Planning a trip without the help of travel agencies can be overwhelming. I created a step by step guide to follow if you decide to organize your own trip. With these steps, you can save a lot of money and customize your trip for your needs.
0. Step: Decide on the destination(s)
Some of you already know where to go, so this step is only for the once who haven’t decided yet. There are several ways to decide where to go. Everyone has dream destinations, however, before you jump right into it you should check the price tag on them. First of all, click on the website of Skyscanner. Write your country of origin, and country of departure: everywhere, the month you are traveling in and decide if you do a round trip or one-way. You will get a list of the cheapest places you can travel to by plane. I use budget your trip website to check, how much I need on average per day to travel the country.
1. Step: Take the travel advice of your Government
First of all, you should check your government’s page for travel advice. You have to learn about visa requirements, safety, and vaccinations. All this information is found on your government’s webpage. Most countries won’t allow you to enter if your passport is expiring in 6month, or you have less than 2pages free, make sure you have that prepared.
In addition, you will have to check if the month you are visiting has good weather. No one wants to plan a trip in the monsoon season and stay in the hotel room for the holiday.
2.Step: Book your flight(s)
For flights, the best page is Skyscanner. You can’t find cheaper prices anywhere else. Finding a perfect flight takes time and patience. First of all, you have to open a new incognito tab or use a VPN. Open Skyscanner and put the country of origin (only the country, not the airport), the destination country, and the month of your travel dates. It is better to unclick ‘non-stop flights only’, just to have more options. Click on search, and choose the airport Skyscanner offers you. Some countries have several airports, try to choose the cheapest airport and the closest to you.
The page will give you 3 options: the best, the cheapest and the fastest deal. If there is a small price difference between the cheapest and best deal, always choose the best deal. Waiting for 8 hours or do an extra layover is only worth it if you save at least 100 € with them. It makes more sense to pay 20 € extra and take the direct flight.
Tips to get a cheaper deal:
If these flights are still looking very expensive, try other airports. Europe is very well-connected. If flights are expensive from Budapest, search flights from Vienna. Take a short (inexpensive) train ride from Budapest to Vienna and fly out from there. The same with other airports like Dortmund or Amsterdam.
If you have enough time: have some longer layovers. Sometimes there are no direct flights to your final destination. You should check on Skyscanner which airports are showed as stops. Let’s say you want to go from Madrid to Indonesia. You would have one stop in Dubai. Instead of waiting 6 hours and get on another long flight, you can just spend a day in Dubai and take the flight the day after, if it is cheaper. This works inside Europe too: once I wanted to go from Spain to a Greek island, and we explored Sevilla, Vienna, and West Hungary on the way there, and Rome on the way back. The flight with the layovers was cheaper than direct flights and we got to see so many beautiful cities. But I warn you: this type of travel inquires high organization skills.
When you found the perfect flight:
Go to the webpage of the airline and sign up. Buy the ticket and don’t forget to add the luggage you need. Most airlines allow you to take a small item onboard and a piece of hand luggage free of charge. Ryanair, Wizzair and Norwegian airlines are charging for hand luggage (around 10€). Make sure you purchase that when booking.
+If you are flying with the airline for the first time, check out the webpage of Airline quality for some reviews. Every airline has bad reviews, however, if you find that only every 5th person says something nice about the airline (l am looking at you Ryanair), it might worth to pay extra for a better company.
+If you decide to stay overnight at an airport for a cheaper deal, sleepinginairports.net gives you plenty of information on how to get yourself comfortable at the airports.
3. Step: Make a map
It is very useful to have a map of all the places you want to visit. I always use google maps and create a map of the places I don’t want to miss. I just go to the Menu – Your Places – Maps – Create a map. You have to have a google account to do this.
If you are visiting a famous city, the map goes fast, because you know the big attractions. If you have no idea about the best places to go, you should do some research on Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube. Google is also very useful, you just write key phrases like “Top things to see in Budapest”, “Best beaches in Fuerteventura” or “What to do in Sevilla” and your map will be ready in no time.
If you are a foodie, it is helpful to look for restaurants in advance and mark them on the map. This way you don’t waste time looking for the perfect place to eat. You can use different pins on the map to differ the restaurants, attractions, and excursions.
+You can even attach photos to each pin and write a description if you have more info on how to get there or the price of the entrance fee.
4. Step: Find the perfect place to stay
Hotel:
Since you have a map of the places you want to see, you can find the perfect hotel nearby. Your goal should be to find accommodation close to all the places you want to visit. The best search engine in accommodations is TripAdvisor. You write the city or the name of the island/region in TripAdvisor, your travel dates and click on the hotel options.
Lucky you, there are several filters you can apply. You should write in the filter the maximum price you would be willing to pay. Free WiFi is probably important to you. If it is a tropical destination, you will need air-conditioning. There are other filters like free breakfast, free parking, depending on your needs. If you are on a very low budget, instead of the ‘best value’ choose the ‘cheapest hotels’ and check the reviews if it is bad or not.
You found the right hotel, now TripAdvisor finds you the best deal. It compares all the travel sites for you (Booking, Agoda, Expedia…) and finds you the best deal. A little secret, 80% of the time, the official webpage of the hotel offers the cheapest deal. Sometimes, the prices are exactly the same on booking.com and on the hotel’s page, however, the hotel offers free continental breakfast for the same price.
Before booking the hotel, read all the information Tripadvisor provides you, check the photos and reviews of other travelers.
+ Voyage prive has some exclusive hotel deals if you want to have a fancier hotel room without breaking the bank.
Alternative accommodations:
- There are hostels, where you can book shared rooms, perfect for solo travelers. Check out hostelworld.com.
- Airbnb offers vacation rentals. You can rent someone’s house for cheaper than a hotel. This way you get connected with locals while traveling and get a cheap deal.
- For a free couch, check out the website of Couchsurfing.
- If you plan to visit more than 2 weeks, the Facebook Market place has some offers for you.
- For long term travelers: Workaway is a great option to get free accommodation for a couple of hours of work per day. You can help locals, and explore the area in your free time.
5. Step: Plan a way to get around
Depending on where you are traveling, you can find different means of transport. In cities your best option is to use the metro line, they are cheap and very well connected. If you are in the countryside or on an island and the distances are big, a car rental might be the best option. In most part of Asia, they only drive motorbikes, no one hires a car.
Do a little research on the place and find out which vehicle is the best for you. If you are going drive, check the requirements of car/bike/ATV hire. Have an international driver’s license if needed.
+Uber and Grab are working like taxis but with fixed prices and they are completely reliable. Download the application to your phone because you never know when it comes in handy.
+ Rome2rio is the best webpage/application to find the fastest/cheapest ways to travel from point A to point B. It helps you with bus companies operating between 2cities, ferry companies between 2 islands, schedules, pricing. This website helped me so many times figuring out the best way to move from one place to another.
6. Step: Plan your way from/to the airport
Most airports have a bus/train line to the city, these are usually the cheapest options. Check the schedules and the prices. If your flight arrives very late, make sure public transport is still working at that hour.
If you are planning to hire a car, the most convenient way is to hire at the airport and you will be flexible.
Taxis from the airport are the biggest tourist scams, it is better to avoid them. If you want a private transfer, arrange it in advance on the internet or use uber/grab.
7, Step: Get a travel credit/debit card
Depending on your country of residence, there are several travel debit/credit cards available. I always travel with a debit card, which allows me to withdraw 500€/month anywhere without commissions and another card for paying in a foreign country. It is very wise to collect some of these travel cards and transfer your money to them. If you are abroad, your usual bank can charge you 3-8euros commissions for each withdrawal. Your debit/credit card won’t work all over the world. You walk into 1 shop and suddenly the card machine won’t accept it and the next shop will. You will be thankful to have different options (credit/debit/MasterCard/Visa/American Express). I can recommend N26 and Bnext ( Spanish)
8. Step: Get travel insurance:
Reason to get travel insurance:
- You need to cancel your trip
- You miss your connection
- Yo get sick or injured on the trip
- They lose your baggage
- You lose your passport
- Your airline goes bankrupt
These are only a few reasons, why get travel insurance. The only way you could skip this is that you have enough money saved for any kind of emergency (talking about thousands of euros).
9. Step: Create an itinerary
This step is a must-do if you have multiply hotels/destinations. I use the application of Triplt. I send all the booking confirmations, flight confirmations, car rentals to the email: plans@tripit.com and it creates my itinerary with all the flight details, all the different hotels I booked. This way I keep everything organized and I see if there is any mistake between the dates. It could be a nightmare arriving at your destination and you realize that the hotel is booked from tomorrow. If you stay at 15 hotels in 30 days, this app is your lifesaver.
10. Step: Get to know the country
- You will have to check which currency they use, it can be surprising sometimes. No, Hungary is not using Euro, for example. The easiest way to withdraw money from an ATM directly at the airport. Another option is to take cash and change your money once you are there. Alternatively, most banks allow you to order any currency from them, and you can pick it up in your bank, but they have like a 300euro limits (too much money to carry). Download a currency converter app to your phone, to avoid confusion with all the numbers.
- Search on google, which type of plug they use at your destination country. If it is different from yours, buy one universal travel adapter and take a power strip with you, that way you can charge everything easily.
- If you don’t speak the language of the country, make google translator available offline in the given language. A language barrier can occur anywhere.
- Check the time zone. Make sure the first thing you do after your plane landed is to change your time zone.
- Do safety measurements. Crime is everywhere, so you have to be careful anywhere you go, however, some places are more dangerous than others. Pickpocketing is very common in all cities, so do your research before going.
- Collect some information about the culture. To avoid cultural shock on the first day, make sure you know about the country you are traveling to. Some countries don’t allow women to show their shoulders and knees in public, other countries are fasting during the time you visit.
11. Step: Read about internet access
If you are in Europe, the same package of mobile data works in every country. If you go anywhere else in the world, you will have to buy a SIM card to access the internet. Do research about the best companies and the cheapest deal.
12. Get inspired
You have everything booked, but the holiday is only in 2months. What should you do? Start to follow accounts on social media who have visited the same place. Check Pinterest to find all the secret spots. Watch youtube videos about the place or just get information from your friends. When in doubt, TripAdvisor forum is very useful to ask anything.
That’s it guys, the only thing missing is to pack and enjoy the holiday you’ve created! If you need more travel advice, subscribe to my newsletter to get notified every time I post.
Anita,-
