Plan Your Trip In Advance

 Traveling on a whim has always intrigued me. Whenever I see people post that they decided to go to the airport on a random day and buy a ticket ‘Anywhere’ I am so fascinated. Spontaneous travel is definitely on my travel bucket list but, I’ve found that the trips that are well thought out and planned, save me the most money and allow me to maximize the experience during my journey.

I personally love planning trips. My friends know that when it’s time to jet set I’m the one creating itineraries, setting up tours, transportation, and providing tour information. And although I go down a rabbit hole of research, your trip doesn’t have to be a long tedious process. Instead, it could be as simple as looking up the cheapest times to travel to specific destinations and aligning your schedule with that. Or, it could be as easy as researching popular tourist attractions and the cost of entry to ensure that you have the accurate amount of money saved up and don’t miss out on seeing something you had your heart set on.

Someone wise once said, if you fail to plan then you plan to fail. Planning can make travel less of a hassle and less expensive which opens the door for more trips and experiences in the future.

Travel & Savings Apps

To say that you will plan is easy, but how will you plan is the question. I use a mixture of travel-based and savings apps that not only allow me to save up money for my travels but make ticking off my travelutions a breeze. Below I’ve listed my go-to’s when it comes to planning trips. They help me stay within or below budget and also give me ideas of places to see.

Itinerary Building Apps

I use itinerary apps often to build out my trip itineraries. It makes searching for things to do with safe and trustworthy guides simple. I wouldn’t have been able to check off many of my travelutions such as riding on the world’s longest zipline or visiting another country by car with an experienced guide so seamlessly. Here are my favorite websites/apps that will take your travelutions to the next level.

Get My Guide

Viator

Flights

Skyscanner: Skyscanner gives you great deals for flights, hotels, and car rentals.
Hopper: Tracks flights and gives you flight deals

Organization

I’ve mentioned how much I love to plan my trips, here is the planner that I have used recently to allow me to seamlessly plan, budget and memorialize my travels.

Where Next? Travel Itinerary: Extensive travel digital planner

Savings

Digit: A savings app that puts money into an account each time you use your debit card. You literally save money each time you spend it.

Travel Credit Cards

Growing up I can always remember being told “Don’t get credit cards.” Or “Credit cards will hurt you in the long run.” I don’t remember exactly every adult that put this in my head but you are evil people. LOL just kidding, back in the day there was a stigma that credit cards held, and without the proper education, the adults in my life were only passing on what they knew. But as the saying goes, “When you know better, you do better.” And boy do I know a lot.

I believe that it should go without saying that credit cards should be used responsibly. Only get and use them if you have the funds to maintain them.

My favorite travel cards are:

Capital One Venture X

AMEX Platinum

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

Chase Deals Not Destinations

You may hear this saying often in the travel world and it is so true. Chasing deals will not only save you money but allow you to travel more often in 2023.

Many error fare websites and travel booking apps inform their customers/clients of destinations that they can fly to for a portion of the cost that would normally be charged. This is the time to jump on travel. Although you may be directed to a location that wasn’t necessarily on your travelution list, it opens you up to explore more places and become exposed to cultures that weren’t on your radar.

Chasing deals vs destinations will require you to be flexible in your travels. Where you may have wanted to travel to a specific location in 2023 or you had your mind set to travel during a certain holiday, the deals may not fall under those specifications. If you want to travel more, flexibility has to be a part of your vocabulary. It will allow you to see so much more of the world.

Travel During The Offseason

The off seasons are the perfect times to maximize travel. Flights, accommodations, and excursions are usually priced lower which gives you more money to spend on booking other trips for 2023. The off-season is just a term used to describe a destination when they see fewer tourists. Peak seasons are the times when destinations see an influx of tourists and prices for flights, excursions, and hotels increase. Here is a list of destinations in low peak seasons you can travel to by the month: