Hello!!
Tomorrow I’m going on my first trip of 2019, and with that in mind, I thought it would be cool to share with you how I organize and plan a trip.
One of my favorite things to do is to plan and organize trips; I know for some people this is a very stressful thing to do, but I just love doing. Browsing for the best flight options, hotel deals, and new destinations to visit… These things keep my heart beating!
How to organize & plan your trip
1. Type of trips
Weekend Trips
These are by far the most frequent trips I do on a yearly basis; mostly to Lisbon to family & friends visits but also for quick city trips within Europe.
Normally, my inbound flight is on a Friday evening after work and my outbound flight on Sunday afternoon, back home.
Short break
Such a trip normally lasts up to 5-7 days, and it’s a combination of public holidays and a few days off. You could call these “extended weekend trips”.
This is the time that I normally go on an overseas trip.
Summer break
Easy one! I am always looking forward to a couple of weeks, during summertime, back in my home country, Portugal. It consists of a mix of sightseeing and beach, sun and relaxation. When possible, such a trip can last up to 3 weeks.
2. Planning Tools
Google maps
It may seem obvious, but google maps is my ultimate tool to look for the next Weekend Trip and/or Short break destination.
Usually, I browse by continent, then country, and search for capitals or cities I haven’t been but would like to visit. Then I write them on a notebook and try to plan/organize them based on what they would be more suitable for: a weekend trip, short break and so on.
Skyscanner
My BFF when it comes to searching for flights!
I can’t live without it; seriously. I think I visit Skyscanner‘s website/app at least once a day.
Totally recommend it; super easy to use and always gives the best flight options price-wise.
Booking.com
My good old friend for booking accommodation.
It’s the only platform I use to search for hotels for many many years and never had any troubles with it.
3. Sightseeing Tips
Tripadvisor
Do you those trips that you don’t plan anything, and you just search for hotspots/places to visit/to eat as you go? Well, when I’m in those situations, I always visit Tripadvisor for some ideas.
And so far, so good!
Travel Guide books
But on those trips that I take my time to plan things, I like to get a nice book along.
My favorites are Time to Momo, by far!
Find it super handy to have several routes which contain not just Historic landmarks but also places to eat, to shop and fun things to do.
Totally recommend them, but you need to know Dutch…
And that was it for today’s post.
I hope you find it useful and perhaps may even ease the planning/booking process for your next trip.
Let me know in the comments below how do you plan and organize your trips.
