Travel Planning

Planning Your Travel

It has been said that when vagabonding, the best way to break travel plans is to make them in the first place! This is true, because you will most likely meet people along the way or see things that make you want to change your itinerary entirely.

Try not to make the mistake of setting a time line and instead focus on a loose plan to help you get the most out of your trip. It is worth researching things like festivals, wet seasons, etc so that you will have some idea of what to expect and where.

Where to start planning?

The only 2 things that you have to know for sure to begin your trip is what country you want to start with and when you want to go. Everything else for planning travel is a bonus.

When you are choosing your destinations, keep these things in mind:

Seasonal Weather - Many tropical areas can have months of continuous rain. It will be hard to get a tan or enjoy any diving if you visit during the wet seasons, although accommodation prices will be rock bottom and there will be few tourists. Most people plan their travel around the wet seasons.

Budget considerations - You will get way more bang for your buck in developing regions like Southeast Asia or South America as opposed to Australia, North America, or Europe. If you wish to start with Europe, start in the East where there are still some cheap places to visit.

Time of year - Other than weather considerations, you may want to plan your travel around things like huge festivals and crowded tourists seasons. It would be a shame to arrive in a country, just missing a historic festival by days, but still paying the high prices imposed because of the visitors that were drawn to the festival.

Political climate - The mainstream news media seems to play up the dangers of traveling abroad, particularly for Americans, but in reality there are very few places that are too dangerous to travel provided you use common sense and take the necessary precautions.

Language - Don’t let the local language, no matter how difficult, be a deterrent to visiting somewhere. English, of varying quality, is spoken almost everywhere that there are tourists. Do not worry about studying too much before the trip, you will learn it exponentially faster once you arrive.

Guide Books

Once you have an idea of where you want to start your journey, go buy only the guidebook for your first destination. Books are too heavy and expensive to carry more than one destination’s worth. Besides, you can trade with other travelers that have just come from your next country or buy them locally.

Lonely Planet is the most popular guidebook for budget travelers - love it or hate it.

If you buy one of the gigantic consolidated versions like “Southeast Asia on a Shoestring”, feel free to tear out countries that you do not plan to visit. This will conserve precious space and weight in your backpack. Save the pages and staple them together for later just in case!

Do not get guide Book-itus when planning a travel. It is a useful guide, but do not make it your new Bible. Believe it or not, but there are places to eat, stay, and visit that are NOT covered in the guide books. In fact, you can almost count on the top several places listed for accommodations to be full during the busy seasons.

Watch out for the “Lonely Planet effect“. The LP effect can also be applied to other popular guidebooks. It is a theory that suggests too many backpackers are using the guidebook, so all the places listed with excellent reviews near the top of each section become saturated with traffic. With so much good business coming in no matter what, the actual quality of service declines at these places because they no longer have to try so hard. Sometimes this is true, so it is best to trust your own judgment about a place and listen to other travelers that have stayed there. The positive side of this is that if you are looking to meet other backpackers, these places are usually where the party is.

If you plan to buy a guidebook, please use our link!

Travel planning advice from travelers

When planning travel, take full advantage of the travel forums in places like www.bootsnall.com and our very own Backpacking Forums. Many of the people out there are genuine, have just come from your future destination, and are anxious to help.

Read travel blogs! Most of those people are not being paid to write and you will get an honest, personal glimpse into what a destination was like. Check out some vagabonding blogs here on the site.

Remember that everyone travels in their own style. What you consider a bonus adventure might be someone else’s nightmare if they are used to more luxury on the road than you. Take things that people tell you with a grain of salt, as people tend to filter memories through one or two specific events that happened when they were there.

Traveling with someone or alone

You will need to decide from the start if you are going to travel alone or with a friend. Needless to say, this will radically change the overall experience of your trip. Many first time backpackers, especially women, feel more comfortable if they have a familiar face from home tagging along. Read about traveling alone.

Here are a handful of things to think about for planning a travel:

Local customs - learn how not to offend someone accidentally. Offenses differ between Buddhists, Muslims, etc.

Currency exchange rate and denominations. A very popular converter tool is www.xe.com

Consider booking your very first night at your first destination. You will probably be exhausted after the flight and it provides a good peace of mind knowing that the first night is taken care of. Only book 1 night, then shop around in the morning for something better/cheaper.

Be a wanderer!

If you have less time abroad, then plan more, otherwise try to resist the urge to over plan. When travel planning, it is always best just to stay flexible, keep your eyes and mind open for new experiences and opportunities, and let the road take you where it takes you.