16 Vital Steps for a Trip Planning Checklist
Benefits of Planning
Before ever heading out on an adventure, having a trip planning checklist can improve the overall experience. Planning a trip is usually the difference between flailing about in a new land and actually enjoying a vacation. While tourism agencies can take out this factor, solo travelers must plan their trip accurately to make travel as smooth and enjoyable as possible.
While trip planning is a learned and practiced skill, the trip planning checklist below is enormously helpful in designing a solo trip.
It is very important to JUST plan at this stage. Don’t purchase any tickets until you have everything sorted out, or you might end up flying to a city with no hotels or a town in the midst of monsoon season. Research comes first.
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Trip Planning Checklist:
- Select a location
- Pick a place that has meaning
- Pick features unique to the destination
- List local sights unique to the destination
- Determine time frame
- Determine people involved and interests
- List desired activities
- List budget for activities
- Estimate flights
- Estimate Lodging
- Identify Visas needed
- Create a total budget
- Start Saving Money
- Switch cards
- Identify method of payment
- Notify your bank
- Automate your bills
- Pack your gear
- Get Travel Insurance
- Look for last minute deals
- Reach out to locals
- Download necessary travel apps
Select a Location
The first step on your trip planning checklist is the most obvious and varied: Selecting a specific location is key in any journey.
When picking a place to travel, consider the accessibility, interest and time of year.
Accessibility for major cities around the world is usually very straightforward. Places like Paris, Hong Kong or Quito don’t require too much concern on this front. However, if you want to visit the Lake District of Argentina or the highlands of Scotland, this may take a little more effort. Make sure there is transportation available all the way to your desired destination.
Secondly, make sure a place is interesting to you personally. If you’re interested in Roman History, the ruins of Hadrian’s Wall in the central United Kingdom might be a perfect destination. If you’re partial towards food, visiting Ethiopia for cooking classes might be more personally interesting. Don’t plan a trip based on general popularity (for example, a person who doesn’t care for cities probably won’t enjoy Hong Kong). Always focus on your personal interests first and the destination second.
Finally, spend a few moments checking the best time of year to visit. Traveling into countries during seasonal holidays can be nightmarish. Visiting Egypt at the height of summer is daunting. Traversing Alaska during mosquito season is very different then visiting to see the Northern Lights.
Make an Activity List
Once you’ve selected your location, research the places you’re personally interested in.
For this, online resources are your best friend. Start with a general overview of a location by Googling “points of interest.” Skim through these results and write things you’re personally interested in on a list. Be sure to keep a description besides each item to ensure you can track the reason you’re interested.
Next, do another search using keywords like “strange or unique things to do.” This tends to reveal features in an area that are somewhat off the beaten path. Atlas Obscura, is a wonderful resource in this regard.
Your third search should pertain specifically to personal interest. For example, if I’m interested in writing, the Scottish Poetry Library in Edinburgh might be an excellent place for me to visit. If I’m in love with hiking, a multi-day mountain trek might be much better for me.
At this point, your list has a solid core. Check the location of each feature on a Map application to ensure your features of interest are in one geographic zone and not a large series of day-trips.
This list doesn’t have to be entirely finished. If you hear more advice from other travelers or locals, this list can continue to expand, even in the middle of your journey.
Determine your Time Frame
Is this a week-long vacation? Or do you plan on living somewhere for a while to learn the language? Time-frames are an important aspect of planning a trip. It determines the type of lodging you should aspire towards and the number of activities you can finish.
For most trips, I rarely finish my full activity list. The world is a varied and interesting place and time is very finite. Oftentimes, I’ll visit a location without seeing every location, eating every food or photographing every oddity.
This is fine. It just means that you’ve paced yourself well and you have more features to look forward to if you visit again.
When determining your time frame, be sure to add in considerable downtime. Traveling tires out the body quickly, so having a few hours each day to lounge or plan something new is very helpful.
Expand your List for Others
If you’re traveling solo, you can skip this step. However, if you have several other people in your group, it’s a good idea to get their input as well. Make sure to tailor several activities to their interests and encourage them to do some independent research as well.
List Budget for Activities
Once you have a solid list, prioritize the most important activities. Be sure to check online the cost of these events. For example, if you’d like to go to the top of the Empire State Building, be sure to factor that into the budget. If there’s a sensory-deprivation restaurant you’re interested in, estimate that as well.
Most of the items on your list should be free. Visiting libraries, historical sites, parks, famous landmarks, some museums, nature reserves, hiking trails, music nights, comedy shows and culture events are all usually free. Make these a centerpiece of your trip to stay entertained without constantly strafing your wallet.
Your budget for activities can be as large or small as you’d like, but be sure to overestimate slightly to account for unexpected costs and minor expenses, such as a taxi to and from a landmark.
Estimate Flights
The most expensive part of travel could potentially be your flight. While it’s possible to get much cheaper transportation tickets through a variety of methods, it’s wise to overestimate here.
Use flight comparison programs such as Kayak and Skyscanner to view multiple flights at once. There are many methods to ensure your flight is cheaper with promotions, airline miles, alternate transportation or limited deals. But for now, it’s a good idea to have an estimate on the general cost.
Estimate Lodging
Like flights, lodging had the potential to be very affordable or very expensive. Do a quick scan online to ensure there is lodging for your times. Sometimes festivals or holidays drive prices up considerably. Check Airbnb for deals, as well as hostels, house-sitting gigs, couchsurfer communities and traditional hotels.
This is the last step for estimating your budget. You should have rough estimates regarding the cost of food, the cost of activities, the cost of flights and finally lodging. This final number, overestimated slightly, should be your initial target budget.
Identify Visas
Next, a traveler must identify the correct visa needed for entry. Visit your country’s website to determine the official Visa status, including other travel advisory information.
Some visas take months to process. Others can be done entirely online instantaneously. Other countries don’t require a visa at all. If you have a connecting flight which requires you to transfer airports or get a hotel, make sure you have a visa for the layover country as well. Write down each visa necessary on your trip planning checklist.
Some visas will cost a small fee to obtain or process. Certain visas require physical passport photos brought for the application.
Finalizing your Budget Estimations
You should now have rough calculations for food, activities, lodging, transport and visa costs. Add in a little bit of extra money to cover emergencies, unexpected costs and some impromptu entertainment.
Begin Saving Money
Once you have a full budget, it’s just a matter of putting aside enough money for your journey. There are many tricks to this which can get you on your adventure as soon as possible.
Consider switching your bank card to one that allows for travel rewards or allows for international ATM withdrawals with no transaction fees.
At this time, it’s also wise to determine how you plan on paying for things during your trip.
The true reality is that Cash is King. Most countries, cash is the universal and most stable form of payment. It is more difficult to hack, there are no surprise international fees and it’s easier to keep track of.
However, there are countries where cash isn’t very useful. For example, China uses a form of Wechat payment for the vast majority of transactions. Some stores are unable to accept cash at all, so the application linked to a card is needed. In these cases, it is often wise to get a prepaid card that can be linked to a digital transaction device.
Notify Your Bank
Banks have gotten rather skilled at noticing strange spending patterns. Notifying your bank regarding your vacation can prevent problematic card locks. This is especially important if you don’t have online banking or an international number. Calling your bank while abroad can become difficult and problematic.
Automate your bills
If you have any bills at home, now is the time to automate them. Paying bills while abroad is an unnecessary hassle. If possible, consider canceling certain payments depending how long you’ll be gone.
For example, a three month trip through Amazon probably won’t require your Netflix subscription. It might be wiser to cancel the subscription and renew it further down the line.
Pack Your Gear
While completing the trip planning checklist, it’s wise to do a trial pack of your gear. Make sure you have enough room in your suitcase or backpack to manage everything.
Pay special attention to specialized gear you might need for a specific location. For example, heading into Alaska during mosquito season may require powerful bug spray.
As always, it is highly recommended to travel as light as possible. Limit yourself to one carry-on bag as often as you can to cut down on flight costs, lost luggage, damaged goods and carry-weight.
Get Travel Insurance
Travel is synonymous with adventure. And with adventure comes surprises and unexpected trials. Travel insurance is the absolute best method for ensuring safety, health and security when in motion.
Always buy travel insurance at least one month prior to departure. Many travel insurance companies require at least this much time to allow purchase for a valid and beneficial plan.
Look for Last Minute Deals
Once all of your planning is cemented, keep an eye open for last minute deals. Festivals, cheap flight promos, banking rewards and hotel specials can turn a decent trip into an absolute fantasy lived through.
When looking for last minute deals, sign up for newsletter and email deals from companies you trust. I recommend creating a separate email account just for this, as it can help manage the inevitable storm of additional span that other companies eventually begin sending you.
Reach Out to Locals
Once plans are done, start reaching out to locals. Contacting hostels, other travelers, couchsurfing communities, Facebook groups and exchange programs can yield unexpectedly excellent fruit. I’ve gone on trips before and gotten free lodging and tours just by asking people about things to do in a given area. This has the added benefit of learning about unique and hidden things to do locally.
Download Necessary Apps
Before finishing your trip planning checklist, download all necessary apps. There are many which can be helpful for travel, but the following are some of the mainstays I use everyday.
Google Translate Offline Dictionary – This feature of Google Translate allows for limited communication even while offline.
Google Maps Offline Map – It’s possible to download an offline regional map of an area. While this map won’t have public transportation routes or online reviews, it does make navigation much easier, especially in areas without an internet connection.
Local Rideshare – rideshares have exploded across the world as an excellent, well-vetted service. Getting a ride share app is a brilliant way to travel within a city or town affordably. Ride shares are usually different from place to place. For example, Didi is the only major ride share service in Beijing. Ride Shares can include Uber, Blablacar, Lyft, Didi (China) or Grab (Thailand).
Kindle Reader – As a phone app, this is one of the best for long trips. It provides plenty of entertainment for long rides and doesn’t eat up too much battery life.
Unit Converter – A unit converter app is especially helpful when translating currency, though it can also handle measurements, distance, temperatures and some other advanced calculations.
Library App – There are plenty of library apps out there. I use Libby and OverDrive to check out books, videos and dictionaries while traveling.
Language Learning App – While Duolingo is the most famous, there are plenty of Language Learning Apps out there. Mango is my personal favorite.
Audio App – Spotify, Audible or Podcast Addict is a great way to stay entertained while traveling.
Visa Apps – Many countries require specialized visa apps to enter a country or to travel internally. For example, the ScotRail app is necessary to ride Scottish Rail Lines. ArriveCAN is Canada’s health confirmation arrival app, used to verify incoming visitors are cleared for entry.
Final Steps
Once everything has been planned and you’re confident about flying out, it is finally time to purchase your tickets.
Remember to always buy transportation tickets first and lodging tickets second. This ensures you have a seat on your plane or bus. A person is much less-likely to lose money on a canceled hotel or hostel if they find lodging after a flight is confirmed. Once this last step is complete and you’ve reviewed all parts of your trip planning checklist, you’re entirely ready for your adventure.