Over the last two and a half years, I've made sure that I put my new circumstances into good use, mostly by going on short trips to European capital cities. With limited time (and budget too), I've realized that planning is everything, and guess who loves planning almost as much as traveling? Yes, exactly, yours truly.
Having said that and after being called crazy a few times already, I decided to share some of my tips to make planning easy, fast and even fun. Check them out below!
1. Pick your flight (or train ride) times wisely and book in advance
I know, this sounds quite obvious, but sometimes we are just too ambitious (or optimistic) and don't consider every detail we should. Sure, let's fly at 7am to enjoy almost a full day upon arrival, but is it easy to go to the airport at 4 or 5am without having a car? And is it worth paying for an Uber when a flight a couple of hours later is only €20 more expensive? In general, I try not to book anything too early or too late, not only because of what I just explained but also because I don't want to be worried that I am not going to wake up, or extremely tired the next day because I arrived at 11pm and still had a 1 hour journey from the airport.
2. Make a first draft of your itinerary according to the number of days you'll have and your traveler "style"
Are you the kind of person who just wants to squeeze in as much as possible in the limited time you have? Or you just want to take it easy, take your time and see where the city takes you? Either way, it's always good to have a general idea of what there is to explore, how long it takes to do so and where things are actually located.
For this early planning stage, I always use visitacity.com (thanks for the tip, MJ!). It starts by asking where I am going, how many days I'll have and what kind of approach I prefer (easy going, packed, top attractions, etc.). Then, it shows me possible itineraries, that I can tweak and adjust according to my needs and preferences.
3. Do some reading online and list your personal must sees/dos
Okay, visitacity.com is a good start, but what if you have a more specific interest? What if you really want to check out the food or art scene? For such cases, or even if you suffer from FOMO like myself, reading a few blog posts can never hurt. I usually try to stay away from tripadvisor threads and privilege suggestions from locals or travelers who have explored more off the beaten path options. I like looking for local markets where I can try some traditional food, for instance.
4. Compile everything in a custom map
This is where people usually start thinking I have issues, and it is also my favorite part. When planning a trip, there's nothing better than seeing everything come together in the end, and My Maps, by Google, is my go to tool for this. Here, I can easily add all the places I want to check out, calculate distances, study the best itineraries and customize everything according to my needs.
Usually, I add everything I want to visit (from the visitacity.com suggestions and my personal picks), and I use different colors and shapes to identify what I plan on doing each day. This way, it is easier to understand the several areas I will be covering and to make the most of my time and energy. Who likes to walk to the opposite corner of the city just to go back the next day to visit something else that was forgotten?
There you go, this is my process and also a good description of what I do on my free time. Is it raining on a Sunday afternoon and I have an upcoming trip that I haven't planned? Awesome, let's have some fun!
What about you? Is planning your thing or do you prefer to improvise? Let me know in the comments below!
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