How to plan a trip

Travel Advice

I often get asked by friends and family on how to plan a trip. For instance how do I travel so cheaply? How do I find exciting things to do in the places I visit? What hotel should I stay in?

With this in mind I thought I would put together a list some useful websites, books and apps that I use to plan a trip. Hopefully this advice will help you to get away and explore some of the world!

Getting to your destination

plan a trip

EasyJet – most of my flights are on board an EasyJet craft. I even have the EasyJet app installed on my phone. It sends alerts when new flights are released. This is useful as it tends to be cheaper to book flights as soon as they are released.

Skyscanner – this is a useful tool which lets you search for flights to any destination in the world. You can also search for hotels too.

Accommodation

plan a trip

Accor Hotels – this is my favourite hotel chain. Most of my trips involve a stay in an Ibis hotel. I always have good service and as I’m a silver member I always get a welcome drink on arrival.

Holiday Lettings – I have used this service to book apartments at a few of the destinations I have visited. You deal with the landlord directly and they can answer any questions that the webpage doesn’t mention. A great way to help you plan a trip too.

Hotel comparison websites such as Booking.com and Hotels.com can be worth a look. Although I rarely use them to be honest.

Plan a trip and finding things to do

plan a trip

Lonely Planet guides – I find Lonely Planet to be by far the best way to research ideas while I plan a trip. I’m a bit of a collector of these guidebooks and have a bookshelf of them at home.

TripAdvisor – it is always useful to see other travellers reviews on hotels, attractions and travel services.

Guardian Travel – always have interesting articles on destinations. These can act as inspiration for places to visit.

Travel blogs – I often read other travel blogs to get some advice on what to see and do to plan a trip. A Google search for travel blogs always return decent results.

Travel at your destination

plan a trip

The Man in Seat 61 – brilliant blog about travelling by train in Europe and the rest of the world.

Useful apps to plan a trip

plan a trip
Google Maps – useful app to plan a trip or journey, get routes and even avoid getting lost.

Duolingo – learn the local lingo before travelling.

TripIt – an app that keeps all bookings such as hotels, flights and bookings details in one place.

XE – gives the current currency exchange rates.

Official travel advice

Foreign travel advice – UK Government’s travel advice which details safety notices, entry requirements, travel warnings and health.

Remember to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook. See our photos on Instagram and Flickr and watch our videos on YouTube.