Travel planning for an international trip is something I was so excited to write about! One of my favorite things to do is plan for international travel. It doesn’t matter if I’m planning a trip for myself, for someone else or just to brainstorm ideas, I am always planning and putting something together! If you are just starting out in the travel planning world it can be a little overwhelming to plan and put a trip together from scratch. Trying to pick a place, know the requirements, get the right documents, know what to pack, and so forth can take the fun out of any trip. In hopes of making your travels a little easier, I went ahead and put together a checklist of all the pre-trip things you will need to know. I hope this helps and makes your upcoming trip successful with little stress!
Let’s start!
step 1: Pick your destination
This is the best part! We get to take the time to pick our dream destination. I mentioned this in a previous post The Best Travel Apps of 2022, I like to use google maps and have a list of places in mind. This makes my life easier when it comes time to pick my next adventure. The green pins mark places I hope to visit one day, while the yellow are places I’ve already explored. You can also use platforms like Pinterest to gain inspiration. You can ask yourself a couple of questions to help narrow down your destination choices…
- How much do I want to spend? Some destinations are cheaper than others.
- How far do I want to go? You may not want to go on a full-blown expedition to some remote destination where you need 3 boats, 2 trains, and a motorcycle just to get there.
- Do you want to hit a lot of places on one trip or just camp out in one spot? Going somewhere like Europe allows you to mark off a lot of destinations fast v.s somewhere like Canada where you might only knock one or two cities off your list.
- Where can I get in? This should really be the first question you ask in today’s world. You have to make sure your destination is open to travelers and see what requirements are needed. But we will get more into that in a second.
After step one you should:
Have a destination picked out
step 2: Requirements
You picked out your destination, perfect! Now we get to do the digging to make sure it is possible to enter the country you wish to visit. The first thing I usually do is check the visa situation and make sure the country is open for travelers. Some countries allow certain passports to enter with nothing but a blank passport page, others can require a payment and application submission. It’s the traveler’s job to figure out what is needed. A google search can usually answer most visa questions quickly. If a visa does require you to pay with cash upon arrival make sure to bring new bills obtained from your bank. Some countries may also ask for proof of onward travel. Make sure to keep track of the documents you need and have them in a way you can travel easily with.
After step two you should:
Have your visa information in order
Have your vaccine requirements in order
Make sure you have the cash for a visa if needed or an onward ticket if needed.
Step 3: Activities
Now that we know where we are going, we need to figure out what we are doing. This will help us plan everything else like our accommodation. You don’t need to have a set-in-stone itinerary but having a rough idea of what you want to do is always a good idea. This way you don’t waste any precious time trying to figure out your next move. Your plan may always change if you make new friends or get suggestions from the locals. But it never hurts to have a running list of places to explore! This again is where Instagram or Pinterest can come in handy. Just keep adding to your list and see where your days take you!
After step three you should have…
A running list of places to explore, tours to take, food to try, etc…
Step 4: book your ticket
We have our destination, perfect! Now we can actually book our ticket. When I book tickets I use a number of different apps and sites to compare prices. My go-to has always been google flights or Skyscanner. If I have a specific destination and timeline I’ll check google flights. If I am open to wherever whenever I’ll go to Skyscanner. I have found over the years I consistently get the best prices with just those two sites. It’s important to search for tickets in a new incognito tab on your computer. This way they can’t track your searches and bump up the prices, because trust me they will otherwise. Now that you have the right tools, go book that ticket!
After step four you should…
Have your ticket booked! (Yay!!)
Step 5: Accommodation
So we picked our country, booked our ticket, and now we need to figure out where to stay. It’s a good idea to do your research and make sure you are staying in a safe part of town. It can also help to make of rough list of the activities you will be doing in order to book your accommodation hopefully in a central location. There are a plethora of booking options. I’ve used everything from HostelWorld, AirBnB, and Expedia to book hotels For solo travelers hostels can be the way to go, as making friends can be ten times easier in dorm-style rooms. If you are traveling with friends AirBnB can be your best friend by splitting the price to lower the overall cost. If you are a point seeker then find your favorite hotel brand and earn away!
After step five you should:
Have your accommodation booked
Step 6: Transportation
Now that you know what you are doing, it’s time to make sure you know how to get there. This is an excellent time to research the best ways to get around your city. Some cities have uber or their version of uber (an example would be Cabify in Colombia,) and some places just use taxis. If you are on a budget buses might come in clutch. Or if you are traveling longer distances perhaps a train is what you need. If you are moving across a large amount of land it might serve you best to just rent a car. All of these questions can be answered with a google search into the destination you are traveling to. It’s important to know not only the best way but the safest way to get around your destination.
After step six you should…
Have a good idea of how you will travel around your destination.
step 7: It’s time to pack!
Here comes the fun stuff! Now that we got the nitty gritty things out of the way it’s time to make sure you have everything you need to make your trip a success. Your packing list will depend on where you are going. It is a wise idea to do a bit of research about what is culturally appropriate. You aren’t necessarily going to pack bikinis and crop tops for a trip to Turkey (a more modest country.) Likewise, you won’t want to pack only jeans on a trip to the coast of Thailand. There are plenty of sample packing lists on the internet for almost any destination. Yet again, a quick google search should answer most questions you have. Don’t forget the odds and ends as well. Your toiletries, journal, extra battery packs, etc…
After step seven you should…
Be packed and ready to go!
conclusion
Congratulations! We now have our tickets booked, activities mapped out, accommodation secured, and our bags packed. You are ready now to have the time of your life on an unforgettable trip! It may feel overwhelming at first or like you don’t want to make a wrong decision, but I promise it gets easier with every trip. The more you travel the more your confidence grows and the world opens up to you. You start to feel more comfortable going places you never thought you would! I wish you the best time on your trip and don’t forget to take lots of pictures!
Until Next Time, Olivia Grace❤️
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