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| How I plan my trips |
I don't get paid loads - as most of us in this age group don't. It's just how I go about spending/saving my money which really helps.
Nor would I call myself an extremely organised person - because I'm definitely NOT! In fact, I'm almost never early or on time, I usually forget something every day and I tend to plan/do things last minute. That's just me!
However, I have learnt over the years to make lists and plan a lot more and I must say, I really enjoy it. I like to know how I'm going to use my wages and what I'll spend them on, what I'll be doing for the month and when to pay something, etc. It's a nice feeling - kind of like you have life figured out. (Don't get me wrong - I totally don't! But it's a nice feeling to pretend lol)
SO this is how I plan my trips, here we go...
First of all, if you have read any of my blog posts before or know me in any way, you'll understand my love for travel and my desire to see the whole World.I have a bucket list which I WILL complete - but I sometimes go off the radar of this and choose random locations to visit sometimes because of costs, the seasons (if a certain place has snow in their Winter months or if the season is opposite of that in the UK, etc.) and sometimes I just want to go somewhere I've never thought about before, such as Finland this past weekend.
1. My main plan of action to finding a place to visit can be any of the solutions below:
- I already have a personal interest in visiting that place, city, country, etc.
- I've seen the place(s) on social media through people I'm following
- I've read about the place(s) online, through magazines or through social media
- A friend, relative or colleague has recommended the place(s)
- I simply fancy going somewhere I've never been before!
There are plenty of inspiration boards on Pinterest, too. Check out my profile Bucket List here.
2. Second of all, I figure out a rough budget I have to spend.
Remembering I will probably have to book flights, accommodation, have spending money and I'll need transport to the airport (as I don't drive). I call these the *four main objectives* and these are the routes to how I choose my destination.
Depending on where I go, for example I chose to visit Helsinki (Finland) last weekend as a friend of mine is currently working there on a placement through college. I knew it was snowing in Finland at the time, which I wanted to experience myself as Plymouth doesn't get much more than ice!
I would see how much I could part with for that month or over the months if I plan to go away ahead in the year. So for example, if I wanted a short break close to the time of booking I'd look at how much money I had spare to spend for that wage month and figure out the total then, or if I was planning to book months ahead e.g. booking now for August/September, then I'd figure out how much wages I could part with per month to save for that time.
3. Next, the investigation part of the planning process.
First of all I checked my flights. I did this a couple of months ago on my original plan to visit Amanda, my friend. The reason I didn't jet off sooner is because of the price difference. Back then (December) my flights alone for 4 days (2 days of travelling) would have been £200+ which was out of my budget! However, I kept looking throughout December, January and at the beginning of February and the prices dramatically changed.
From £200+ and just waiting a couple of months/weeks I was able to save up to £100 on flights, as in the end they only cost me £130 - a big difference in my eyes. So I knew I needed £130-£140 (with booking fees, etc.) to save.
I then had a look online for transport to the airport to see if I could afford this on-top of my flights. I checked train lines with a flexible date (a few days before my selected flight dates and a few days after my selected return flight dates), I checked bus/coach options and I checked flight options to compare the difference in cost.
After a little investigation, I decided a coach to London and a bus to the airport would be the most time-suitable and cheapest way to access the airport. All together with this I booked the coach to London with Megabus - notoriously known for its cheap fares to different cities and I booked the bus with National Express from the same port - meaning I didn't have to rush anywhere else and saved extra costs trying to get to different pick up points in London. We all know the traffic is crazy there!
My chosen return coaches from Plymouth - London and my return airport transfers from London - Heathrow together cost me only £60, saving me AT LEAST £100 if I were to choose a plane journey and up to £100 if I chose a train! A big saving again if you ask me!
One thing I'll just mention - do some serious searching. Go at it like a pro spy or crazy ex-girlfriend/boyfiend - we have all done it, c'mon. It will really help to find those mega savings.
4. The hunt for the best stay at the best price.
Normally now I'd look at prices of accommodation for the place(s) I want to visit. In this case, I didn't need accommodation as my friend was already living in the city which = free stays! Bonus for me! It's perfect if you know somebody who lives there, but if you don't (and in most cases I don't) then I'd do a similar kind of process to that of flights.
My massive passionate love relationship is with lastminute.com - it just describes me as a person perfectly. The app (also online) is a magical genie which allows you to search for accommodation and flights all in one search to find you the best hotels, cheapest prices and order of ratings to suit all needs. For me, I'm not massively fussy with where I stay. As long as it's safe, secure, comfortable and in a good location I'm happy. Don't get me wrong, if I had the funds I'd stay wherever I wanted - but on a budget, you can't exactly be expecting the executive suite.
Another amazing app is icelolly.com or booking.com (both online of course) - these apps are perfect for finding cheap and great flights, accommodation and even throw in a package of the city for you for when you stay. I've booked a couple of places to stay at the end of this year and they've given me a free guide to that city - how helpful! Another thing I love is the ability to reserve a room with free cancellation and you can pay later - for those who can't quite afford it until payday!
4. How much do I want to spend?
Next, I'll start to think about what I'd like to be doing and therefor spending whilst away. I'm the kind of person who likes to make the most of the city, getting up that little bit earlier to explore the landmarks, beaches, site seeing opportunities and buildings available - or whatever is available in the destination you choose! I also love a good tour or activity so I aim to do at least one of those whilst away.
Tours around the city are a great way to see lots of bucket list items in a short amount of time, saving you the hassle of finding the place, walking around for a long time (very, very tiring.), the separate costs of getting to and from each place, bleugh. Too much effort for me! A tour is a great way to travel around, its comfortable, you'll feel safe with a group surrounding you at all times, you often stop at well known places to eat or sometimes cheaper but quality places that most tourist won't find - it all depends which tour you choose and if you'd want to go down that route.
There is also the beauty of getting lost in a city, which in my world is called an "adventure". I love getting lost - when I say this, I mean ending up in a place I didn't naturally think of but have loved seeing and exploring, something unexpected. You often find the best hidden places when doing this as well, as the most common places will have lots of tourist attraction and may be really busy (QUES - NOOOOO!).
I'll figure out what is popular, usually on Google, through recommendations or blog posts about the city and make a list of all the things I'd like to see/do. I'd then find the costs of these activities, researching travel passes for the amount of days I'll be in that city, the entry costs if needed, the rough cost of meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) and I'll look at places recommended on Trip Advisor a lot, as locals often post on here to promote their brands/venues and you can grab a great deal!
Once I've figured out an action plan of my time in that place, I'll put the costs together and figure out how much it totals. For example, I knew my friend Amanda had seen a lot of places around the city and I looked through her social media photos to find out where I wanted to go and what I wanted to see/do. She advised me how much a typical meal would be and that we would buy ingredients to cook one evening, saving costs again. Amanda told me I'd need a travel card to access the Metro lines, buses and trams - this would cost me 12 euros so around £10, meals would be around 10 euros for a decent size so £8/9 x 3 (days I'd be staying) = £24-27 and I knew coffee breaks or any small memorabilia I'd like to buy would be around 3/4 euros each time so I'd budget around £15 for this.
5. Piecing it all together... The decider!
After gathering all of the above information and create a total cost. For my trip to Helsinki for 4 days (2 I'd be heavily travelling) I'd need around £230 which I had to spare for this month after paying out bills, etc. At this point you could easily look for other cities to visit, you could check websites such as Groupon or Wowcher for deals on city breaks or holidays, it's totally up to you.
Be aware - if you did book with Groupon or Wowcher, they have specific dates and you MUST check the availability with the hotel and airport before booking. I've made the mistake of leaving it till last minute without being aware of that important rule and I didn't get my money back after learning the hotel was fully booked until the expiry of my voucher. REALLY IMPORTANT!
If you were planning ahead, you could split the cost over the months leading up to the trip and figure out how much would need to be saved in order to reach your total cost. Remembering small costs like insurance, any fees for entering the country, any add-on's or hidden fees for booking with companies, etc.
And that's basically what I'd do before booking any holiday - my way of ensuring I'm ticking everything off the list! I also make a list of all the items I'm taking as well... I just like making lists!!
Trust me, its not as gruelling or long as it sounds! It's totally up to who you are as a person, whether you'd like to be super organised and plan every moment whilst away, whether you'd like to get there and see what you wanted to go/where to go, it's totally up to the person. This is just my way of going about planning a trip!
Try it, follow my process and do some serious research! I've probably saved over £1,000 since doing so. It's 1000% worth it! And if you liked this post, please share. Thanks :-)
Lauren x
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