There are only three types of travelers in the world: those who make plans for their trip, those who just want to wing everything as they go, and those who find the middle ground between the first two types. The third type applies when you don’t want to be too detail-oriented in your plans or spontaneous.
Although it can be thrilling to just wing your way through your vacation, it might be better to have even a vague idea of how your trip will go. So, if you need help to plan your trip without obsessing over all the minor details and still leave enough room for bouts of spontaneity, here’s a five-step plan that you can use for your trip:
1. Book Your Flight Tickets
Before you start getting excited by everything you can do once you and your friends get to your destination, the first thing you have to do is book your flight. Watch out for available promos because you might be able to score cheaper flights, especially if you’re traveling during an off-peak season.
It’s relatively easy to book tickets online, even more so if you’ve done it before. So, don’t be tempted to waste money on expensive flight tickets because there’s nothing wrong with flying economy. Plus, you may further reduce your ticket costs if you consider flights with long layovers, but that depends on your destination.
2. Create a List of To-dos
After booking your tickets, the next step is to research your activities and places you can visit once you get to your destination. You can even make an event out of brainstorming ideas with your friends for your travel to-do list by each creating presentations for what you want to do or visit in the country.
This will make it easier to finalize your itinerary for the trip, and it can help you look for a personalized tour package that can accommodate your friend group. Additionally, creating a to-do list will help you prepare your travel budget because you can gauge how much money you’ll need for the trip itself.
3. Secure Your Accommodations
It’s more practical to know what places you want to go to first before securing your accommodations. This way, you can book a hostel or apartment that’s closer to your destinations rather than the other way around. By doing so, you can save more time traveling from one place to another and vice versa.
If you’re traveling on a budget, remember that you can save more money by booking cheap accommodations that don’t have five-star ratings. Unless you plan to stay in your room for the entire trip, it’s much better to put your budget towards experiences instead of accommodations.
4. Make a Rough Itinerary
Traveling is one of the few times when you won’t need to follow a strict schedule, but having a rough itinerary may help keep you moving forward during your trip. Indeed, this is important if you have a lot of destinations and activities on your to-do list because you might start losing track of time if you enjoy yourselves too much.
But you don’t need to plan your itinerary down to the last minute because doing so might take all the fun out of your vacation since you’ll be too worried about following the schedule. To leave some room for spontaneity, you can just make a rough itinerary that details where you’ll be during the day and helps you take note of critical times, such as bus arrivals or operating hours.
5. Save up Money for the Trip
Once you’ve done your homework, the last thing you’ll need to prepare for your trip is to start building your travel fund. You won’t want money to hinder you from having the trip of a lifetime with your friends, so consider cutting your expenses to save up some pocket money for your travel dates.
Because you have enough information regarding the places you’ll be visiting and the activities you’ll be doing, you can easily gauge how much money you’ll need for the trip. It’s better to be overprepared than underprepared, especially if you don’t have extra savings that you can pull money from if your budget falls short.
You don’t need to be a professional travel agent to plan a fantastic trip with your best buddies. Use your built-up excitement and anticipation as an energizing fuel to make your travel plans because it’s always better to be prepared. So don’t let the lack of preparations spoil all your fun because you have plenty of time to prevent it.
