In the day and age where we try to avoid expensive travel agent’s fees when we book a holiday, it can be stressful trying to plan your holiday yourself. Suddenly, you find yourself without the kind lady behind the desk to plan transfers and excursions. Now, you’re all by yourself sat in front of your laptop, guidebook in hand. Whether you’re going for 5 days or 5 months, this guide will help you to plan your dream trip stress-free. First, we will look at how to plan, then I’ll put my words into action as I attempt to plan each type of holiday.
Holiday (Short term)
So you’ve decided to take the kids to Lanzarote for two weeks over the summer holidays, or you’re embarking on a girls holiday to Vegas. The destination is sorted, all booked and paid for. However, you still have things to plan for, so here’s a checklist:
- Plan how you’ll get to the airport- if you’re using public transport, it may be cheaper to book online. If you’re driving, book your airport parking.
- Book arrival transfers- You don’t want to be stressing once you get there about how to get to your hotel, so check online for taxi transfers or shuttle bus services.
- Order your foreign currency- Check a website such as Travel Supermarket to see which bank/exchange service is offering the best rate.
- Check in online before you fly- For some airlines, you have to do this now so make sure you do it in plenty of time.
- Find out if you require any visas or vaccinations- For instance, to travel into the USA you’ll need an ESTA visa waiver.
- Check your luggage allowance- you don’t want to have to pay for excess baggage.
- Give house keys and contact details to a trusted relative or friend in case of an emergency.
Working Holiday
A working holiday is where you go abroad for a year or so to work. The most popular destination for this is Australia, as the Working Holiday Visa is relatively easy to obtain. So, what should you do before you go?
- Apply for your Working Holiday Visa in plenty of time.
- Get a bank account for the country that you are visiting and a tax number- each country will have their own.
- Prepare your CV and any references, as this will help you find employment faster.
- Book your first week’s accommodation, so you have a base to work from whilst you get settled.
- Get an international SIM card to save money on calls and texts.
- Buy travel insurance- even if you think you’re medically fit, it covers lost baggage and other expenses.
Long Term Travel
We’ve all seen the motivational quotes: pack your bags, quit your job, travel the world. How practical is it? Here are some tips courtesy of Nomadic Matt on how to plan your trip.
- Decide where you want to go and how long for- Asia? Europe? 6 months? A year?
- Research living costs for things such as accommodation, restaurants and attractions.
- Begin saving up- Do you really need that Tall latte extra shot from Starbucks every day? Do you really need Sky+ when there’s Netflix? Little bits of cost cutting add up.
- Get a travel credit card- Whilst you’re saving up, spend on a credit card which gives you air miles or hotel stays.
- Stay focused and inspired by reading travel blogs, forums and following people on Instagram- check out our favourites here.
- Keep an eye out for any last minute deals that pop up.
- Book your flights using any air miles you’ve collected and your accommodation for the first few days.
- Plan any activities that you want to do in advance, such as a bungee jump or a certain museum.
- Sell your stuff on eBay or Gumtree- seriously, if you’re not taking it with you, it’s got to go. Failing that, put it into storage.
- Go paperless with your bills and set up Direct Debit so you never miss a payment.
- Tell your card companies you’re travelling, so you don’t rack up expensive phone bills on the phone to your bank.
- Buy travel insurance- so important when you’re on a long trip and travelling from place to place.
Useful websites
- Groupon- Always has deals for flights and hotels. Plus, use it when you get there for restaurants and attractions.
- AirBnB- If you’re staying in one place for a while, a short term rental could be the way to go. AirBnB has plenty of options from cosy rooms to full apartments and even treehouses.
- Tripomatic- This trip planner allows you to input your dates, location and hotel and gives you a map to plan a day by day itinerary which you can access at anytime.
- TripAdvisor- Use the listings for reviews, then head to the forums for advice on itineraries and local’s recommendations.
Putting a plan into action
Short Holiday- New York City
I’m actually going on holiday here at the end of the month, so let’s use the above tips to plan my holiday.
- Getting to the airport- Planning to travel to Manchester Airport via train, so I will use the Train Line to purchase cheaper advance tickets.
- Book arrival transfers- You can book a shared shuttle from JFK Airport to Manhattan with Viator for £12.
- Travel money- I plan to do a lot of shopping, so the best method to carry cash is a prepaid currency card. I searched Travelsupermarket and found that the best Pound to Dollar card is the Fairfx Dollar Currency Card.
- Online check in- I’m flying with Virgin Atlantic, so I can check in online 24 hours before.
- Visa/vaccinations- No vaccinations required, but I do need an ESTA visa waiver. This will cost me $14 from the official website.
- Baggage- For economy class, Virgin Atlantic allows a 23kg bag in the hold and a 10kg bag measuring 23x36x56 for hand luggage.
Working Holiday- Australia
- Visa- Working Holiday visas are available for people aged 18-30 looking to work in Australia for a year. The visa costs $440 AUD.
- Bank account- You can open an Australian bank account ahead of your arrival to transfer money into. You may also get a better exchange rate and you’ll be able to provide an employer with your bank account information as soon as possible.
- Prepare CV- The likes of Monster.co.uk have CV templates and advice available. Follow general rules such as two page maximum and list your most relevant work experience first.
- Accommodation- Check Hostelworld for hostel availability in the likes of Sydney.
- SIM card- Vodafone Australia has pay as you go SIM cards.
- Insurance- Columbus Insurance offers working holiday insurance with 10% discount for British travellers.
Long term trip- Europe
Interrailing around Europe is one of my dream trips. This plan revolves around a long term European adventure.
- Research costs- An interrail pass can vary in costs depending on how much you travel. For a 15 days within one month pass, this will cost £246. Eastern Europe is the most affordable area, as the likes of Poland, Hungary and Czech Republic have a low cost of living. Areas like Italy are more expensive.
- Save up- Following Nomadic Matt’s tip to cut costs, I’d swap my TV licence for catch up TV and cancel my gym membership in favour of at home workouts.
- Travel credit card- Compare Avios cards online for a deal that suits you, but Lloyds and BA Amex are two of the best travel credit cards.
- Last minute deals- Ryanair and Easyjet regularly have seat sales, such as £1 seats to Barcelona.
- Insurance- For any European trip, it’s important that you have an EHIC card. This will make sure that you pay the same as a local for medical treatment.
Adam’s Story
My friend Adam is currently in the stages of planning his working holiday to Australia, so I thought I’d ask him about his experience.
“I went through a really difficult time, and travel was something that I had always wanted to do. My friends seemed to be settling into their careers and I wanted to do something amazing before I started mine. A friend of mine said that she was going to get a working holiday visa to go to Australia and asked if I would like to go, so I said yes. The process of getting the visa was really easy, it cost £225 and it was a simple online application. To save up, I’ve been working overtime at my job in retail whilst doing odd jobs for people. I’ve also sold my phone, laptop and the majority of my clothes! Our trip will begin in Perth (we’re flying with Emirates) and then we’re going to stay in a hostel for two weeks whilst we get our bearings. Then, the adventure will begin as we’re planning to hire a campervan and travel, doing odd jobs such as bar work along the way to earn money.”
Twitter is a community full of travellers and nomads, so who better to ask about good websites for trip planning?
@holiday_numbers Oh good one! I am pretty keen on being able to get wifi so I can work remote while I travel, I use @workfrom for this 🙂
— Hailley Griffis (@hailleymari) March 4, 2016
@holiday_numbers I have to admit that I use both @pinterestUK and @instagram for research to plan travel pics ahead of time, and vegan food
— Dale Davies (@daledavies_me) March 7, 2016
Hopefully these tips will help you plan your next holiday, whether you’re going for 7 days or 7 months!
Save our handy infographic to remind you to plan!
