{"id":305,"date":"2018-03-05T10:45:58","date_gmt":"2018-03-05T15:45:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thefullpassport.com\/?p=305"},"modified":"2024-01-09T14:49:25","modified_gmt":"2024-01-09T19:49:25","slug":"how-to-plan-a-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thefullpassport.com\/how-to-plan-a-trip\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Plan a Trip (With Examples!)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Curious about how to plan a trip? Looking to take a vacation and want some help organizing your planning process? This post has you covered!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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One of my favorite parts of travel is the planning. In fact, I enjoy it almost as much as the actual trip itself; I love diving into the research, putting the puzzle pieces of an itinerary together, and the excited anticipation as I think about setting off on my next adventure. I have been known to put together sample itineraries<\/a> to cheer myself up in times of stress or sadness, and I am quick to offer help to an overwhelmed friend who doesn\u2019t get the same enjoyment out of the planning process as I do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In doing the groundwork for the endeavor that would become Full Life, Full Passport, I learned that for a lot of people the planning part of travel is anything but enjoyable. It\u2019s overwhelming, difficult, stressful, and far too time-consuming. If that\u2019s you, I want to help! The goal of this website is to provide you with resources and inspiration to make traveling easy and unforgettable, and today we\u2019re going back to basics. Let’s talk about how to plan a trip in the first place, and don’t forget that if you’d prefer to have some professional planning help, I’ve got you covered<\/a>!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n(Note: some of the links in this article may be affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission from your purchase at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Full Life, Full Passport! You can find the full disclosure here<\/a>.)<\/em>\n\n\n\n
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How to Plan a Trip<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While we’re going to get rather detailed here, feel free to do as much or as little planning and pre-booking as you\u2019d like depending on the length of time you have, how flexible you\u2019d like to be, and how busy each location is at the time of year you\u2019re visiting. On my two big backpacking<\/a> adventures, we rarely booked hostels or buses in advance; for shorter trips, I always make sure those details are taken care of so that we can maximize our time. It\u2019s up to you! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Generally, my travel planning decisions are made in the following order:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.) Destination (country or region)
2.) Flights
3.) Itinerary (specific towns or places to visit)
4.) Accommodations
5.) Rental car and\/or other major transportation
6.) Organized tours and pre-bought admissions
7.) Other day-to-day activities<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For our purposes today, we’re going to assume that the first two steps above have already been handled – we’ve determined our destination and booked our flights. From there, we will create a solid plan of attack while leaving some time open for on-the-ground spontaneity. Follow along with me as I plan a weeklong trip to Belize<\/a> for myself, my mom, and my sister!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Step 1: Research the basics.<\/strong><\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

My first step when planning a vacation is to pick up a guidebook (I prefer Lonely Planet<\/a>). While I don\u2019t plan absolutely everything according to the book, I do find it easier to orient myself, understand my options, and determine basic travel routes when I have a comprehensive resource in front of me rather than a hodgepodge of information found on Google or Pinterest. I also appreciate the cultural and historical background, tips, and tricks that any good guidebook will provide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of my favorite parts of the planning process is sitting down with a highlighter and going through my guidebook. If I already have a rough idea where I’d like to go, I can skip right to those sections. (For example, if I am headed to Italy<\/a> and already know that I want to prioritize Tuscany and Rome, there’s no need for extensive reading about the Dolomites.) Otherwise, if it’s a country with which I’m less familiar or less committed to a particular area, I’ll read as much of the book as is necessary to make my decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once I have a good understanding of the offerings, I can put together a rough itinerary. (Many books will include sample itineraries that you can choose from to save time, as well.) From there, you can either utilize the book\u2019s recommendations to find accommodations and activities or turn to the internet: Google, Pinterest<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, TripAdvisor, etc. Combing the web will be simpler at this point because your preliminary research will allow you to do more targeted searching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Belize<\/figure><\/div>
\"Close-up<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Save time!<\/strong><\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n