Learn how to Plan a Journey: A Month-by-Month Information

Posted: 4/2/2024 | April 2nd, 2024

Journey planning could be a daunting process. Flights, insurance coverage, gear, itineraries, lodging, and a lot extra all should be thought-about and sorted out earlier than you go.

It’s straightforward to get overwhelmed, particularly once you haven’t finished one thing like this earlier than.

After over near twenty years of touring the world, I’ve deliberate numerous journeys and holidays for myself, mates, and household, even group excursions. At first, it was trial by fireplace. I realized quite a lot of classes the arduous means. Nonetheless, that helped me develop an environment friendly guidelines that ensures I don’t miss something essential in the course of the trip-planning course of.

One massive query I get requested loads is when to start out planning. To reply that query, this submit breaks the planning course of down into month-by-month steps so you’ll be able to plan your subsequent journey with ease.

Right here’s easy methods to plan a visit:

12 Months Out: Resolve on Your Vacation spot(s)

Lots of people speak vaguely about journey: they by no means say the place they’re going, simply that they’re going. They may discuss it for years earlier than truly departing (in the event that they go in any respect). However it’s a lot simpler to succeed in and plan for the aim of “I’m going to Paris for 2 weeks this summer season” than “I’m going someplace.”

If you have already got a dream vacation spot in thoughts, nice! If not, listed here are some posts that can assist you get began:

However, this far out, the actual factor you need to do is begin saving cash and determining your prices. Lodging and flights are the apparent ones, however how a lot do eating places, sights, and different actions value? Figuring out these prices will permit you precisely estimate how a lot cash you’ll want. Right here is easy methods to analysis prices:

1. Purchase a guidebook
2. Try my free journey guides (we break down all prices for every vacation spot)
3. Skim the price of residing on Numbeo.com
4. Google costs for main actions you need to do, equivalent to scuba diving, vineyard excursions, and so forth. (Get Your Information is an effective place to start out)
5. Use Skyscanner or Google Flights for flight costs and join alerts to get emails if the value modifications
6. Use Uncover Vehicles to cost out (and ebook) a rental automotive for those who want one
7. Use Reserving.com and Hostelworld to analysis lodging prices

That will appear to be loads however you simply need to get a basic concept of how a lot it’s good to save. You possibly can head to this web page to see all my articles on how to save cash on your journey.

12 Months Out: Begin Gathering Factors & Miles

When you’re working to save cash, get a journey bank card so you’ll be able to earn miles and factors totally free flights and resort stays. It’s what has stored my prices down and me on the highway for thus a few years.

Today, most playing cards have welcome provides of 60,000-80,000 factors (some may be as excessive as 100,000) once you meet their minimal spending requirement (usually $2,000-5,000 USD inside a 3–6-month time-frame). That’s sufficient miles for a free round-trip economic system flight to Europe from the East Coast of North America.

For extra info on this topic, try these posts:

As well as, get a fee-free ATM card. I take advantage of Charles Schwab, however there are many different banks that don’t cost ATM charges (don’t neglect to verify your native banks and credit score unions too). Right here’s how one can keep away from financial institution charges whereas touring.

8 Months Out: Visa Necessities, Passports, and Vaccines

When you seemingly gained’t want a visa to your required vacation spot, it is best to nonetheless verify to ensure. When you’re a US citizen, use the State Division’s search device to find out about your vacation spot’s entry necessities. (Canadians can use this search device.)

Moreover, ensure that your passport is legitimate for at the least six months after your journey ends. Many nations require this for entry. Passport software and renewal wait occasions may be lengthy (the usual is 6-8 weeks within the US), so do that as quickly as doable.

Additionally, analysis for those who want any vaccines on your journey as many nations require vaccines to enter (and I don’t imply COVID). You possibly can study extra about nation necessities and proposals on the CDC’s web site. They will help you discover a clinic close to you as properly (for those who’re within the US).

4-6 Months Out: E book Your Flight

The perfect time to ebook your flight is mostly round 3-4 months earlier than your departure, or 5-6 months earlier than in case you are going throughout a vacation spot’s peak season. This isn’t a hard-and-fast rule, although, so use it as a information.

Listed here are two articles on easy methods to rating an affordable flight:

When you’ve signed up for a journey bank card and obtained your sign-up bonus, use your miles to ebook your flight and/or resort. The additional out you ebook, the extra availability there will probably be. Use instruments like Level.me and Awayz that can assist you discover the perfect redemptions in your factors (for flights and accommodations, respectively).

However even for those who aren’t utilizing miles or didn’t discover a low cost flight deal, there are nonetheless some ways to keep away from being the individual on the flight who paid essentially the most for his or her ticket. My two favourite websites for locating low cost airfare are Skyscanner and Google Flights.
 

3-4 Months Out: E book Your Lodging

When you’re touring for underneath two weeks and have a set schedule, ebook lodging all through your journey. When you’re visiting in the course of the excessive season, it’s additionally a good suggestion to ebook every little thing prematurely. For journeys longer than two weeks, I recommend reserving solely the primary couple of nights of your journey. As soon as there, it’s possible you’ll find yourself wanting to alter your plans primarily based on insider recommendation from different vacationers and/or resort/hostel workers. I choose having flexibility, so I all the time simply ebook just a few nights and go from there.

Listed here are my go-to websites relating to discovering the perfect offers on lodging:

• Hostelworld – Hostelworld has the biggest collection of hostels and is my go-to website for locating reasonably priced hostels.
• Reserving.com – Reserving.com is the perfect general platform for locating finances accommodations and guesthouses.
• Agoda – Agoda has the perfect outcomes for those who’re heading to Asia (although it typically has good US offers too).

I like to recommend checking the cancelation coverage of wherever you ebook. I like having the pliability to cancel if one thing comes up.

When you’re on a decent finances otherwise you need to join with extra locals throughout your travels, think about becoming a member of platforms like Couchsurfing or BeWelcome. These communities permit vacationers to stick with residents totally free as a type of cultural change.

Lengthy-term vacationers can even strive housesitting or WWOOFing as properly, as they each provide free lodging (in change for pet sitting or farm work, respectively).

2 Months Out: Plan Your Actions

Now it’s time for the enjoyable a part of journey planning! Which means studying books about your vacation spot, studying basic journey ideas, connecting with on-line communities, and pre-booking any crucial actions.

Pre-booking ensures you don’t miss out on issues that you simply actually need to do in your journey. When you’re going to a well-liked vacation spot, excursions and actions replenish shortly, and for those who’re going to a smaller place, actions or excursions may solely run on sure days and have restricted availability.

Both means, Get Your Information the perfect place to seek for and pre-book actions, excursions, and tickets. Native tour operators and sights can record their choices on this on-line market, so yow will discover tons of stuff right here, from meals excursions to museum tickets with skip-the-line entry.

1 Month Out: Get Journey Insurance coverage

Get journey insurance coverage. That means, these purchases are protected ought to one thing occur that makes you cancel your journey.

Lots of people suppose, “I’m wholesome. I don’t want journey insurance coverage.” However journey insurance coverage is rather more than simply medical safety. It covers you when your digicam breaks, your flight is canceled, a member of the family dies and it’s a must to come residence, or one thing will get stolen. (That’s why you’ll additionally need to familiarize your self with any widespread journey scams to look out for, in addition to easy methods to conduct your self as a way to mix in to keep away from wanting like a goal for petty theft.)

Sure, it’s an added expense. However it’s all the time higher to be protected than sorry. I by no means go away residence with out it, as a result of I’ve seen firsthand simply what can occur on the highway.

I by no means thought I’d pop my eardrum whereas I used to be scuba diving in Thailand, break my digicam in Italy, or get knifed in Colombia.

Sadly, unhealthy issues can occur once you’re touring. True, these occasions are few and much between. However they’ll value tens of hundreds of {dollars}. When you’re not ready to pay out of pocket, purchase journey insurance coverage.

Listed here are some posts on journey insurance coverage to get you began:

I by no means go away residence with out journey insurance coverage. You shouldn’t both.

7 days out: Pack!

Your journey is nearly right here, and it’s time to pack! It may be tempting to need to deliver every little thing with you “simply in case.” However relating to journey, much less is extra. Whereas what you pack will rely upon the place you’re going, keep in mind that you don’t must take every little thing you personal. You should purchase stuff you want and do laundry on the highway. On the finish of the day, it’s a must to carry every little thing you deliver. So deliver much less!

I journey with a 45L REI bag after which a smaller day bag. Right here’s my prompt packing record that can assist you take simply the correct amount of stuff and keep away from overpacking (right here’s an inventory for feminine vacationers).

Moreover, deliver any prescriptions you want all through your journey. Strive to not depend on filling these overseas (although deliver a prescription and physician’s observe simply in case).

With every little thing taken care of, it’s time to go in your journey and have enjoyable! Make an inventory of last-minute gadgets it’s good to pack the day of (your toothbrush, glasses, telephone charger, and so forth.) and verify in on-line beforehand (you are able to do so 24 hours prematurely). (When you’ve obtained lounge entry by a premium journey rewards card, you may end up wanting ahead to attending to the airport early.)

When you’re feeling nervous, don’t fear. That’s completely regular. Feeling anxious or not sure is one thing each traveler experiences. However you’ve made it this far. Belief your planning and comply with your instincts. You’re about to have the journey of a lifetime.