Planning your next trip

If you are like us and are keen to fit as much into your time away as possible, whatever you may enjoy doing, then the best way is to have a rough idea or a plan of what you might like to do/see/include/experience/visit before you leave home. Not too rigid though as you then may not have the time to explore and wander and take in all the amazing sights that aren’t in the travel guides.

Book your transfer – First things first. If your holiday does not already allow for one or if you are familiar with your destination you may not need this, but a few years ago we discovered a company called Welcome Pick Ups and they are great. This service is not available everywhere so check their website first http://www.welcomepickups.com, but they operate in most cities now.

The great thing about these guys is that when you book you know what it’s going to cost, it’s a fixed price so no haggling. Simply enter your flight number when you book online and they will track your flight so if you are delayed then they adjust their arrival time to match yours! You have an hour after landing to meet your driver who will be in Arrivals with a personalised sign, ready and waiting to take you to your hotel.

It makes arriving somewhere new just that little bit less stressful and more enjoyable knowing you’re in good hands.

Image obtained from welcomepickups.com. Used for illustration purposes only.

We found the drivers have all been very friendly and jumping in a taxi when you first arrive in a city is a great way to start, you can use this time to ask your driver (who will know the City extremely well) where he/she would recommend you go, what the locals would suggest and almost as important maybe, where to avoid! Ask them about local delicacies, famous tipples, and what to make sure you don’t miss out on during your trip. Taxi drivers are a great source of information, so use them!

Book your trips/excursions before you go – this will not be the case for everywhere so you will need to do some research with every trip you take, but generally is it advisable to book anything that you absolutely want to do before you leave home if you can. The benefits of this are that you will have already paid for it, so it won’t need to come out of any spending money and you have more choice when it comes to availability. So not only do you get to choose the day and time that suits you, you also know you won’t get there and potentially miss out. Win win! 🙂

Group together your activities and ‘must dos’ – before you leave (which is what I normally do) or when you arrive, whichever works for you, take some time to familiarise yourself with a map of where you are going. Just so you get a sense for the different districts, sightseeing hot spots and public transport close to where you are staying etc.

The last two or three times we have been away this has proved a great way to make sure we get the most out of our time there. We will put the things we are keen to see and do into categories, for example, you could split your city into North, South, East and West/A,B,C,D or Old Town, New Town, Food District etc, and start to group together what falls into which area. This way you can take a day to do the North for example, a day for the South etc and it saves on potential travel costs because you’re only heading in one direction and are not going back on yourself.

This isn’t to say you need to be strict or regimented in any way when it comes to your exploring, just that if you are short on time, this is a great way to make sure you make the most of it.

This may not work for everyone but if it does then great!

Factor in an open top bus – I honestly can’t think of a single city that my husband and I have visited where we haven’t taken advantage of what these buses have to offer. These are such a great tool for finding your bearings in a new city. Not only can you get a feel for how compact or vast a city may be, but you can add things to your list that you see en route which you may now like to visit. You can spot good places to eat or nice bars you might like to try out and decide if you think they’re within walking distance or a taxi ride from your hotel. You can use the all important map they give you for you categories and can potentially save money on travel costs if you’re clever and use the bus to get from one side of the city to the other. Most buses run into the evening as well so if there is a taxi to be had, you can use the bus to get to your restaurant or bar for the evening and may only need to pay for a taxi back!

Maybe do a full lap on the bus once you arrive if you have time to take it all in, and of course learn more about exactly what your holiday destination has to offer 🙂

Tip: where you can, try and purchase your tickets online, they will normally be an average of 10% cheaper than if you buy from the conductors/tour representatives.