Step by step guide to create the perfect travel plan

We bought our tickets to the Philippines and I was excited to create our travel plan for the journey. We'd not known a lot about the place until a few days ago, only that it had white sand beaches a very clear sea and friendly locals.

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Things we considered when choosing a location:

1. Season:
   We decided for the Philippines because it's dry season at the time we want to travel. What season is it in the place you'd like to go to? During rainy season floods may be likely at some places so you might want to go there in another time. Check for seasons in different countries here
   
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2. Visa:
   We don't need #visa to enter the Philippines, only a passport valid longer than 6 months and an onward ticket. This will be the case for most places you want to go, but always check it before making any travel arrangements. Check for visa requirements here
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3. Budget:
   We have 5 weeks to travel and about £3000 to spend, which is a good budget for a Southeast Asian country. What is your budget for this trip? Search for average meal/drink prices here, have a look on booking.com for accommodation prices.
   
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4. Activities:
   This is an obvious one, but think about what you want to do on your trip and look at places where you can do them. (i.e. diving in Indonesia, skiing in Austria...) We love the sun, swimming, diving, trekking, so - Philippines :)
   

5. Transport:
   Start looking at ways to reach the destination you have in mind. If you're flying then first check out https://www.kiwi.com/en/, it will give you all the possible flight combinations and you'll get an idea of the prices. If you're going for a week then you'd probably not want to undergo a 20 hour flight, so take that into consideration. Then look at Skyscanner, and lastly when you see a ticket you like, go on the airline's own website, sometimes prices maybe lower there.
   
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   We bought our tickets 6 weeks in advance so we got a good deal on them.

6. Safety:
   Make sure you read up on possible threats and dangers. Look at what your government has to say about it (we use the English one), but also look at other sources to compare.

At this point you will have a country/city in mind, find more information about it:

1. Youtube:
   Check out YouTube videos from other travellers in the area. There are many videos on most locations and it can be difficult to find informative ones. We like videos from this guy
   Take a note of the places they mention that you like the look of. Do this together with your future travel companion to establish you both like a place.

2. Tripadvisor:
   Now you have a few cities/areas/beaches in mind that you like, search for these on TripAdvisor and read reviews, look at pictures from other travelers. You'll find a lot of unedited photos here, those will give you a much better idea than pictures in a catalogue that have been made bluer and greener. You might change your mind about going to a place based on what people say about it here.
   Start reading travel blogs to see if there are other locations worth visiting in the area, you'll find great tips this way from other travellers.

3. Time management:
   Don't try to cram in something to do for every minute of your trip, just make a note of the places you're interested in and a few activities to do there. You won't be bored that's for sure!
   We like to stay at one location for at least 2 nights, 3 if we like it a lot or if there are a lot of things we want to see. So try to plan for 3 nights on average at every location, and leave a few days extra, if your trip is 25 days long then plan for 20 days and so on.
   

4. Getting around:
   How difficult is it to get from one location to another? Are there trains, buses, can you buy tickets online? Do research on how other people moved in between places, how long it takes and if it's necessary to get tickets ahead of time. Don't book them in advance if you don't have to, you don't know how long you'll want to stay at a place, maybe you'll meet some people you want to hang out with or go to their next destination with them. This was quite an issue for us with the 7 thousand islands in the #Philippines and we discovered the best option is to fly.
   
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5. Arrival:
   If you bought your flight/train ticket, have a look at the arrival time. If you're getting there at night then you might want to book accommodation for the first night close to the airport/train station. There might be taxis but their night rate will probably be higher than the day one, so you'll be better off moving on the next day.
   Check for public transport from the airport to the city and take a note of the bus/train numbers that will take you to the centre.

6. Now you can start using google maps so you get a visual idea or your travel plans. Put the airport/train station in as the starting point, then the next location, add other destinations with the plus sign until you get to your last destination. Save this map so you can use it as a reference. I love looking at our map:
   

7. Booking accommodation:
   This highly depends on where you're going but if possible, try to stick to the following rule: only book accommodation if you're arriving in the evening, if you're getting there during the day then find a place to stay there and then. You can actually see the hotel this way and maybe you'll even get a better deal. This generally works in Asia but you won't be able to do it in expensive areas and western cities, there you'll need to book ahead. In that case use Airbnb, it's usually cheaper than hotels.
   
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These are most of the things we took into account when making a travel plan through our #destination. We hope these tips will help you plan your trip, and please let us know if you have any other tips on this topic :).
Have a great trip!

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