I am the master trip-planner. Shane says if I wasn't a doctor I could be a travel agent. I don't know why, but I really enjoy the planning process. It's fun to have something to look forward to, and when you start planning it becomes more real.
Since we've lived in Europe, I've planned so many trips I've lost count. I wanted to share some tips on how I put our trips together.
1. Flights. Book flights early, but not TOO early! Sometimes your dates may have to change, so you don't want to be locked into flights too far in advance. But you also don't want to wait too late because then prices will start to go up. I'd say 2-3 months early is ideal. I compare prices using www.kayak.com, www.skyscanner.com, RyanAir for cheap travel within Europe, and of course Travelocity, Expedia and Orbitz.
2. Hotels. Book hotels with free cancellations and preferably pay-later options. By using this option, you can book way early; which is important when you're going to hot tourist destinations like Rome or Paris. If your plans change later, you can always cancel your reservation for free. It gives me peace of mind knowing that our accommodations are set well in advance. I won't have to worry about rooms selling out, and I'll also get the best rate. My main tool is www.booking.com. I usually narrow my options by selecting "City Center" and looking for review scores of 8 or better. Then I read through the reviews, and I look at where the hotel is on the map (to make sure it's within walking distance of the places we want to go). And of course compare prices. I aim for about $100/night (for a double room). Sometimes we pay more, sometimes we pay less. It depends on the destination.
3. Itinerary. Plan your itinerary before you go. I like to use Rick Steves' guidebooks, as well as the Top 10 series and TripAdvisor. Try to be realistic when planning activities. Don't pack too much into one day. Also look up opening hours for museums and other places. Plan your events around those hours. There are lots of itineraries already available online, so there's no sense creating more work for yourself if you find something you like. I Googled "4 days in Marrakech" and found a great itinerary on TripAdvisor. I tweaked it a little for us, but it was still a nice time-saver to use an itinerary that was already in place.
4. Budget. If you're driving, use Google Maps or www.viamichelin.com to figure out your fuel costs and tolls. Then calculate your expected food costs, as well as any entry fees or activities you might do while on vacation. For food, I usually estimate $10 each for breakfast, $15 for lunch, and $30 for dinner. Plus about $10 for coffee/snacks throughout the day. That's a total of $65 (about 50 euros) per person per day. You could probably make this amount even less if you don't plan on any fine dining or alcoholic beverages; Shane & I enjoy eating well when we travel so we make sure to budget for that! Finally, decide how much spending money you want to bring for souvenirs/shopping. Since we don't do a lot of shopping on trips, this amount is usually fairly low for us.
**I can't emphasize enough how important it is to budget for your trip. If you budget way ahead of time, then you'll know how much you need to save during the months leading up to your trip. I planned our Ireland/Scotland trip about 8 months in advance, so we were able to save for it and pay for the entire trip in cash. We follow Dave Ramsey's debt-free plan so all of our trips are paid for in cash. It's very possible!
5. Packing. I could write an entirely separate post on this issue (which I may), but you do want to be intentional when you pack. I don't just throw random things in my suitcase; I pack just enough outfits for the duration of the trip. You want to make sure you are aware of the airline's baggage restrictions, and you can save yourself a lot of trouble by weighing your luggage at home using one of these handy scales.
That's all I can think of for now. Happy travels!
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