Do you like to travel but only have limited time?

Hi Guys, one of the things that I have learned in the United States is to try to make your trips short. When I say short, I mean really short (3 days at most for the best case). I was one of the people who thought that 3 days aren’t enough to go around a city, but I was wrong. 3 days are more than enough to have a great weekend if you know “How to plan your trips”.

I want to share my techniques and tips which have helped me save time and money and especially, to enjoy my trips to the fullest.

The first step when traveling is deciding the place you want to go.

Step 1. Where are we going?

This is the most important step because this is when you define factors such as what to pack, where to eat, where to visit, whether to fly or drive, etc. The big question is how to choose where to go?

One technique I use to choose the place is brainstorming. I start by listing all the cities of interest with the reasons why I want to go there. Then, I start investigating online flight ticket prices, the number of driving hours, weather, public transportation, and most importantly, how safe the city is.

Afterward, I try to reduce my list down to 3 places. Having 3 or 2 places in mind, now I determine how many days I have available and at what time of year I want to travel. Undoubtedly, these are decisive factors to choose the city to visit.

Step 2. Search for plane tickets.

My favorite part, but maybe the most stressful for some people, is to find the best prices on plane tickets. Well with technology, this step has become one of the simplest for me.

My favorite search engine for air tickets is google, I always try to compare plane tickets when I have to travel within the United States with other search engines, but Google really shows me the best prices.

Google combines both one way and round trips with different airlines at different times which allows you to buy at the best prices that fit your schedules. You can track the price of the itinerary you want and buy it just when the price fits in your budget.

Try to get a flight that allows you to enjoy as many hours as possible at your destination.

It is my secret, whenever we have to buy plane tickets, to track the prices at least 2 months in advance to have enough time to buy at our desired price.

In the case of road trips, we always evaluate the options of renting a car or using our own car. We know that renting a car is an extra expense, but if the trip is very long-distance one, we prefer to pay something extra than to use our own cars.

Step 3. Hotel or Airbnb?

Most people may choose, without hesitation, Airbnb, but sometimes, it is more expensive than the hotels. I suggest doing a price research on both because you’ll be surprised how the prices are different depending on the city, number of days, time of the year, and amenities you look for, etc. For both cases, the common decision factor I suggest is the safety of the area. There are many resources online that show crime rate heat maps of a log of cities.

I suggest researching the hotels, Airbnbs, and plane tickets at the same time.

Step 4. Google Maps list.

Once we got the plane tickets and reserved the place to stay, my next step is to make a list in Google Maps with all the places we want to visit and all the restaurants where we want to eat. Normally, we make 2 exclusive lists, of places and of restaurants and bars to visit.

Use Google Maps to create a list of places to visit. This helps you visually plan a daily route and save time.

Step 5. Walk, Uber, public transportation, or rent a car?

Another important decision to make is how you will get around in the city. Although many cities have public transportation or taxis, not a lot of them are safe. So the first thing you have to do is to investigate if it’s safe to take buses, taxis, and trains. Second, you have to follow the schedules of different public transportation and this will influence the number of places you can visit. For rental car option, check the gas prices, car insurance rates, toll rates, and the traffic situations in the city. These are the important factors that will help you make the right decision.

Step 6. What to pack.

In this step, you should already know how the weather will be like in the city you are heading to, however, try to check the weather again a few days before traveling since the temperatures can change overnight or morning. Always be cautious and pack an extra jacket or warm clothing.

If it is the first time you travel outside your country, make sure you know what products you can carry in your carry-on and what products you need to check-in. Also check if you need a visa to the country you are visiting or if you need a special permit to enter.

When you travel within the United States, economy tickets may or may not include a carry-on check-in based on the airline. Those that do not are a little cheaper, but if you do have to check in your carry-on, the price may become the same as or more expensive than the higher-priced tickets.

Once all the steps above are complete, we are ready to travel!