HOW TO PLAN A TRIP
A guide to planning a perfectly memorable vacation
We often make some hasty and fast decisions when it comes to planning trips, and it’s not just me I have been around a ton of people who just pick a location that their friend or colleague recommended. They do not even look into it and doing some research, they pack up their stuff and set off for a trip. While others just hire a trip planner, pay that guy a lump some amount of money, and blindly trusting the planners’ instincts they set off for their vacation.
I am not saying that this kind of decision is usually bad, but let me simplify this for you guys. Look at it this way, every person has a different taste when it comes to food, clothing, type of movies, and even travel destinations. Similarly, each travel agent or agency has an itinerary planned for every destination. They have their specified spots, their specific hotels, their specific time management, etc, etc. By following this kind of so-called specific itinerary, you travelers are no more than a show monkey.
I personally think that every traveler has a right to travel the right way. Wouldn’t it be disappointing if you spend a fortune of money visiting your dream destination, you travel all around, but when you return home and find out your planner did not cover some beautiful, extravagant, and exotic places which he was supposed to cover? And now that you are back home there is nothing you can do other than regretting your own decision.
No worries, as here at One Ticket Please we would be honored to help you plan perfect trips. So get your notepad and a pen ready, as given below are some of the tips you don’t wanna miss out on.
Planning Trips: WHERE TO START?
I know a lot of you might have a really busy schedule, working in your corporate world, building your business, yet we all have one thing in common. We all love to take trips. So we anyways love to travel and we do anyhow take some time off our busy schedule to travel, so why not do it right?
Let’s start with the basic things:
STEP: 1
So, you have already decided to go on a trip. The first thing you need to check is the season and the month you wanna go for your vacation. If I was to suggest always pick the opposite location to the season you are planning to visit, like trips to any hill station will be a great option to beat that summer heat. Similarly, visiting the beach in winter might be a great idea, since the sun is all mild to get you a good tan and the sand too is not that hot. Unless you are a snow adventure kind of guy, you definitely should choose winter for your skiing trips and expeditions.
STEP: 2
Now since your location is finalized, you need to plan the number of days you wish to spend. The best way is to make an itinerary for the trips. Write down every detail right from the day leave in that cab for your airport till the day you actually are back home. Also do not get confused with the sightseeing, there will be a ton load of options for you. But obviously, it won’t be possible to visit every place, so spend some time researching the best places you can cover in your limited time trips. And yes do check the public review and rating before you choose to visit that location. There are plenty of websites that will provide you information and help you with your destination. (If you find it difficult One Ticket Please is always glad to help you. Do drop a mail)
STEP: 3
It’s time for finalizing your accommodation and transportation. Since the dates are already done in your itinerary you now need to book your tickets, book your source of accommodation – hotels, motels, inn, cottages, etc. Everything is online nowadays so it can be easily done. I personally prefer Airbnb for my accommodation, but there are plenty of other options, you can choose as per your convenience.
STEP: 4
If you are planning a road trip do skip this point. This step is for those who wish to travel personally, you can always book a rental car. Almost all the major cities in the world having international airports happen to have car rentals, so it is easy and always better to book your car before you arrive at your destinations, just to avoid uselessly spending your precious time.
STEP: 5
Now that all the tickets are done, accommodation and a rental car are booked, its time to start packing. Pack your belongings accordingly, use the appropriate amount of clothes, and carry only essentials with you. You can check out our “How to pack” blog for a more detailed view on how to pack your suitcase (here).
THINGS TO DO ONCE YOU REACH YOUR DESTINATION
Finally, you are there where you once dreamt to be. Hopefully, the place is more beautiful than you expected it to be. Obviously you would pick up your rental car, drive to your place of accommodation first, check-in your hotel rooms, and freshen up.
Now that you are in your hotel room and the entire place you just got into is a completely unknown location and is filled with strange people. The main thing you need to do is make friends with locals, have some conversation with other tourists, the hotel staff, or any place you visit. Always try to be friendly, and make the locals see that you too are one of them. This way you get to make new friends and also gather more intricate information about the place which you would never find on the internet. Isn’t that a great thing to do on trips?
Before leaving your hotel, make sure you have the contact details of the hotel, a cell number of one of the hotel staff, a road assistance number, and also the number of the local police station, just in case anything unusual happens.
Always carry emergency backup essentials like a portable power-bank, first aid kit, etc. along with you on trips. I personally believe carrying some expensive jewelry is always risky. You always need to stay alert and in constant fear of losing it, so a better way to leave it in your house locker and enjoy your vacation peacefully.
NOW ENJOY
Now that you have finally arrived at your dream destination, there is only one thing left to do. Pause the time on that boring, stinky, dull corporate watch and put on the vacay mode now. Now its time to let go of everything that has been holding you back and enjoy every moment of this trip.
Make every moment memorable, do crazy stuff, jump into some deep lagoons, ski down the highest peak, swim down the ocean, take a ride back to your hotel on a horseback, sit down with your family, friends, colleagues, students, talk about your day, talk about your life, get some motivation and be energized to make tomorrow more awesome.
And one more thing! Don’t forget to capture those precious moments in your camcorder and digital cameras.
HAPPY TRAVEL!