Angela TalattadContributed by Wanders of Eve
I will not discuss the tricks of snatching a seat sale or the secret to having your visa approved. I won’t lecture you on ways to cut your expenses on food, accommodation and transportation. You will probably figure it out yourself better than I am because most of the time I end up spending a little over what is usually expected of budget travellers. Rather, I would like to share a few basic guidelines that have helped me plan my travels over the last two years and I hope it helps you, too, especially if you are a new traveller like me.
Also read: DIY Travelling for Dummies: Trip Planning Made Really Easy
Examine proximity by studying your map
Once you have identified your destination, the next thing you might want to do is to list the places you want to visit. This will help you determine the best route and the number of days you are willing to spend travelling. It will make your itinerary in order and you will save a lot of time.
Let’s take Kyoto as an example. This city is the heart of Japan’s culture and given such reputation, there’s really so much to see. Let us start by listing down some popular sites located in different parts of Kyoto.
- Fushimi Inari-taisha
- Gion
- Kinkaku-ji
- Kiyomizu-dera
- Nanzen-ji
- Nijo Castle
- Nishiki Market
- Sagano Bamboo Grove
- Tenryu-ji
Now having listed the above sites, next is to locate them on Google maps.
Image credit: Wanders of Eve
By identifying their locations, it will be easier for you to examine their proximity to each other. Google maps can also help you determine the actual distance. Being a runner myself before, this has helped me decide whether or not I can cover the distance by walking or I should better be taking the bus or subway.
Why is this helpful aside from saving time and keeping your itinerary in order? Well, believe me, it also helps you improve your sense of direction during your trip.
Create your itinerary
You can now determine how many days are you going to spend travelling by creating your daily route. Given the above map, you will have to spend three days and your itinerary will be:
After plotting your daily schedule, other important things to check is the opening hours of each site, admission fees and the mode of transport.
Establish the cost of your trip
How much are you willing to spend? It is nice to list possible expenses so you will know how much you are going to set aside of your paycheck for that dream holiday. Are you considering to stay in a hotel or in a guesthouse perhaps? Are you going on a shopping and gastronomic spree? Are you taking the bus or the subway? It’s really up to you. But it is a wise thing to make a forecast of such things before your trip to avoid overspending or coming home broke.
Also read: 10 Woes of a Trip Planner
So there you go. I hope these simple guidelines will help you in planning your next trip. Do you have anything to add? Share them and let us learn from one another.
