Travel For Newcomers: How To Plan & Prepare For A Trip

If you are new to travel, then you might be overwhelmed on how to actually plan your vacation! Google, Influencers, Blogs, and Social Media has made It so easy to research where to go, where to stay, what to do, and stay in budget.

Where do you start? Here is my essential steps to prepare for a vacation so that you can make the most of your well-deserved break.

Deciding On Your Destination

This is the fun part! You get to dream and decide where you actually want to go. Do you crave relaxation on a tropical beach, want to explore a new city, or seek adventure in the mountains? Consider your interests, budget, and the time of year you plan to travel. Once you have a destination in mind, research it thoroughly. Look into the local culture, activities, and attractions to help you plan your itinerary.

Determine & Set Your Budget

This part isn’t quite as fun, but it massively reduces stress on your trip. Your budget needs to include transportation, accommodation, meals, activities, and any other expenses you may encounter.

No matter your budget, you can have an incredible vacation!

Book Transportation, Accommodation, & Needed Travel Documents

This involves the most amount of research if you are planning it solo, or you can connect with a Travel Agent! They actually get compensated from hotels, flights, and more when they book for you. It is NO cost to you if you choose to use an agent!

Where To Stay: You need a place to relax and sleep! Please remember to read reviews! I have made that mistake… found myself checking out an hour or two after and finding a last minute stay. Google is your best friend when researching.

How To Get Around: You may need to rent a car, book train tickets, download Uber, or maybe you are visiting a city with incredible public transport. Be sure on how you will get around before you get there, it will ease a lot of stress.

Activities: The last thing you want is to plan this beautiful vacation in a beautiful place but have nothing to do. Unless, you planned that. Pop off! If you have something you deeply want to do then be sure you get any and all reservations, tickets, bookings, or whatever you need. Don’t miss it just because you did not research it.

Needed Travel Documents: Passports, visas, and any required vaccinations or medical records. Make photocopies or digital copies of these documents and store them separately in case of loss or theft.

Put it Into an Itinerary

My favorite way to do this is to put it into a Google Doc, that way you can keep track of all your well planned events and send the itinerary to your travel buddies.