“Honey let’s go for a holiday in Australia. Plan the itinerary for us ok?”, she squealed.
“Yeah right, why don’t you do it yourself lazy cow”, i grunted.
Of cause i didn’t say that. My wife and i have always planned our hoildays together. I love holidays but hate planning for them: where to go, when to go, which hotel to stay, to drive or not to drive, how long to stay at each place. The questions seem endless. If you’re planning your own holiday, where should you start? This is the 1st of 4 posts to help you jumpstart your holiday planning.
The handy trip itinerary
Before we start, i suggest you create a folder on your hard disk or desktop. Give it an appropriate name (e.g. Japan Trip 2007) and save this sample trip itinerary to the folder. I created this excel template for my first self-drive holiday and have since used it to plan for all my longer trips. During the initial research for the holiday, i’ll use the worksheets to record information gathered online. As the trip takes shape, i will add new information and remove irrelevant ones.
Eventually this file will contain all the important information i need for the trip. I usually print a hard copy and carry it around for the entire trip. This way i always have the information i need in a handy pamphlet without having to lug thick travel guides or messy website print-outs around.
The first question
Unless you’ve already chosen a destination and you’re unwilling to consider other options, the most important question to answer is what you want to experience in your holiday.
Some people may decide on the budget first. In my opinion, this question should be answered after you’ve shortlisted your destinations.
Why? If you’re investing a couple of weeks and your hard-earned money on a holiday, you may as well make sure you’ll really enjoy it. By constraining yourself to a budget, you may rule out certain places that can be enjoyed on the cheap.
In most cases, you can reduce your expenses by booking air tickets during the off-peak season, choosing cheaper lodgings and cutting back on restaurant meals. I’lll cover these in future posts.
Other important questions
Start thinking about these questions:
- Am i looking for a relaxing getaway where i don’t have to travel around much?
- Am i looking for a place to chill out and get some tan?
- Is shopping important?
- Do i want to drive at all? Am i the only driver?
- Do i want to experience big city life or do i also want to see the countryside too? Or do i want to avoid big cities altogether?
- Do i want to experience the local culture?
- Do i want to try adventure sports (e.g. snorkeling, white-water rafting)?
After going through these questions, you’ll know better what type of holiday you want and the possible destinations for it. My advice is geared towards friends and couples travelling together. But solitary travellers can also benefit from the same advice.
In my next post, i’ll give you some advice on choosing and researching your destinations.
