Travel PLANNING - HOW WE DO IT

Every trip should begin with the identification of a primary objective. Believe it or not, this is often the most difficult part of trip planning for us. There is so much to do and see on every corner of the planet that picking one spot can be nearly impossible. The first step here is picking one country, city, special event or attraction. For instance; step one on our Peru trip was deciding that Machu Picchu was our primary objective (pictured). We were then able to book our passes to Machu Picchu for a particular day, and the rest of the trip was planned around that. Once the primary objective is decided, the rest of the trip can fall into place very easily. Before you go any further, make sure travelling to this destination is a good idea. I always use travel.gc.ca to make sure that the area is safe, and that my Government will be able to provide consular services and emergency assistance if needed.

Now use Google Maps to zoom out slightly from your chosen primary objective and get a sense of what else might be worth a visit in the local area. The local area should be defined by where you can reasonably get to using ground transportation or short ferry rides. Once you have picked your secondary objectives in the local area you need to take three factors into consideration; is ground transportation available, is it safe in this area, and is there a border to cross. Continue to zoom out on the map until you reach the point where air travel becomes a necessity. Make a list of every place you've found to visit or print a map and mark these secondary objectives and determine how much total time you want to spend in this local area.

Hopping is when you are already abroad and you take relatively short flights between cities in the general area without going home. After you have your primary and secondary objectives picked, it's time to consider what might be a short and cheap flight away (under 3 hours). I refer to this as the general area. Unlike in North America, regional flights on other continents can be laughably cheap. I always use the example of when we flew from Phuket, Thailand to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for $18 Canadian dollars each!

The first thing to determine is whether or not it makes sense to book return flights to/ from your hometown and primary objective, or if it would be better to book two separate one-way tickets. If you intend to stretch out your trip over a larger area, one-way tickets are the way to go. However, if you intend to stay in the general area or maybe do a loop, return tickets are the right choice as they are more often then not cheaper. Make this decision and book your flight from home before you go any further. If you chose return tickets, book them now. If you chose one-way tickets, you only need to book your outgoing flight now.

Finding the best and cheapest routes to hop can be tricky and take some keyboard work. The best way to tackle this is to pick the largest city or the city with the largest airport on your list of objectives from above. Go to Google Maps and zoom out to see the whole general area and make a second list of all the cities you might want to visit. This is where you will need to keep an open mind and be open to visiting a place that you might not have otherwise considered.

When you have that list, use Kayak.com to see which routes are reasonable for time and budget. I find Kayak to be by far the most reliable flight booking site to use and their selection of regional flights around the world is outstanding. On the Kayak search screen, select one-way flights and enter your chosen departure city and then one at a time, enter your list of general area cities to find out which routes are cheapest. At this point your flight dates may be flexible, so use Kayak's option of searching for flights +/-3 days from your selection. This feature displays an entire week's worth of flight data which can save you a fortune.

Once you are satisfied with a general area flight, book it. Depending on your budget and how many days you have on this trip, you can repeat this process as much as you like. It is not uncommon for us to hop a dozen times on one trip. If you are looking for adventure, use this method to find the path of least financial resistance and explore random cities!

*ALWAYS check individual airlines baggage and check-in policies and write them down. Some airlines charge up to $100 to check a bag that isn't prepaid and even charge up to $50 just to print you a boarding pass, so know in advance what absurd policies you will run into.  

Typically, travellers will avoid long layovers, because why not get where you are going the fastest and most direct way possible? Who wants to spend any more time then necessary in an airport? If you are up for adventure, long layovers may be just what you need.

If you find a flight to somewhere you want to go, and the layover is over 9 hours, this is a perfect opportunity to explore and get a preview of a new city while most people sleep on the airport floor. A perfect example is the first time we had a 9 hour layover at Beijing Capital International Airport, we booked a guide to meet us at the airport and take us to the Great Wall. We walked along the wall for 3 hours and enjoyed a beer at the top while our driver waited for us!

If you already booked your return flight home, and you are now booking a hopper flight back to your original city for the connection - never book it for the same day! Flying is unpredictable, and the last thing you want to do at the end of a long grueling trip is to have to book a new flight home because you missed the one you had booked. If you risk it and miss your flight, the airline has no obligation to re-book or refund you.

Give yourself some downtime and some breathing room before this final flight home, and if available consider getting to the airport early and using an airport lounge to relax. Trust me!

Big tickets are the world famous attractions like the Roman Colosseum, the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty (pictured). If you really don't care, don't go. In my opinion; I'm across the world - I'm going to see everything. If you are interested, this is the easy step.

Use Google and type the location, followed by the word attractions. For instance; if you are looking for things in Germany, type "Germany attractions". The first search item under the ads will be Google's own attraction list. It will say "Things to do in Germany" with the top four attractions in photos below. Underneath the photos should be a link that says  "More things to do" - click that link. 

You should now have been taken to a Google Map with all of Germany's top attractions plotted out with descriptions and links. This is by far the most useful travel planning tool you will ever find. It can be used for cities, states and countries.

Use this tool to write a list of everything you want to see or do and repeat for each stop on your trip. 

*Big ticket items are often insanely busy and may require booking tickets months in advance. Never book a trip around a big ticket item without first checking ticket requirements. A perfect example is Alcatraz - if you forget to book your ticket several months before you go you will be out of luck when you get there.

If you want to do the gimmicky stuff that could be referred to as tourist traps, by all means go ahead. Be prepared for overpriced admissions, pushy crowds, screaming kids and up-sales everywhere. Think of any amusement park anywhere. The best place to get a list of these items is on Trip Advisor. Just type your desired location into the search bar and select attractions. Voila!

One of the most rewarding parts of travelling in the USA or exotic lands is eating the local food. In the USA, I use a variety of resources to make sure I don't miss the cool local food. I find the site TVfoodmaps.com to be the best to find ridiculously unhealthy and gluttonous American fare. This site also has an easy to use app for your phone. If you also want to try a little more upscale food, The Food Network website has all kinds of articles to help, from top 5 lists to full write-ups.

For international food, there is no better resource then the site "The Most Unusual Restaurants in the World". This site provides an extensive list of all the most unique spots to eat world-wide. The site is pretty good about keeping up to date but if you find one that interests you, be sure to look into whether it is still in business. We have used this site to eat at a toilet-themed restaurant in Taipei, dined in total darkness in Vancouver, and eaten at a McDonald's inside an old airplane in Taupo, New Zealand.

Here is the link because this site can be difficult to find: http://restoran.us/trivia/unusual.htm

The final resource I use for unique food is still up-and-coming. It is called Gastro Obscura and is described in the next section.

One of my favorite resources for finding weird and cool things to see is Atlas Obscura. The Atlas Obscura website has 15,250 unique and unusual things compiled from across the globe. The site is user-updated and verified, the same way Wikipedia operates. You will not believe some of the weird attractions you will find on there. We have visited countless things that we found on Atlas Obscura and from experience we know that the descriptions are very accurate.

Atlas Obscura also has a new and ever-improving section called Gastro Obscura dedicated to weird and unique food and drink around the world and it is quickly becoming a favorite resource for me as well.

TV show or movie filming locations... it may not strike you as a reason to travel, but if you happen to be near the filming locations it can be really cool to see in person. When we were in Atlanta, we spent a day driving around to all the top filming locations from The Walking Dead, and we have visited filming locations for Game of Thrones in Iceland, Northern Ireland and Croatia. Some disappoint, but others are well worth the trip.

Alcohol... If you love spirits, beer or wine then distillery tours, brewery tours and wine tastings are worth your time. In particular, if you find yourself in Dublin make sure you visit the Guinness brewery and if you are in Amsterdam, be sure to do the VIP tour of the Heineken Experience. Wine regions are all over the world and if you are in Adelaide, Australia, you will find some of the best in the world. If you are in Scotland, you can't miss visiting whiskey distilleries, and if you are in the southern USA, it is worth the drive to Kentucky to taste the bourbon!  

Sporting events... Wherever you are, there is bound to be sporting events on. Even if you aren't a fan of the particular sport being played, give it a shot and see it live. Sometimes just going to the park and watching the locals play can be a lot of fun, as we did in Aguas Calientes, Peru when we sat in a local park and watched the very talented kids play soccer. The coolest sporting event we have been to overseas was seeing the New Zealand All Blacks play Wales at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand, complete with the Hakka! 

All of these personal touches will have different resources to help you but I recommend using Google again to make sure you are being directed to the official sites for each thing.

Some of the coolest things we have done and the best things we have eaten have been at the advice of local bartenders, servers or taxi drivers. Nobody knows their city better than these people so don't hesitate to ask for spur of the moment ideas wherever you are.

Using your lists of primary and secondary objectives from above, it's time to plot the route you will take to see them all. The idea here is to spend the least amount of time with backtracking and finding the most efficient mode of transportation.

I always start with the longer distances between cities. This will help you decide if you should get a rental car or stick to public transportation. Trains are the best way to get between cities, and train stations are usually in convenient locations where city bus stops and subway stations can also be found. If trains do not run on the routes you need, buses might, but keep in mind that buses are often more time-consuming and less comfortable than trains.  I avoid buses wherever possible for that reason. If trains do not run on your routes, and you are like me and want to avoid buses, it is time to consider renting a car. 

In my opinion, if renting a car and driving yourself around is possible, then it is also an absolute must. There is absolutely no better way to see and experience a new place than with a vehicle. Having a rental car allows you the freedom and opportunity to slowly meander from point A to point B while adding as many stops along the way as you like. No matter how in depth your research has been, you will always come across cool things to see and do on the drive that you did not know about. It really sucks to wiz by something really interesting that you would have loved to stop at but can't because you chose the train.

Once again I find Kayak.com to be the best resource for finding a rental car anywhere in the world. That being said, I will often find the deal on Kayak, then repeat the search and complete the booking on the rental car company's own website.

There are hundreds of rental car companies across the world, and some will be quite a bit cheaper than the international ones. Don't fall for it though, because usually with rental car companies you get what you pay for.  This is one industry where there are huge gaps in customer service, reliability, quality and recourse between the different companies. I have given small local rental car companies the benefit of the doubt too many times, and I will not make that mistake again. Stick to the companies you know. I almost exclusively rent from a short list of companies, and will not stray unless they are not available. Here is my list; National, Alamo, Thrifty, Enterprise, Budget, Sixt, Europcar, Avis, Dollar, and Hertz. I have had a few negative experiences with most of these companies but it is almost always related to the local desk policies. Booking with any of these companies is a safe bet.

Once you have chosen to drive yourself, check the local laws to know exactly what is required of you as a driver. First of all, if you plan to drive across borders, make sure your rental car company will allow it. Sometimes rental car companies allow it, but will charge a fee. Do not consider not telling them, because not only will your insurance no longer be valid, but you may also be denied crossing at the border. Some countries require proof that your rental car company is aware and approves of you driving across the border. The second thing to check is if the areas you will be driving require any permits or vignettes. This is very common across Europe. Some European countries require windshield sticker vignettes to be purchased at gas stations before crossing the border. Others allow you to register your plate number online, or purchase a pass at the border. Make sure you do your research because the fines for failing to have the proper permit can be upwards of $1000 Canadian.

Tolls and pay parking. This is the most frustrating part of having a rental car in a foreign land. It is not always clear how to pay tolls or pay for parking. Whenever I pick up a rental car I ask about the local tolls. Sometimes it is a simple cashless system and you will be automatically charged (plus a fee from the rental company), while other times you need to register your vehicle online and rent a transponder for your car... everywhere does it different. I really have no advise for parking other than to use Google to see what no-parking signs look like in each place as sometimes it is not obvious.

If you plan to drive abroad, do yourself a favor and spend the money on an international driver's permit. You may never need it, but better to be safe then sorry. Depending on where you live, you will need to find the authorized issuer. In British Columbia, BCAA holds the rights to issue the international driver's permit. It is an easy process that only takes a few minutes, costs only $25, and is valid for one full year.

Once you have the car rented, you must take it into consideration when booking your accommodations. When staying in downtown areas it is rare to find free overnight parking. Hotels often charge an exorbitant amount for valet service so sometimes it can be the best idea to find overnight-friendly parkades within walking distance to the hotel. 

*Always consider your insurance options. We book all of our rental cars on our travel VISA which provides some coverage, but don't be surprised when you arrive at a rental counter and find that additional insurance coverage is mandatory (and costly). 

Even if you have a rental car for the longer distance driving, leaving it parked and taking the local transit within the city is often the way to go. Most major cities around the world have public transportation, and if they do then they also likely have commuter cards, or tourist passes. Look this up on the local transportation authority's website to see if it makes sense for you.

If prepaying for a commuter card is not economical for you, most subway and sky-train stations around the world take credit cards for single ride payments. Make sure you check ahead of time if you don't plan to bring cash.  

Taxis and ride shares are sometimes the best way to get to and from the airports. Sometimes they are the ONLY way to get to the airport, as we found out in Rome when our flight departed before the train service started for the day. When available, you can save a fair bit of time and money by downloading apps before you travel. I use the My Taxi app and really appreciate the ability to book a taxi days in advance. With My Taxi, payment is made through the app when the ride is complete (make sure you have internet access or ask the driver if they have WiFi in the car).

Most ferry companies offer bookings online. If there is a ferry crossing on your route, check what companies service the route. If you know for sure what time you will need to cross, it is always best to purchase your tickets online in advance. If you don't have your tickets ahead of time, make sure you arrive very early for your desired sailing because the smaller ferries in particular can fill up hours ahead of the sailing time. 

I have yet to find one single resource compiling all of the world's unique accommodation options so for now, I use Google. Search for unique accommodations in whatever area you choose and usually you will find articles from bloggers or local media listing the top results.

Think outside the box and you can make a very memorable experience by choosing the right place to sleep. Examples for us include; a treehouse in La Fortuna, Costa Rica (pictured), a wine cask room in Stavoren, Netherlands, and an underground opal mine in Coober Pedy, Australia. 

There are two websites that we book with almost exclusively for hotels. Our first choice is always Hotels.com. Hotels.com offers a very attractive loyalty program where you collect credit for every night you book through your account. After you have stayed ten nights in Hotels.com bookings you will be rewarded with a free night, which is actually a credit towards your next booking at an average value of the ten nights used to accumulate it. Therefore if you book ten nights and five of them were $200 per night, and five were $300 per night, your reward will be $250 towards your next booking. In addition to this reward program, if you book often with Hotels.com you will become eligible for a myriad of other perks such as discounted rates, exclusive free upgrade offers and free breakfasts.

The second site we use is Booking.com. Generally, we use Booking.com when we cannot find a suitable accommodation on Hotels.com, or when the value of the hotel is so low that we do not want it factored into the calculation of the value of our next reward night. For instance; if we have been booking hotels at $200-300 per night on Hotels.com, it does not make sense to book a hotel under $100 because it will significantly lower our reward credit.

Both of these companies guarantee all of their listings and work very hard to ensure customer satisfaction.

There are a few websites available for people to rent out their own homes for travellers, but we only use Airbnb. Using Airbnb can save you a significant amount of money over hotels in some cases. Airbnb is also an excellent way to find an accommodation with every little detail to suit you. For instance you can find an accommodation with free parking, full kitchen, hot tub, and multiple bedrooms... often for the same price as a standard hotel room. The one downside here is that because you are staying in someone's home, you may have to take out garbage, tidy up, or do laundry.  

You can find some of the coolest and most unique places to stay on Airbnb. Unfortunately Airbnb hasn't really caught on to this niche, so the best way to narrow the search for these cool places is by using Google.

If you are going to a camper van-friendly country there really is no other option... do it! Renting a camper van is like killing two birds with one stone because it is your transportation and accommodation rolled into one. You may still have to pay a modest price to use facilities such as showers and rest rooms, and you may also need to pay to park overnight at camp grounds but overall you should see a sizable savings over hotels and rental cars.

We have rented camper vans in New Zealand, Iceland and Australia. We plan to rent one in both Spain and Canada one day as well. In Australia we drove over 10,000km in the van. Australia is unique in that it is very friendly to freedom camping, where you pull the van over in a designated spot and sleep there without paying. The experience you get on a camper van trip is unparalleled and it will change your life. We do have one disclaimer though; couples travelling in a camper van will find out pretty quickly if they really are meant to be together! 

Camper van rental companies differ by region, just make sure you read reviews. In Iceland we used Lava Rentals, in Australia we used Travellers Autobarn, and in New Zealand we used Apollo.

*Keep in mind that some countries may require a substantial bond to secure the rental. In Australia it can be as much as $5000. The bond is returned after you return the van.

There is a time and place for hostel and dorm accommodation. If you are on a tight budget, these can be a great way to stretch your money. We won't discount the fact that staying in shared accommodation can be fun, and is a great way to meet fellow travellers, but we also have stayed in enough to know that it is not for us. In cases where hostels are the only option for us, we always try at least to book them with a private bathroom. This is not an area of expertise for us, but when we have to book a hostel, we do it through Hostelling International.

Allotting the correct amount of time to each attraction is one of the most difficult parts of planning a trip.

The first thing to do is to use Google to search for each attraction. Google usually displays the opening hours and shows you a graph of how busy the attraction typically is each day and each hour. Use this tool to decide the best time to see this attraction when it will be the least busy. I populate my draft itinerary based on this step so that I plan to visit an attraction on a day that I know it will be open, and the least busy.

*If Google does not display the opening times, go directly to the attraction's official website. 

Even though you are tralleving on an adventure, you need to consider down-time to allow your mind and body to recharge and rest. You can do this by planning to go places like spas, pools, relaxed lounges and coffee shops, or by getting back to the hotel early or sleeping in. Make sure your itinerary is flexible enough to move items around when you find yourself needing rest. If you push yourself too far you may find that you can exhaust yourself, which is quite a bit more dangerous if it happens overseas.

When planning your itinerary, try to limit each day to one must-see attraction. You can have a multitude of other things to do on the same day, but don't be surprised if you run out of time and are unable to see them all. A big reason for this is traffic between attractions which can be unpredictable and ruin even the best itineraries. 

Typically while away I will be reviewing the planned attractions for the next day and deciding what order to attempt them. I will also double check my work by confirming the opening times. This is when I will also plot the walking, public transit, or driving route for the day to minimize transit times between attractions.

No matter what, there will be attractions on your itinerary that you simply won't have time for, but don't let that bother you - it's just an excuse to go back!