Travel Planner Template + Tips & Tricks

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Picking the best accommodation

Alongside flights, accommodation is where most of your travel budget goes to so it’s really important to choose it wisely. Here are some of the things that you should be looking out for when searching for a place to stay:

• Location: Pick a place in an area that will make it easy for your to get around and see all you want to see at the destination, so you can make the best use of your time.
• Meal option: Check if then place you’re looking at has cooking facilities or meal inclusions such as breakfast, because this can help you save some money by avoiding to eat out as much.
• Comfort and Cleanliness: I’m sure that if you’re in your 30s like me, you appreciate being in a comfortable and clean place. Needless to mention that cleanliness has become even more of a concern these days.
• Reviews: Look out for repeated themes in the reviews as these will help you have a better idea about the accommodation than if you focused on an individual negative review.

After looking at a few options with these points in mind, it’s time to list the top three hotels that fit your criteria and pick the one that will be the best value for your money.

Booking your flights

If you’re on a budget, it’s really important that you have flexibility, so keep your travel dates open and have a few destinations in mind. When searching for flights, I love using Google Flights because it’s such a comprehensive tool that shows you the cheapest flights available during your travel dates to anywhere in the world all in one map, making it much easier to help you narrow down your options.

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Building your itinerary

Once a holiday is booked, it’s very easy to avoid thinking about the practical things such as getting to the hotel from the airport, taxi costs, exchanging money, etc. Thinking ahead about every aspect of your trip might be boring, but it’ll help you avoid some stressful situations when you’re at the destination and you’ll thank yourself later for taking the time to think about every detail of it.

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Activities

What do you usually remember from your travels?

Whether it’s trying a new dish or visiting a museum, make sure to look these things up online and include them in your itinerary. Other great tips are joining a free city walking tour or booking an Airbnb Experience (Yes, they don’t just do accommodation!) as they’re usually led by locals and fantastic ways to experience a new place. But don’t fill up your time completely beforehand! Remember to leave room for unexpected and spontaneous adventures which might happen along the way in the form of a recommendation from a taxi driver, for example.

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Logistics

Don’t trust a map completely as sometimes things look much closer than they are in reality. Check the distances between places and your accommodation so you can have a better idea on how to create your itinerary and maximising your time by bundling attractions that are located closer together. And if you’re travelling by car, remember to check parking options as well as costs.

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Safety

If you don’t feel too safe arriving in an unknown location at night, especially if you’re a solo traveler, remember to arrange a transfer in advance so you’ll have peace of mind by not having to think about how to get from point A to B and start your trip on the right foot.

Hope you enjoy my tips and tricks and that they help make your next trip much more fun!

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You can download my FREE travel template here and watch my video in full here.

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