🇬🇧 How to plan your next trip

There’s a long time I travel alone and plan my trips. I like the freedom to choose where to go and when. I like to choose my companions, too, as, through the internet I’m able to cultivate friendships and acquaintances worldwide and each destination give me opportunity to meet these people.

I know some people prefer travel agencies and many could travel more if they knew what I’ll share in this post. I think if you know where you want to go, you probably have some idea about what you consider interesting in that place.

The steps below consider you know where you want to go. They can also be used for trips with multiple destinations. For these, follow the steps for each destination, then put the destinations in order. I consider you know how many days you can stay, but if you have a free schedule, you can follow the steps too.

1. To start, each city have some place you must go, that place every tourist must know when visiting that destination. Small towns which are not famous as touristic destinations have these places too. If you go to a city like this and know nothing about it, Google and social media can be helpful to discover something. Follow this blog and you’ll find some options, too. You don’t need to list everything. It’s just the base.
2. List, then, the hotels fitted to your standards in that city. I recommend you to focus on those close to the places you want to go.
3. Does the hotel have a restaurant? You can have your meals there. Or you can include bars, restaurants, coffee shops and other local options in your plan. List the options that interest you.
4. Include cultural activities and leisure.
5. Have some extra time for contretemps and be prepared to improvise, to be flexible about your plans.
6. If it’s a business trip, prepare for leisure. You won’t miss the chance to go to a cocktail, a party or other event because you don’t have appropriate clothing in your luggage, right? You don’t need to put your closet inside the luggage, please!
7. Now, based on the time you have available, use a calendar app and start creating the final plan, organising where to go and when, daily. Calculate the time to go from a place to another, considering the possibility of delay. I suggest you to create plans going to various places close to one another, then going to another region when the options of the first are all included (or as many as you consider priorities). It saves your time.
8. Book the hotel you prefer, according to your standards. If you’d like to stay in the best hotel in town and it’s far from many activities you planned, observe the time to go from the hotel to your activities.
9. It’s possible you cannot include everything you listed in your final plan, if you have limited time. Prioritise what it’s more important. A show or presentation in theatre, which is exhibited during a short period must be priority compared to something you can see anytime you go there. If you’re fortunate to include everything, that’s better!
10. With the detailed plan in hands, decide how you’ll travel. Car, bus, train, airplane, etc are options. Then buy the tickets.
11. Now, prepare your luggage. I recommend you to include few items you can match in different styles. Verify the climate on the destination a few days before the trip so you won’t be surprised.

Nycka, the Nomad