Planning

Planning your vacation or trip is really important to avoid any obstacles during the trip. Especially, when you travel with your family, you need to make sure that everything is perfectly planned.

1. Decide Where You Want to Go

  Let me help you!

First, find the reason why you want to travel.
Do you want to escape from winter?
Do you want to discover a new culture?
Do you want to learn something new? (That last one is often my reason to travel.)
Maybe you need to choose a destination that fits your budget?
Research the average cost per day for a destination to find one you can afford. Some places have an average cost as low as 30$ per day!

2. Check the Travel Advice and Advisories

Once you have chosen your destination, visit your government’s website to see the information on security, entry and exit requirements, health conditions, local laws and culture, natural disasters and climate, and how to find help when you are there.

For example, some places require to get a tourist visa, and the delay to get it can be several weeks. You need to plan it in advance.
This is also where you’ll learn about the mandatory or recommended vaccinations.
After, it is your call to decide to travel there or to choose another destination. Know that if your government doesn’t recommend traveling to a destination, your travel insurance might not cover you.

3. Research Your Destination

Now. my favorite part begins: sketching the itinerary! Yay!

Personally, I use a mix of guidebooks and travel blogs to decide what I want to see. I like Lonely Planet and Ulysse (In French) particularly, but it is really up to you.
Read guidebooks and search on travel blogs and Pinterest.
Make a list of all the places you would like to see, even if you know that you don’t have time to see all of them. It’s the first draft so you need to have a general idea of what activities you want to do and where you want to go.
You can take a look at Trip Advisor to see what other travelers liked in a specific destination.
When Googling your destination, make sure to include “travel blog” in your research.

4. Pick Your Must-do

Pick the “non-negotiable” places and activities on your list. Choose what makes you excited, curious, and enthusiastic.

Don’t necessarily pick the must-see attractions to mention in guidebooks. Choose YOUR must-see. You don’t have to go to the Statue of Liberty in New York if you just don’t care about it. It is not because a place is the most touristic place in a town that YOU have to see it. Trust me on that.

Resources: 

https://www.annieanywhere.com/how-to-plan-a-trip-in-10-easy-steps/

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