Tips for planning your travel

Its December. Holiday season is round the corner. I hope you have your holiday plans sorted. Travelling is easily one of the best ways to feel relaxed and rejuvenated. However, it can also be overwhelming at times with some unexpected happenings during the journey which can be avoided with some prior planning. During our recent trip to Spain, we had to change our plans, face unexpected situations but at the end all izz well. So, here are my tips for planning your travel and enjoying throughout your journey.

Wandering in Aramandi

Be flexible

Something can inevitably go wrong including things that are out of your control. Be patient and remember that the main objective is to enjoy. In our case, it was unexpected changes in the weather that we had to cancel scuba diving at Costa Brava, which was one of the most awaited parts of the travel. So we just changed plans but ended up being in greater places which we never knew of 🙂

Be prepared for the unexpected

I agree travel light is the mantra but when you are on longer trips, it is always helpful to be prepared for the unexpected changes in the weather. Carry a light rain jacket or an umbrella, even if your weather prediction did not show rain and cold.

Make a packing list

Making a list (at least a mental list) of everything you need on your trip. Lists not only makes your packing easy but also make sure you travel with all your essentials and don’t spend a bomb for buying them again in a new place. I have a list of packing essentials here.

Learn basic local language

This was a biggest lesson from our Turkey trip. A simple “Hello”, “Thank you”, “Please” would be a great way to receive good vibes from the locals and surely the best reason to get introduced to a new language. Agree we have google translators and apps but it’s always a great impression when you communicate without looking at the phone.

Plan your everyday in advance

If there are some tourist attractions like museums etc that you would like to visit, it may be a good idea to look for the visiting hours and holidays in advance so that you don’t end up in that place when it is closed. One of the apps that we used to plan our everyday itinerary is “Visit a City”. Don’t forget to plan at least one no agenda day. You need a day to literally relax and not just be out of office 🙂

Choose wisely between Airbnb and Hotels

If you ask me, there is no right answer to which is better? Hotels or Airbnb. I have had good and bad experiences with both. It depends on the place, your convenience, the price and of course your choice. During our recent trip, we primarily chose hotels in small towns when the hotels themselves are century old buildings converted into luxury and affordable hotels. But we also got the best of views with our Airbnb properties.

Footwear 

I cannot stress enough on the importance of carrying comfortable pair of shoes for all purposes. When the trip involves lot of walking, which I believe is the best way of moving around in a new place, light weight sneakers are your best friend. You may also want to carry a pair of sandals or dress shoes or boots to go with your fancy outfits.

Stay connected

It is important to stay connected while traveling. We used Skyroam, a portable wifi device to stay connected. The service lets you connect to multiple devices and has great coverage and comes with a power bank. I found this to be a perfect alternative for activating international roaming or trying to connect with the free wifi at hotels.

Relax and relate

Lastly, make sure to relax your mind while traveling and relate yourself to the surroundings. It is important you put that on your agenda so that you don’t miss that out. Apart from doing routine touristy things, plan to do something the local way, like eating the traditional food, going for a cultural show, meet with the locals etc.

What are some of your tips for happy and safe travels? Where are you headed for the holidays?

-Signing off