Wanderlust: Planning Your Trip

Hello Wonderful People!

Wanderlust (noun): a strong desire to travel.

 

I am currently in the early stages of planning my next travelling adventure. Yep that's right, I have officially caught the Travel Bug (the best bug to catch in my humble opinion), and am getting ready to jet off and see what South America has to offer!  As a result, I've got to start the long process of planning my trip, which can sometimes be a tad boring and time consuming, but I love it! Planning my trip just gets me excited for what's to come, and fuels my desire to explore as much as I can in the time I have! So to making my planning a little easier, I've come up with a basic check list of must do's when arranging your trip!

 

1. Set out your budget. Once you know how much money you've got to work with, it makes everything else much easier to plan! Remember, unless you're planning to get a job while travelling, you've got to live off your savings so make sure you've calculated enough for what you want to do! Flights, accommodation, food, transport, day trips, souvenirs and tourist attractions all cost money and must be factored into your budget. Your destination also need to be taken into consideration when costing up your trip; if you're travelling to South East Asia your money will go a million times further than if you were travelling Australia, for example. Therefore, if you have a rough idea of where you are going ,it's much easier to research average costs and set out a budget. Bare in mind you probably won't stick to your budget while you're away (like me) and you may end up scrimping towards the end of your trip (again, like me - hello smash and beans for every meal). But having a rough idea of how much you want to spend on what is a great way to start the planning of your trip.

 

2. Choose your destination. Now you know how much you've got to spend, picking your destination is the next step! Flights are a huge part of the cost of travelling and shopping around for a good deal is a must! For my trip I went through STA Travel and purchased all my flights in one package through them. I would definitely recommend going through some sort of agency to get your flights, especially if you're planning to visit several destinations, as it works out so much cheaper! When buying flights research is key. Make sure you're getting the best deal for your money. I flew from London > Dubai > Bangkok, Singapore > Melbourne, Brisbane > Auckland, Auckland > London all for just over £1200. An absolute bargain seeing as one of my friends paid the exact same for just one return flight to New Zealand.

 

3. How long are you going? It could be 2 weeks, 4 months or a year; planning the length of your trip is essential for deciding what you can fit in, what you can afford and prioritising what you want to see and do. The shorter the trip, the more organised you'll have to be if you want to squeeze a lot in! However, if you have the luxury of a long trip you can afford to be more relaxed while travelling as you have time on your side! It doesn't matter how long you go travelling for, just make sure you see and do everything you can in the amount of time you have; remember, you can always go back!

 

4. Book some accommodation. I would recommend booking one or two nights in the city you fly into. Booking some accommodation in advance is always a good idea, as it gives some structure to your trip, especially if you're travelling on a time scale. Don't go crazy though and book all your accommodation in advance. The beauty of travelling is you have the freedom and flexibility to do what you want. If you end up booking everything before you go it means you are stuck to a rigid plan; meaning if you really like somewhere you won't be able to stay those few extra nights. I took a very relaxed approach to my previous trip, I booked accommodation in Dubai and Bangkok, so I had a definite place to go once I landed. However, after this I totally played it by ear and either turned up at a hostel or booked the night before on Hostel World or Hostel Bookers.

 

5. What do you want to see? It may seem obvious, but before your trip make sure you do some research into the things you want to see in your destination. There may be some things that are blindingly obvious, but there will always be places to visit that you had no idea existed! You will always discover tourist attractions through word of mouth while travelling, but it's always a good idea to have some prior knowledge before you go. This will help you set out a travelling route, to make sure you tick all your 'must sees' off your list and help you to budget for your experiences!

 

6. Book book book! Now everything is planed and you have some form of order to your trip, it is time to take the plunge and start booking! This is easily the best part of trip organising as everything will soon be set in stone, giving you something to look forward to and motivation to work towards it! Get me to the airport...

 

 

 

Goodbye, for now!