Wishing and hoping and thinking and dreaming…and planning!

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The hardest thing about planning an itinerary is starting. So how do you do exactly that?  That is indeed the 47-million-dollar question, but it's not as difficult as it seems...you just have to like making lists!

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The best place to start is with places on your wish list. You know, that list you either have written down or in your head of places that you just want to see, to experience. Within those places, be they cities or countries, you will be able to identify things you want to see, do, eat, drink, photograph or just be part of. 

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What do you want to do - get out in nature? Visit museums? Eat your body weight in local food? All of the above? Depending on where you are travelling, you might manage all of these. But it is best to start with a list of must-see and work from there. You may find that if you have a time limit on your travels, some places may not be possible to visit this time around, so it's good to start with the ultimate list, work out what you can't leave without seeing or doing, then build around these elements.

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Here are the main factors to consider when sitting down to start your travel plan:

• Where do you want to go?

• How much time do you have?

• What do you want to do there?

• What is your budget?

• What style of travel are you considering – guided, self-organised or a mix?

 

Once you’ve worked your way through these points, you will find your itinerary starts to take shape and you can then move on to the planning part piecing together other elements such as transport methods between destinations, taking a guided tour for the full holiday, mixing between guided and self-guided tours, hotel locations, transport within a city, booking accommodation, booking entry tickets, booking transport…did I say you were over the hard part?!! 

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But wait, there’s more! No, really, there is more. Here are some other factors to consider: 

The Time of Year

You may have a preferred time of year to travel, or only have access to holidays at certain times of year, so keep in mind that some places might be busier than others at certain times of the year, that the seasons are opposite in the southern and northern hemispheres (Christmas in the southern hemisphere will be hot…unless you’re in Antarctica), some destinations have cyclone or hurricane seasons (a quick check online will determine these) and if you are looking to drive a sleigh of huskies across a frozen lake in Norway then best go between December and March or that lake will be better for kayaking…harder to do with 4 huskies on your lap.

 

Public Holidays

Country, regional or city only, they can pop up randomly so once you have plugged in your dates for each city or even when you're just at country stage of planning, do a quick online search and see if there are any holidays which will mean museums/sights/shops are closed when you are there. Nothing worse than imagining how you’ll feel when you’re standing in front of your favourite piece of art only to find you’ll have to keep imagining that as the museum is closed on the days you are there. Just because you are on holidays doesn’t mean places will conform to your timetable.

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Altitude & Depth
It might not seem like these things matter, but they do in certain circumstances. If you are planning to scuba dive, either before you leave home or while you’re on holiday, then you need to factor in a recovery decompression time between your last dive and your flight. Or if you are travelling somewhere at high altitude, for example hiking up to Machu Picchu, then you need to allow time once you are in Cusco to acclimatise. The same applies for any place at altitude where you plan to do activities that involve more strenuous pursuits like hiking, biking or similar, allow time to adjust your system to being up in the clouds.

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Be Flexible 

Sometimes your best laid plans are waylaid – if anything taught us that it was 2020. So have an idea of what you’d like to do, but be open to other things once you’re there. And know that sometimes travel happens and sometimes it doesn’t, either way, you’re on your holiday and not at home in a routine so things will not always go to plan. The best thing to do is have a contingency plan that involves stopping, looking around and adjusting to the change. If you don’t make it to something this time around then you have something to keep on your wishlist for next time.

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Now you have a head full of factors to consider, click on the topics below to delve into the next phase of planning, organising, building and creating.