Traveling is one of the best ways to spend your leisure time! Getting you to visit new places, discover new cultures, try different cuisines, meet new people, and so much more is just the cherry on top! Plus, traveling can help you reconnect and bond with loved ones and yourself. It’s so great; people worldwide try to do this at least twice a year, whether during holidays or just weekends.
But, although traveling is great and all, many people can agree on one thing, how dreadful the preparation process is. Preparing for a vacation is pretty tedious, and reasons why this should be done months before your desired traveling date. To help you out, below is a list to ease some of your traveling worries. It consists of the essential things you need before your trip, so check it out!
1. Get Your Tickets Secured!
Although it’s pretty awesome, traveling can be quite costly since you must consider many things like airfare, accommodation, food, activities, etc. But what usually eats up the vacation budget is definitely tickets.
Spontaneous trips can be exciting, but everyone knows this is one way to dry up your wallets when traveling! So when planning, consider booking 1-2 months before your chosen travel date or even earlier than that. This is to get cheaper and more affordable deals to save you a quick buck.
Plus, booking earlier also means you can choose flights at a time you’re comfortable with, pick your seats without extra charge, and more.
Photo by Nicole Geri on Unsplash
2. Book a Place to Stay During the Trip
Once you get your tickets, it’s time to secure a place to stay. This is crucial since this will be your “home” for the next few days. So doing this earlier can give you the benefit of getting cheaper deals and a chance to pick a room you like.
When traveling, consider skimping on accommodation (If you want to spend your money elsewhere). So consider steering clear from grand 5-star hotels and staying in more affordable places.
But when picking out an affordable place to stay, consider the perks that come with it to make the most out of your stay and money. For example, the PS Edinburgh, this place is affordable and, at the same time, comes with so many benefits!
Down below is a list of what PS Edinburgh offers; this is to give you an idea of what to look for when booking your accommodation:
- Has parking.
- Offers a fully equipped kitchen.
- Is pet-friendly!
- Offers free Wi-Fi.
- Offers to housekeep.
- Offers contactless check-ins.
- Offers express check-outs.
- Offer delivers (Grocery and restaurant)
- Has luggage storage.
- No downpayment is needed when booking (Book now, pay later option available.)
- Best cancellation conditions.
3. Come Up With an Itinerary
Since trips usually last about four days to a week, you’d want to make the most out of your stay by doing everything you can, and an efficient way to do so is by creating an itinerary. An itinerary is like a mix of a to-do list and a schedule.
This will help you maximize the time of your trip and is also a great way to stay organized during your vacation. An itinerary will have a list of things you have to and want to do along with its given schedule.
To give you an idea, this is what a usual itinerary consists of for a “3 days and 2 nights” trip:
Departure time: 7:00 AM / Arrival time: 8:30 AM
First day:
- 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM – Transfer from the airport to the hotel.
- 12 PM to 1:30 PM – Lunch at Bistro Cafe.
- 1:45 PM to 2:00 PM – Transfer from Bistro Cafe to Disneyland.
- 2:30 PM to 8:30 PM – Disneyland!
- 8:45 PM to 9:00 PM – Transfer from Disneyland to the hotel.
Second day:
- 7:30 AM to 8:00 AM – Breakfast at the hotel.
- 9:30 AM – Wait at the lobby for the day tour pick-up.
- 10:45 AM to 7 PM – Day tour!
- 7:30 PM to 8:00 PM – Transfer from the drop-off location to the hotel.
- 8:10 PM to 9:30 PM – Dinner at Sushi Bar.
- 9:40 PM to 10:10 PM – Transfer from Sushi Bar to the hotel.
Third day:
- 7:30 AM to 8:00 AM – Breakfast at the hotel.
- 10:00 AM to 11:30 – Transfer from the hotel to the airport.
Departure time: 1:00 PM / Arrival 2:30 PM
Photo by Marco López on Unsplash
4. Pack, Pack, Pack!
Last but not least is to pack! Now you have an itinerary; this will make it easier for you to plan out outfits and the things you need for the trip. So you’ll know if you need an extra pair of jeans, a swimsuit and so on.
But no matter where you go, there are some things you’ll always need:
- Important documents – Passport, I.Ds, airfare ticket… etc.
- Hygiene kit – toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, and so on.
- Underwear – Undies, in-shirts, socks, and so on.
- Medication – Your prescribed medication.
- Sleeping clothes.
- Chargers – For your devices.
