How to Plan Your Own Fun-Trip

Do you know that most vacationers claim to have experienced a significant boost in happiness during the planning stages of a trip?

Planning a trip or vacation can be really interesting. Indeed, there is no particular defined formula that ensures that your trips go entirely as planned. However, a well-orchestrated plan could do the magic. I have enlisted in this article, 7 powerful tips that would enable you plan and execute your fun-trips, in the most fulfilling way.

1) Determine Your Budget

It is no gainsaying that the size of your budget guides the plan. You have to decide on how much (or at least, the range) you are willing to part with for the trip. This decision, once made will set the tone / direction for the trip.

2)  Agree on Where You Wish to Go

Deciding on your choice destination is key. This is particularly dicey considering the number of exciting and interesting places on your wish-list. However, with point (1) above in mind, the eventual destination will be circumscribed. Your choice destination must meet the very essence of wanting to go on the trip in the first place. For instance, if you are travelling for fun, then you must consider travelling to a place that affords such kind of activity e.g. islands, beaches, resorts etc. Remember, the key word is to have ‘fun”.

3)  Set Timelines

There are a number of factors to consider when determining the timing for a trip. It ranges from when your official or academic vacation will be, to the slightest of issues such as the prevailing weather conditions of the geographical location to be visited. You sure do not want to travel to place experiencing torrential rainfalls or blizzards! The period of the trip should not coincide with any other major activity; work or family. The period must be carefully selected to avoid distractions or restrictions in movement at the destination.

4)  Determine if You are Going Alone or With Friends

It’s a known fact that fun-trips are best embarked on with friends and / or family. However, there is no rule that says you can’t go solo. Going on a fun trip alone leaves you with no other option than to meet and make new friends. Other than that, it’s best to always move in a group. As the saying goes, laughing alone is fun, laughing together is Joy! Apart from such trips being much more fun with friends around, embarking on fun trips with friends affords the opportunity to enjoy cost saving deals as well as the inherent security of having someone watch your back in the supposedly new environment. Hence, you may consider sharing your plans with like minds to see if you can get a few persons to tag along.

5)  Setting Your Itinerary Early

This is unequivocally the most important part of your trip planning. You can see it like drawing a map of your proposed trip.  It entails cooking up a detailed plan for the journey, from beginning to end, stating the list of places to be visited, how to move from one point to another, where to lodge for the duration of the trip, etc.  This is the step to investigate these options;

—   Do you wish to travel by road or by air or sea?

—   How often does the train/bus run? Where is the bus park located?

—   Do you need to buy tickets ahead of time or can you be spontaneous?

—   How much do tickets cost?

—   Do you need to book a reservation, before visiting any of the proposed sights? Etc.

  

It may seem reasonable to consider outsourcing this aspect of your trip to a travel agent. However, experience has shown that these agents typically replicate past templates of similar plans for unsuspecting clients. Such plans are often times not flexible and deprives you of the opportunity to access variety of options. Not to even mention the commission that would have to be paid to the agent afterwards.

Not to worry, with Google at your fingertips, the sky is indeed your limit. All you need to know is available online and easily assessable too! Just seek and you shall find, as said, the Holy Book. You will have access to good deals and a variety of options for you to select from. You can also be able to place price tags on each aspect of your trip, while streamlining it to your budget. There are several online trip planning sites that provide free information, bookings and reservation services e,g. bookings.com, expedia, trip advisor etc. Google map is also very helpful for checking up distances from place to place, trip duration, and location of important places surrounding your proposed destination. Doing it yourself is not only fun, it is also educative.

6)  Ensure to keep Relevant Documents Handy

Depending on your destination(s), certain documents must be kept handy for ease of identification as well as to ensure seamless passage in and out of different geographical regions. Such documents may include (where applicable) a valid ID card, international passport, VISA(s) [that’s is travelling across different countries], yellow card, travel documents, tickets, city maps etc. it is advisable to keep such documents in a carry-on bag (photocopies), other than your luggage. You may want to keep the originals away in your luggage.

7)  Packing and Final Preparations

So having followed the above steps, you should be sure of a number of facts about your trip. You now know where you are going, when, who you are going with and your full itinerary. The next and final tip would be packing for the trip. You should ensure to buy everything thing you’ll need. Most times, we are carried away with packing only clothes / shoes and assigning days of the week to them; more like… this top is for Monday, this shorts is for Saturday etc. Keep digital camera batteries on hand. Do you have the right plug-in adapter for wherever you're going? How about gear for the weather? A language book? A Clipper? Water bottle, light snacks (biscuits) …. Etc. Buy whatever will make your trip go off without a hitch?

That said, it is essential to pack light. Leave space for shopping and buying souvenirs. Moreover, traveling with lots of luggage restricts your movement and causes discomfort – you'll be moving around a lot, and it'll only be cumbersome with a big luggage. Only pack the necessities!

Now you are ready for your Trip. Have FUN and thank me later!