The enjoyment I receive from travelling begins even before I set foot off an airplane in destination. I have always been a bit of a dreamer and immerse myself on a daily basis into travel day dreaming. When I plan a vacation somewhere, I want to get in as much as possible of that destination on my trip. I have a long list of places I want to visit in my lifetime and I may not have the opportunity to revisit some destinations, so I want to be as thorough as possible. I wanted to share with you today my process in planning a trip, so you too can make the most out of your vacations!
Pinterest & Instagram
My planning for a trip begins long before I know when I will actually make it to that destination. I have Pinterest boards full of inspiration for upcoming destinations as well as my previously visited destinations including, restaurants, monuments, activities etc. I'd like to see in each destination. Anytime I see something I'd like to visit on Instagram, someones blog, a magazine etc. I go straight to Pinterest and pin it to my board, or save the photo on Instagram to pin later. When I later start planning a trip to a new destination, I have a jump start on all the stuff I know I want to see!
My Pinterest if you're looking for inspiration.
Time & Place
How I decide where and when I'm going depends on many factors. For example, my trip to Austria two years ago, I knew I wanted to go for those dates based on a ballet that was playing in the city over a couple of months. A lot of times, where and when may be decided based on a compromise between who you are travelling with, especially the when. I typically like to be strategic though about when I go. Another example would be my trip to Cape Cod, we went over 4th of July weekend, so we could watch the fire works on the beach. I know that when I go to Japan I want to go in the Spring, for the cherry blossoms.
Research
Once I know where I'm going I will do a bit more research to make sure I know all the spots I want to go while in destination! My favourite place to find information is from other bloggers, so I will usually just search their blog for the destination to see if they have been and where they went. My favourite blogs for travel inspiration include: ohhcouture.com, thecherryblossomgirl.com, classygirlswearpearls.com, tijanserena.com, amelialiana.com, inthefrow.com, lovelyluciano.com & olivipalermo.com. I will also search hashtags on Instagram and look at townandcountrymag.com, condenasttraveler.com and vogue.com. These are my favourite places of inspiration and I usually find everything I would be interested in a given destination from these sources.
I am a very visual person, as may be evidenced by my love of Instagram and what I post here on my blog. I take great consideration regarding my Instagram and blog when researching my trips. I look for beautiful hotels, restaurants, architecture and monuments.
Google Maps
In order to decide each day in destination I will log all my attractions which I have pinned into Google Maps to decide the best route for places close to each other and what I should see on the same day. I like my day to be busy from sun up to sun down, so I will try and decide how long I will need for each item on my itinerary and plan my day accordingly.
Travel Planner
I will then hop into my Numbers application on my Mac and begin to fill in the Travel Planner. I love this! For those of you who are big on organization and planning you will love this too. Honestly, I actually love planning and packing for trips. The whole time I'm just imagining myself on vacation!
The numbers template comes with three tabs: Itinerary, Reservations & Packing List. I use all three, though you can decide for yourself what works for you and even create a new tab if you need one! You can also customize what goes into each of these tabs based on information which is important to you. I will usually print out my itinerary and reservations and bring with me and just use the packing list at home while packing. One thing I love about the travel planner is it allows me to keep track of how much I have spent on my vacation to help keep within budget.
I hope this post helps you with your organization of a trip, so you too can get the most out of your vacation time!