

7  Book flights

Once you’ve budgeted a trip and are happy with the costs book your flights first as these can fluctuate greatly and sell out on a whim — there’s nothing worse than booking all your accommodation to go back and find out the flight cost has doubled!

Look for flight deals ahead of time, you can set up fare alerts which will tell you when the flight on your intended travel dates has come down in price. Most airlines put their flights on the system 11–12 months in advance but we recommend you don’t book them too far in advance, unless you find an exceptionally good price. Studies suggest that the best time to book is no earlier than 6 months in advance and no later than 9 weeks before you fly, but of course there are always exceptions to this.

When we book our flights we use four comparison websites to find the best prices, Kayak, Skyscanner, Google Flights and Momondo. When we’ve found the best flight we also check on the airlines own website as they can often have sales or cheaper fares when booking direct. Lastly we check for any voucher codes or cashback on top of booking on an air miles or cashback credit card.

Some of the best sites for booking flights and the ones we use are

Here’s a few top tips for saving money on flights

• Be flexible when booking flights as flying a day or two later/earlier can save you a good chunk of money.
• Book flights on your credit card so you cover yourself against an airline going bankrupt — you could book your flight on an air miles credit card, giving you even more air miles in the process.
• Set up fare and sale alerts — nearly all the major airlines have fare sales and sites such as Skyscanner let you track the price of a fare, sending you an email when a specific flight has dropped in price.
• When searching for flights on skyscanner it’s best to search by the whole month as it still gives you a price breakdown for each day, allowing you to see and choose cheaper travel dates with ease.

FOR TIPS ON HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON FLIGHTS, CHECK OUT OUR GUIDE HERE

Give yourself plenty of breathing room and time to relax and enjoy your trip by planning your accommodation, transfers and activities ahead!

8  Book Accommodation

Book accommodation that suits your needs, for example if you’re travelling to a city for three days chances are you will be spending most of your time away from the hotel, but if you stay at the same city for seven days you might want more from your accommodation such as a pool, gym, spa etc.

Consider alternative types of accommodation, if you’re travelling in a group or planning on staying in an expensive city would it be more cost effective to book an apartment? This way you can also eat some of your meals in and prepare lunches saving on some of the expense of restaurant bills.

There are many alternatives to hotels, you can rent anything from condos and apartments to villas and even people’s homes through home swap holidays or pet sitting websites. Consider alternative accommodation booking websites such as Airbnb or Trusted House Sitters. Perhaps even an RV or motor home could benefit you as this is a great way to see more of a country whilst combining accommodation and transport costs into one package.

Consider what activities/trips you want to do at your destination, make sure you book accommodation with that in mind. Booking a slightly higher priced hotel in a central location may save you more money on transport costs than it would do booking a cheaper hotel in a less convenient location.

With many flights leaving early in the morning it’s sometimes a safe bet to book an airport hotel for the night before, especially if you’re quite a distance from the airport, also most airports offer park and stay packages if required.

TIP – If you’re travelling to a country where the language barrier may be an issue, print off your accommodation address, perhaps even on a map so you can give it to the taxi driver upon arrival.

CHECK OUT OUR GUIDE TO SAVE MONEY ON ACCOMMODATION HERE

Always use a few different comparison websites along with the hotels own website to get the best prices — remember if you go somewhere for a week and save ten pound a night that’s seventy pounds more to spend on a nice meal, tour or activity.

We use these websites for nearly all our accommodation bookings

Remember, some hotel booking sites will include hidden charges, such as city tax, in the final price where others may not.

9  Make copies of documents

It always pays to make copies of any important documents such as passports and driving licences. It’s also wise to make copies of hotel bookings, transfers and car hire confirmation, this way you’ll have proof in case of any technical hiccups their end — things such as power outages, double bookings or system crashes, it will also help speed things up when you get there. Keep scanned copies or photographs of personal documents on your phone or a laptop if you have one with you and even email them to yourself so you can access them on any device. It is also worth asking a friend or relative to keep copies for you at home in case of emergencies.

If you’re travelling for long periods of time like us then it pays to take some passport sized photos with you as these can be used to get visas on arrival where a photo is required and some countries even require a photo to buy a sim card for your phone. By printing copies in advance it will save you time and money while on the road.

10  Plan tours

When planning a trip we think it’s important to do some research and plan certain aspects of your holiday but also to leave some free unscheduled days to relax and just enjoy the moment. We think it’s good to be spontaneous and some of the most memorable experiences are those that are un-planned — you may find out from the locals that there’s a bigger, less crowded temple or a better waterfall that’s not on any map or in any guide book.

We recommend booking more popular tours first as these can sell out quickly. You can usually save money by packaging a few different tours together and it’s generally cheaper to organise tours with local shops and tour agents rather than through your hotel as they may also take a cut. Many tours can now also be booked online in advance for certain destinations, although there is a chance you may be overcharged as you won’t be able to compare the prices to the tours you can book locally. Ultimately it depends on if you’re travelling in peak season and will only be there for a limited period of time, if that’s the case and there is a tour you know you don’t want to miss then be sure to book it in advance, but be mindful it may cost more. If you have more flexibility or are travelling at a quieter time then you may want to wait till your there to try to get the best deal.

11  Travel money

Figure out the best options for accessing your money abroad, sometimes it’s best to use a debit card and withdraw local currency or perhaps carry some cash to exchange in a foreign city. If you want to use travellers cheques or order foreign currency keep an eye on the exchange rates and make sure you order them far enough in advance.

Generally when we travel we always carry some cash to exchange when we get to our destination, we use our debit cards to withdraw local currency and we make purchases and pay for bar tabs and restaurant bills on our credit cards. We feel for us this is the best way to access our money with the lowest fees across a number of countries.

If you plan on using your bank or credit card abroad always ring them or let them know first as they will likely put a block on your card if not! This can be frustrating and time consuming to sort out while your on holiday so put your mind at ease and let them know before hand.

There are many other options for accessing your money abroad but generally the worst places for changing money are the airports and banks. Consider using a pre-loadable travel card, these work a bit like your bank card but you have to pre-load money onto the card (they can be topped up at any point usually by online transfer via your debit card). There are also a whole range of credit cards out there with a great range of travel benefits, they can include 0% foreign transaction fees, air miles and cashback.

If you’re buying foreign currency keep an eye out for Travelex’s Happy Hours as they offer discounted rates when ordering money online — this tends to be cheaper than waiting until you get to the airport or buying locally.

TransferWise is another way to save money on fees as it can be up to 8x cheaper than banks and other providers. They are a borderless bank account where you can send and receive money and spend money around the world, usually without incurring high fees. Once you set up an account you can order a debit Mastercard to use when your abroad that has zero transaction fees and low conversion rates so will often work out cheaper than using your own banks debit card.

12  Travel insurance

We highly recommend taking out travel insurance for every trip you take, hopefully you won’t need it but it’s one of the most important factors regarding travel, mainly because it covers you in case of an accident or medical emergency but also because it covers you for your hard-earned valuables such as cameras, phones and laptops.

Although it isn’t the most exciting thing to do, take the time to read the small print of any travel insurance policies to make sure you are covered for everything you expect to be. Many people now tend to travel with expensive electronics, however cheap travel insurance may not cover you for these if they are lost, stolen or damaged. In the unfortunate event of an item being lost or stolen the insurance company will often want proof that the item was yours in the first place. To make the claims process quicker and easier, ensure you keep any receipts for expensive items, also take photos or make note of the unique serial numbers of any electronic equipment you take with you.

Another very important factor of any insurance policy is to make sure the medical coverage is a high amount because hospital bills can be very expensive, especially if you need to stay there for a number of days. Most insurance policies won’t include coverage for any higher risk activities, for example skiing, extreme sports or trekking to a high altitude. You need to ensure you are covered for any activities you have planned and may even need to take out specialist insurance. Although this will be more expensive, it is imperative you have the appropriate cover as if you were hiking at a high altitude and needed emergency medical attention, you would need to be airlifted to a hospital which would cost into the tens of thousands.

You also need to ensure you declare any pre-existing medical conditions to your insurer, including conditions such as asthma, even if it is controlled. If you don’t it could lead to your insurer rejecting any medical claims and you will be left to pick up the expensive medical bill. Although you may end up paying slightly or significantly more for your travel insurance, depending on your condition, it is worth it to know you are covered if medical treatment is needed.

For long term travel we recommend World Nomads as they cover you for longer periods of time than a regular insurance company. They have different types of cover for different activities and also have great medical and gadget cover. For shorter trips we recommend using a comparison website to see which providers can offer you the best deal for your trip, most of them will show the excess, amount of medical cover and other key items in their comparison tool, but you will need to check the small print of a policy for the full details.

13  Pack smart

With most airlines under financial pressure to offset the cost of rising fuel prices many now charge baggage fees for checking in one or more piece of luggage. On top of this they charge hefty fees for overweight/oversized baggage so always make sure to measure and weigh your luggage before you fly.

Think about your destination’s weather and pack with that in mind, for the large part try to avoid packing too much by mix and matching items to create different outfits. Make it easier by doing a checklist, we usually have one for all of the essentials and another for our clothes and shoes, writing it down makes it easier to plan outfits and means you can check things off the list as you pack. To avoid a last minute rush try to pack at least two days in advance.

If you’re travelling long-term or on a big trip like us and there are two of you consider taking just one checked bag between you as this will save a lot of costs in the long run, especially with budget airlines. If you can make everything fit into your carry on hand luggage even better as this will save money and time (no waiting at the baggage reclaim).

Packing Tips

• Organise your packing space with items such as packing cubes, they will save you from having to pack and unpack everything in your bag.
• Clear sandwich bags can be used for accessories and toiletries.
• Bin bags can be used for shoe covers or even a laundry bag.
• Roll your clothes instead of folding them and stuff socks, underwear and accessories into shoes.
• Pack a sleep mask and ear plugs.

14  Check in online

With so many airlines allowing you to check in online and print your own boarding passes, it will help you beat the big queues and make your travel day a little less stressful. Many airlines now charge you to pick your seat in advance, but when you check in online you should be able to pick them free of charge. You can usually check in online 24 hours in advance so if you check in as soon as you’re able to you should still be able to pick your seats next to each other. Some airlines open their online check in earlier than 24 hours so be sure to double check with the airline you booked with to avoid disappointment.

Find yourself with a little too much time to kill at the airport or perhaps stranded from a delayed flight? Why not utilise one of the airports lounges for a small on the spot fee where you can take advantage of the snacks, uncrowded bathrooms, and comfy chairs at most airline club lounges.

Airport tips

• Be prepared for security and the queues that come with it — most jewellery, belts and often shoes now need to removed and placed on the security conveyor belt and any phones, laptops and tablets also need to be removed from your bag before going through the scanners.
• Have liquids pre-packed in the correct sized see-through plastic bags — the maximum size for each item must not exceed 100 ml.
• Check restrictions on electronic devices as some routes don’t allow you to take laptops in the cabin.
• Spare batteries for electronic devices nearly always need to be packed in your hand luggage — check with the airline your flying with for more detail on any restrictions.
• Some countries don’t allow you to bring drones into them and will confiscate them at security.

15  Enjoy your travels and have a safe trip!