Shy of being on a trip, I’m not sure there’s a better feeling than starting the trip planning process. You know you’re going somewhere, but you haven’t decided where yet. The entire world is wide open and teeming with opportunity.
It can also feel daunting if you don’t know where to start or are generally indecisive. If you’re planning the trip to correlate with a big life event, an anniversary or a milestone birthday, there can be an added degree of pressure to make it an epic, once-in-a-lifetime masterpiece of travel that would have brought a tear to Anthony Bourdain’s eye.
But trip planning doesn’t have to be that serious. It can be as fun as the trip itself if you let yourself enjoy the process. I’m going to break down six steps for planning an epic adventure of a trip and give examples based on how I planned my recent birthday trip around the Nordics.
Step 1: Daydreaming
It’s happening. You’re going somewhere. You probably have a good idea of when and you might have some ideas of where. The best place to start is with two basic questions –
- Do you have a passport? Is it about to expire? (Most countries want it to be valid for a minimum of six months after your arrival date.)
- Do you have a vibe you’re going for? Beachy and relaxing? Metropolitan chic? Adventurous and thrilling?
My and my husband’s passports were both good to go and I knew I wanted to cross some more countries off my bucket list so we had narrowed in on an international sojourn. I took a peruse over my travel wishlist and even just dragged around a Google map.
Even if you think you know exactly where you want to go, take a gander anyway just in case. Take note of anything that piques your interest.
This is not the point in the process to limit yourself!
I was open to different vibes so my list ended up being wildly chaotic, but dreamy.
Step 2: PLOTTING
How to pick… how to pick… Well in my opinion the best way is to define some metrics that allow you to level set all of your options, add in some softer criteria and see what you end up with.
For me that meant bringing my data nerd and dreamer tendencies together.
First, I created a slideshow with each potential destination getting one slide. I had defined sections for these metrics: how many new countries would it check off my list; how many new continents (if any) would it check off my list; what would the approximate travel costs be for the flight. Then I added two columns for pros and cons. I also added some generic pictures of each destination to give me a vibe check during my review.
When you’re pricing options out, don’t forget to consider any points you might have available either through an airline/hotel loyalty program or through your credit card.
Include any data points or notes that help you get your head straight on each destination’s potential.
To get this data I used:
- Kayak to pull quick flight costs
- YouTube to watch videos from some of my favorite travel creators (Kara and Nate mostly)
- TripAdvisor to get an idea of what there is to do, see, and eat for the different options
- Google for some quick pics for my nerd sheet
This was my slide for the trip we ended up taking although we didn’t go to Malmö and I did eventually learn that Iceland and Finland are Nordic, not Scandinavian.
Step 3: PICKING
At some point, it has to happen. You have to narrow it down and pick one. I wish I had a hard-and-fast rule here, but honestly I tend to rely pretty heavily on my gut for this one.
Based on your financial situation, the amount of time you are able to get away,
and who you’re traveling with, one of your options will probably
feel more right than the others.
If all things are equal and you want to leave it up to the universe, do like the Kardashians do and pick one out of a hat.
For me, I decided on a sampler platter trip with multiple destinations: Reykjavik, Iceland; Copenhagen, Denmark; Stockholm, Sweden; Rovaniemi, Finland; and Helsinki, Finland. It was a big detour from what I thought would be my vibe of choice (summery, beachy, chill), but it hit some huge bucket list items (a glass igloo in wintery Lapland) and was a more reasonable option budget wise.
Step 4: Dreaming (Part Deux)
We’ve come full circle and it’s now time to start dreaming again. You’ve picked where you’re going and need to start taking note of all the possibilities ahead of you.
I rely pretty heavily on two resources for this phase: YouTube and TripAdvisor.
I dive deeper on YouTube and open it up to creators not in my daily rotation. For this trip, I found amazing content on our countries of choice from Chad and Claire, Lauren Cotter, and Kallmekris.
Just like earlier, this is not the point in the process to limit yourself!
Save anything that looks interesting whether it’s a hotel, restaurant, excursion option, random spot where a random guy did a random thing once. Anything.
Also get with the people you’re traveling with and get them to start dreaming up options too. To make sure the trip is going to be epic for everyone, let them also be involved as much as they want to be.
Step 5: Plotting (Part Deux)
Just like you can’t be everywhere at once, unfortunately most vacation durations don’t afford us to do, see, or taste everything a destination has to offer. You’re going to have to narrow it down.
For me, this is when I start stack ranking things and have the people I’m traveling with rank things too (assuming they’re not just along for the ride).
Categorize all of the options as “Must See/Do/Eat”, “Would be Nice”,
and “I’ll See It if I See It”.
I make note of which of the must-do options require a reservation ahead of time, where all of them are located, how much time it would take including travel time. Also make note of options and travel time needed to get from destination to destination if you’re making several stops.
This will narrow you in on exactly how long you’ll really need in each destination and for your trip as a whole or if you need to be more cutthroat with your “Must See/Do/Eat” list.
Step 6: prepping
Pull out your debit or a credit card that gives you good points*.
The time has come.
I always book my main flights first, then travel between places, hotels, and finally any activity or restaurant reservations.
For my birthday trip, we had reservations ahead of time for…
- Round-trip flight (including a two-night stopover in Reykjavik via Icelandair)
- Train from Copenhagen to Stockholm
- Overnight cruise from Stockholm to Helsinki
- Round-trip overnight train between Helsinki and Rovaniemi
- Hotels for each destination
- The Sky Lagoon outside of Reykjavik
- Dinner at Bæst in Copenhagen
- The Nest Wellness with a sauna and rooftop heated pool in Stockholm
- The Aurora Husky Tour at Apukka Resort in Rovaniemi
- Löyly Sauna in Helsinki
I’ll get into more details about my trip and iteneraries in future posts, but trust me that I wouldn’t link anything I didn’t thoroughly enjoy.
Other prep steps that are must do’s include:
- Put Google Translate on your phone and download the languages of your destinations so you can translate key vocab or scan and translate writing offline and on the fly
- Download any city maps for offline access
- Apply for any required visas
- Text a picture of your passport’s details page to a trusted friend or family member (if your passport – heaven forbid – gets stolen, you’ll want these details to provide at the embassy or consulate)
- If you’re traveling without your kids, prepare a medical consent form and make sure your executor has an executed copy of your will
Bonus Step: Enjoy!
You’ve done the work and have prepared. See some new things, taste some new foods, and soak in the experience.
It’s time to enjoy!
*Super sneaky bonus bonus tip… A lot of credit cards have free, embedded trip benefits (think cancellation, lost luggage, or trip delay protection) but you have to book the travel with that card. Take a quick look at your bank’s website and see if it might be worth considering.
Leave a Reply