Usually, when you start planning your first trip around the world, you get to have no idea what you are doing. You often get drawn to buying a guidebook, but that doesn’t exactly prepare you for planning a trip around the world. Travel plan next could be a daunting task that is often led by the questions, such as, where should I begin? What should be my step? What are the further steps after figuring out step one? And different questions like these.
Trip planning could be an overwhelming experience, especially the times when this is your first-time experience, and considering how much information you can find there these days on different social media platforms, blogs, and guidebooks. The firehouse of the information often makes the tasks of planning a trip more challenging and overwhelming. All Over Travelers caters to the real-life experiences and gives out a checklist in this blog that you might want to follow for helping your trip planning experience to be less hectic and overwhelming.
Step 01: Deciding Where You Want To Go
Having a decision made regarding where you want to go for real sets a goal to work toward. Many people talk about travel in a very vague manner. They never say where they are planning to go, but they only tell that they have come up with an idea of going. Picking up a destination is significant since it then gives an individual a definite goal.
Step 02: Deciding Your Trip’s Length
The one question that appears in your mind next is how much would it cost to travel? And the answer to this question is that it depends. Without having any acknowledgment about where and for how long you are going away, this question can’t be answered. For figuring out your budget for the trip, you will require to know how long your trip will be. The length of your trip plays a huge role in the determination of how much money you will be needing. You need to spend some time mulling that over so that you then have an answer for yourself.
Step 03: Will You Travel Solo or Will Be Going With Someone?
This is one of the biggest decisions you will be making while planning your trip, you have to make decisions that whether you will be going alone or will be traveling with someone. Both come as to be great options but they also come as to be different choices too. So, you have to make your mind up regarding having a company or having your own company, whatever you prefer.
Step 04: Saving Money!
Start researching about your expenses and then hop on to the next step of saving money. Before start saving money, you will be needing to know how much money you already have and how much you will be spending on your trip. You then will be needed to start writing down all of your current expenses so that further you can determine whether you are there spending money and how you will be having a cutback. For making changes to your spending habits, you will be first required to have an understanding of them, and making a list can help you with that. While the list can also put your financial needs into a much better perspective, again.
Step 05: Getting a Travels Rewards Credit Card
While you are on the move to save money, you may need to get a travel credit card so that you can then earn different sign-up bonuses for redeeming the points and miles for free flights as well as hotel stays. Nowadays, most of the cards come up with an offer of up to 50,000 points when their minimum requirement has been met. These are enough miles for a free flight almost everywhere in the world. For getting a free flight, you will be needed to sign up for the cards that can further help you with that. If you need free hotel rooms then you can also get a hotel card. Either way, you can sign up for a travel credit card and then start earning your points today. As long as you can pay your monthly balance, then you can get a free travel credit card.
Step 06: Switching to No-Fee ATM Cards
Once you have made your landing in another country, you will be needing money. While numerous countries will be there accepting cards, in many countries cash is the means of payment. This then means that you will then require a local ATM card for withdrawing the local currency, and this also means that you will be dinged by ATM fees. If your trip is for a week or two then paying dollars as ATM fees wouldn’t be a burden but if that’s not the case and you are away for a longer period, then your travel budget could be busted with those added fees, and so make use of no-fee ATM card. With a no-fee ATM card, you can then avoid those pesky ATM fees, which leave you more money for your travel.
Step 07: Checking For Last-Minute Deals
Okay, so now you have followed all the 6 steps and luckily you are fully inspired, and prepared for saving money for your trip. But, before purchasing that flight or booking that hotel, you must check for different deals that you might have missed. You might be there dreaming of Paris but there could have been better deals for Berlin right now, so you can hold Paris up and explore Berlin? These days, there always are some deals that could be found especially when your travel calendar and destinations are flexible to go on with.
Step 08: Booking Your Flight and Accommodation
After making use of your travel credit card and receiving your sign-up bonus, you may use your miles for booking your flight. It might be harder for using the miles these days because of less availability and so you may be required to book early to get on your desired flight. You can browse different apps or sites on the internet for finding cheap airfare. While if you are someone who is traveling for under two weeks and have a schedule set then you may feel free to book all your accommodation for your trip’s duration, this can relax your time. For the ones who are there going for more than two weeks then you may have to book your accommodations for the first few days this then will your assurance that you have a place to go on arrival.
Step 09: Planning Your Activities
To make sure that all that you have budgeted is proper, you may outline the significant major activities that you need and want to enjoy during your travel and trip and also check out how much they cost. You may want to make any sort of last-minute adjustments to your savings so that you may be ensured that you have the required money. This also will further help you in figuring out if you thereby need any sort of reservations for your chosen activities or tours.
Step 10: Automating Your Bills
Once you are traveling, you might need to get rid of your mails, go paperless, and set up online bill payments for your recurring bills to have an assurance that you won’t be missing any of these while you are enjoying yourself overseas. While in conditions where you still are going to get paper mail then you may require to get a service that will be there collecting and scanning your mail for you, and you can skip this step if your trip is just a two-week trip, otherwise, you can have your tension-less trip with such service. While one option that you always shave is that you can send all your emails to a family member or a friend. While as an addition you also will need to cancel all your phone plans, so make sure to do that, too.
Step 11: Telling Your Card Company that You Are Traveling
Doesn’t matter what is the length of your trip, telling your credit card companies that you will be abroad is always a good idea, and this is the way any sort of transactions that you will be making won’t then be considered fraudulent and your card will have very minimal chances to get blocked. Also, one thing more that you need to be sure of is that you have multiple credit and debit cards with you while you are on the go. This is the way where you won’t be left high and dry when your one card is either lost, stolen, or flagged.
Step 12: Pack and Be On The Go!
Now comes the time to pack, it might look tempting for you to bring everything with you for the time of need but once you are traveling, less is always more. You don’t need a very wide range of outfits to pack, until and unless you are traveling to countries with different climates, of course. Moreover, if you are bringing any sort of prescriptions with you then you may know that you have enough for your trip’s duration. And if it is not feasible then you may need to bring a note of your doctor and prescription with you so that you can fill it up once you are abroad. And now, since everything has come together it is time to go on your trip, and have fun! Head to your airplane, board your plane, don’t forget your passport, and live the life of your dreams!
