A lot of my friends said that i spent too much effort planning for a trip. They always tells me to relax lah, YOLO for the win and to embrace surprises along the way. As much as I would like to heck care everything and just hop onto the plane and fly towards the unknown, the fear of 惊 (Shock) as opposed to 惊喜 (surprise) is still strong. As such, I would feel more assured going on a trip with a plan on hand. Planning is time consuming and tedious but if done well would definitely makes the trip more enjoyable.
There are many things to consider for a trip. Over here, I would like to share with you the most important steps to be carried out during planning to make the trip more enjoyable. Steps for planning for a trip:
1. Define the Purpose
The first question to ask yourself is where do you want to go? Obvious right? However i do hear a lot of cases where people have in mind a few places to visit but end up skipping some of them due to lack of time. Hence it is important to note the main places that you really want to visit and plan other places only if time permits.
Other questions to ask to firm up your purpose of the trip are as follows: - Who are your travelling companions? (I would not want to climb Mount Everest with my elderly parents; They would have wanted to kill me if I suggest a day trip to climb Bukit Timah Hill in Singapore) - Which season do you prefer to visit? (Bad example is you would like to see sakura in Japan in Spring but you visit in December) - What kind of experience do you hope to achieve during this trip? (Bad example is you want to chill and relax but bringing your kids along increases the stress level exponentially)
2. Set the Date and Duration
My preference for start and end of travel would normally falls on the weekdays so that I can enjoy fully the weekends overseas. This is because weekends are usually pack with more activities as compared to weekdays. Another reason would be that prices of air tickets are generally cheaper on weekdays.
How long to stay for the trip depends on 3 factors; Proximity from where I am from, whether it is my first visit and annual leaves and holidays I can utilized. Normally for trips to nearby locations like Malaysia in my case, I will keep it short whereas flights that takes more than 5 hours i would plan to stay longer. This is because it is cheaper to travel to close destination. Hence i can still make multiple future trips. Whereas long distance trip is more expensive. Thus I would want to squeeze as much things to do as possible with each visit. For destination that I have visited more than once, I would normally reduce the duration of the trip and focus on activities or places I have not try before. Finally prior to a trip, I would start searching for the possibilities of holidays falling within the chosen period. I would then plan the duration of the trip based on the number of annual leaves I can activated on top of weekends and holidays.
3. Book your Transport
It is best to book your flights/ transport as soon as possible. This is because most airlines offer better deals/ discounts if you book early and the chances of getting the seats that you want will be higher.
I will go into details on how to choose your flights in another entry.
4. Book your Accommodation
There are generally more choices for accommodation as compared to flights. Thus I would normally secure my flight first before booking my accommodation.
I will go into details on how to choose your accommodation in another entry.
5. Make a List of Attractions
Attractions refers to places of interest, scenic views, shopping, places with fun activities, free activities and events and festivals.
I will first list down all available attractions near the place I am staying. Attractions are gathered from other bloggers' sites and or general Google search (Normally i would search for Top attractions in XXX). I will then conduct the first round of elimination, keeping those that I have interest in. I would then group them based on their locations. Attractions that are inaccessible, or too far off from where I am staying shall be removed from the list unless is the die die must go else cannot say you have been here kind of attractions. I will then checks the review of those that are still in the list. Normally I would see what others say about the attractions in TripAdvisor. I would also rely on the impressions of the attractions that i have based on various photos or videos i can find. Only the top attractions that I would enjoy will be retained. I would then plan to see how I can fit these attractions into the number of days I have allocated for the trip. The plan would include travelling to and from the attractions and operating hours of attractions. I would also take reference from other tour packages online to see how I can plan my route to the various attractions I have selected.
6. Find Places to Makan
Makan (Eating) is one of the most important aspect of travelling (At least for me). From street side stalls, to food alleys, to restaurants, I would try to explore local delicacies in various forms.
The process is similar to planning of attractions. I will first google for food with key words like Must Try Food in XXX or Best Place for Food in XXX. I will then filter the list to include only those within reached from my selected attractions or place of stay. I will also exclude those that will burn a big hole in my pocket (Sometimes street food taste way better than those in restaurants and budget travelling is my priority). I will then filter the list again based on reviews online. I will then include the directions to these eating places in my itinerary.
7. Look for Lobangs
Now that you have a good idea of the places to go, places to eat and how to travel, it is time to look for ways to save money.
Firstly I will look for official websites like tourism board or the official websites of the attractions to see if there are any conditions that can fulfill to get discounts. There are some places that gives discounts exclusively to tourist while others may happen to have 1-For-1 promotions for the period that you are visiting. Nowadays there are many websites that offers packages that includes transport and admission fees to certain attractions or discounted tickets to attractions or restaurants. I may consider taking up the packages but always check for credibility before making any purchase online. Lastly, I will also search for day passes for transport to see whether there are packages suitable for my trip. This is especially useful if you are visiting multiple places within the same city (Example Tokyo) via the same mode of transport.
8. List of Things to Buy
There are generally 3 types of things to buy: things as gifts, things upon request, things for self.
For things upon request, I would normally accept the request if and only if the requested item is not too big or heavy and the person whom made the request knows where to buy and the expected price range. In the past, I would search for souvenirs as gifts to friends or relatives. However after receiving tons and tons of keychains, magnets and / or pens from the same location as gifts from different people, I start to realize others might not appreciates it if I repeat the same process. Thus I starts to search for the best local snacks and give them as gifts instead. Surprisingly, people whom received the snacks generally showed more joy then receiving souvenirs. They will go like: OH this is the taste! Miss it so much! Thank you! as compared to Oh ... Orm... thank you. Finally for myself, I would also treat myself with a whole list of local snacks. I would also search for limited edition merchandise that can only be purchased during the period of my visit.
9. Plan your Budget
To me, this is the most important aspect of the whole plan. How much to bring for a trip will greatly affect the level of enjoyment during the trip. If bring too little cash, you will be restricted from having fun (cannot do this, cannot do that). If bring too much, I will tend to worry what if I lose the money? Further more, having too much money will increase chances of overspending which may be converted to huge amount of regret after the trip (Will ask myself why did I spend so much money on buying useless stuff for example). Hence it is important to set a budget.
How I calculate my budget is very simple. I would first tabulate the amount I need per day during the trip based on transport fee, price of food and price of admission fees. Then I would allocate a lump sum for making purchases. I would then add up potential expenses per day to form the total expenses for the trip. I would then set a side another amount of cash as emergency funds (What if fall sick? What if bags spoils? What if admission fee price increases?). The total amount will be the budget I set for the trip.
10. Monitor the Weather
Weather is something most people fail to take into consideration when planning for a trip. But unforseen weather can drastically affect the mood of the trip.
I would normally check the upcoming weather via AccuWeather. It has proven to be reliable so far for all my past trips. I would first see historical records of the weather of the destination in previous years of the same month. I would then see the predicted weather for the actual period of my trip. When the date of the trip draws nearer, I would observe the current weather for greater accuracy. Example I am going Singapore from 3 Sept to 9 Sept 2017. I would check as follows:
11. Pack
As the trip draws nearer, it is time to pack your bag.
From the type of bag to what to bring, it is always a headache. What to bring really depends on the plan created up till now. But no matter what to bring, my stand is to pack such that you are able to lift the bags and climb the stairs without too much effort (This is especially true in Asia countries as there are a lot of stairs to climb). To ensure that you do not bring unnecessary stuff, check whether the stuff you bring fulfill the following list: - Pack for the weather. Bring the correct clothing for the correct occasion. Example bring extra or thick overalls only if really needed. - Pack for the activities. Example bring swimming wear only if you have prepared water activities for the trip. - Pack for you electronics. Traveller adapter, power banks are the must have for me. - Pack for your health. Make sure you standby medications for all sort of situations. - Pack for your comfort. This is not the must have but you can pack these if it is going to make the trip more enjoyable. Example include electric kettle to boil hot water for the daily dose of coffee in the morning, personal pillow. Be prepared to take things out from this list if the bag gets too heavy. I would also standby extra hand carry bags in my luggage to be used when returning home to carry my purchase from the trip (Especially snacks).
12. Confirm, Double Confirm, Triple Confirm
Always made sure you are prepared for the trip. Check to make sure you have prepared all the necessary documents. Go through the planning process a few times to see what could be missing. Recalculate your budget. Check your luggage again one day before the trip.
Finally to end off, I agree planning a trip is not easy but if you are not following any tour group than planning is a must.
One last thing. Planning is not a one time thing. It needs to be constantly revised. Sometimes the plans may change based on locals suggestion during the trip itself. A plan should be something to reference to but one should be flexible enough to break away from the plan when needed. This is how you can truly enjoy the trip.
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KelvinYo. I am from Singapore. I love to travel. Follow me as I share my experiences and tips for budget travelling as well as my hunt for Ho Kangs around Singapore. Archives
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