Like anything in life, planning a trip on your own can seem quite challenging at first. After all, it’s only when you decide to make your dream come true that you realize the huge number of steps and adjustments needed to organize your vacation.
Or, when budget is not a problem, we notice that the month we have available to travel is not the best for that destination.
Once this first decision-making phase is over, anyone who thinks things will get easier is mistaken.
Once we have decided on our destination, we begin a tireless search for cheap flights, decent accommodation at a reasonable price, and tutorials that teach us how to make our day last 37 hours. After all, there is always a new place to include in our travel itinerary.
Not to mention the bureaucracy that some destinations require, the torture of packing your suitcase and other typical situations that we encounter when planning a trip independently .
But don’t worry. Despite all these dilemmas, organizing your vacation is perfectly possible. And in this post, I’ll give you ten tips that will make this task even easier.
1- Why plan a trip on your own ?
I could say it’s to save money or to have more freedom in the itinerary, however, what motivates me most to plan a trip on my own is the pleasure caused by my discoveries throughout the planning.
For me, learning about the habits and curiosities of the destination I’m going to visit, getting to know the most played songs and getting in touch with locals – even before leaving home – is as enjoyable as the trip itself.
2- Choosing the destination
If you’ve never dreamed of visiting a specific destination and have decided that you want to travel, the first question that comes to mind is: where to go?
And, for this question, the best person to answer it is you.
Only you know – with full knowledge – your tastes, available budget and what you expect from this trip. Balancing this equation is not always easy, but the questions below can help:
» Do I want to go far away or close to home?
» Places focused on nature, history, culture, gastronomy or nightlife?
» Big city or small city?
» And most importantly: don’t disregard any destination simply because it doesn’t sound familiar to you at first.
3- When to travel and for how long ?
The ideal answer would be whenever and however many days you can. But of course, there are certain circumstances that we must consider.
The first one is about the best time to travel to the destination you have chosen. And, generally speaking, the best time is usually when the weather doesn’t interfere with your travel plans.
It’s also worth keeping an eye on when the low and high season is for your destination. This will directly influence your travel expenses and your experience.
Personally, I like to travel during the off-season . That is, I avoid the crowds and high prices of the high season, but I don’t have to face any possible disadvantages of the low season.
As for how long to stay in each city, it is important to research what attractions the place offers, select the ones that interest us most and check how much time (and $$$) will be needed to do everything we want.
We almost always have few days for many activities. And then comes the painful part of deciding which tours will be priorities.
Another important tip when planning a trip on your own is to remember the time spent traveling. On my trips, the days I go, return, and those I have to travel from one city to another are considered wasted days. If I can do some sightseeing on that day, it’s a bonus.
4- Necessary documentation
Plan in advance to get all the documentation you will need to travel.
Of course, this varies greatly from destination to destination, but it is always a good idea to have the following items in mind: passport, visa, international yellow fever vaccination certificate, travel insurance , proof of accommodation reservation, proof of flight out of the country and international driving permit.
5- How much will I spend on the trip ?
There’s no way around it. Even those who already have money saved and will use it to travel will need to do the math to check if the amount is enough for the entire trip.
Therefore, making a budget is essential so that you don’t have any unpleasant surprises before, during or even after your trip, when you have to pay your credit card bill.
Some items are easy to find out how much they will cost. Air and bus tickets, accommodation and travel insurance , just do a search on websites that offer this type of service and you will have an approximate value in a few seconds.
Other expenses, however, need to be analyzed more carefully. This is the case for tours, food and shopping. In these situations, I recommend that you consult blogs that have recently visited the destination.
Additionally, you can also consult websites that estimate how much a trip to different destinations costs.