I love traveling to cities more than once because each trip makes you less of a tourist. By the third visit, I even put away my camera to start looking at the surroundings through my eyes rather than a lens. But when you’re visiting a city for the first time, some level of planning is in order to ensure a smooth trip.
How to Research and Plan a Trip Like a Boss:
1. Read Guidebooks
Guidebooks contain a wealth of information to help organize your travel. Decide if you want to start a collection and purchase your guidebooks or borrow them from the local library. I like the latter option to save money. I recently discovered a new library near my work where all of the books are freshly stocked and the travel guides are all from the current year! It may be a challenge to find time to do research if you also work full-time, so I use brief, easy to read guides or I simply skim and scan.
My favorite guides are:
- Rick Steves for all things Italy. His guides are so detailed down to which direction, left or right, to turn from the train station. These guides are worth purchasing as you can get discounts abroad if you show the guide at certain restaurants
- DK Eyewitness Travel. The descriptions are brief and to the point. I also find the illustrations of dissected structures to be helpful. The pages are colourful and come with a foldout map
- DK Eyewitness Travel Top 10 & Frommer’s Day by Day. For cities where I spend less than 3 days, these guides provide just enough information to take you to the main sites
2. Ask Friends & Family Who’ve Been There
If your circle of peeps also travel, they would be a good source to tap into. A few of my friends just came back from a trip to Cinque Terre, Italy. Before their trip I asked them to bring back a few maps and train information for me. My friends also offered first hand restaurant recommendations and clear directions for getting there. To plan for my first trip to Beijing this summer, I asked my parents to show me their travel photographs from 2 years ago. Visuals are the best – I noted places and restaurants that caught my eye.
3. Social Media is Your Friend
There is such a huge travel community on all forms of social media. On Instagram, search hashtags of cities you will visit to see photos from other travelers. On Facebook and Twitter, you can message travel bloggers and ask questions about places you want to visit. Travel bloggers offer a lot of information and are always willing to provide recommendations. I also like to search Tripadvisor for firsthand reviews on hotels, restaurants and tour companies. Travellers are not paid to endorse any establishment and usually provide their honest opinions. For China tour companies, I read reviews of their credibility on Tripadvisor which helped me narrow down which one I will join.
4. Search Sample Itineraries For Ideas
If you’re not joining an organized tour, it helps to rough-in an itinerary to ensure you maximize your time in a city – especially if you’re only staying for a few days. Always block in ample free time to accommodate spontaneous activities. Try not to pack up your itinerary to the point where you’re bounded by strict time restrictions. It’s always nice to have snack breaks and time to return to your hotel to use the pool.
I love reading sample itineraries in travel guidebooks and those posted on online tour websites. I usually jot down the main attractions that interest me and craft my own itinerary that combines elements of culture, food, history and iconic sights.
5. Check The Events Calendar
Depending on when you take your holiday from work and when you travel, you may or may not want to coincide your trip with major events. Watching the lantern festival in Chaing Mai is on my bucketlist. Bull running in Spain, Holi in India, Bastille Day in France, Carnival in Brazil and watching the aurora lights for example all need to be planned for the correct times. Some major events will increase hotel and flight prices and make it more difficult to find hotel availability.
In 2011 my family and I traveled to Amsterdam just as the world cup finals between Spain and the Netherlands took place in the heart of Amsterdam. It was mayhem the moment we touched down at Schipol! We bought the ubiquitous orange jerseys and joined the crowds!
If you’re a foodie and are planning a food trip, your travel dates may depend on when you’re able to secure reservations. Some top restaurants accept reservations months in advance.
6. Read Up On Local Customs
When I went to Dubai, I researched appropriate Middle East attire. In many countries, you need to cover up your knees and shoulders when entering places of worship. On some of my volunteer trips, it was a requirement that volunteers dress modestly; now I have a wardrobe of “volunteer clothes”, which I’ve coined my Boho collection!
Sometimes I enjoy traveling on the fly. When I visited Bali, it was my friends who did all the research and itinerary planning. I loved just going along for the ride and being 100% spontaneous. Let me know if you have anything to add to the list of ways to research and plan a trip!
Safe Travels!
xx Deb
Bonnie says
Very useful trip planning tips! Thanks for the recommendations on which travel books to use; there are way too many out there 🙂
Deb Che says
Thanks for reading 🙂
James Scott says
Good tips
Deb Che says
Thanks James!