Spring Escape Blog Crawl: Planning The Trip

 

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My favorite part of any trip (other than the trip itself) is the PLANNING part. I love doing research on the places I'm visiting. I can say there are some great deals to be had if you feel like doing the work and planning. Today I'm going to show you exactly how to do that. 
So you have a place(s) in mind. How to get there?

• Traveling by air? Thanks to kayak's new feature, you can set you budget and see where it will take you. Try it out! It's interactive & fun. Via Kayak.
• Hotwire.com shows you the prices and fees, and there's NO bidding. I love it for car rentals and hotels the best.
• Priceline.com is good if you feel like dealing with the whole bidding war thing. Great for budget travel.
• I've featured Tripadvisor.com and oyster.com before on here and for good reason: honest reviews and photos!
• Wanna see the world for super cheap? Here are some unusual methods of doing so. Use with caution.
• Once I have a destination in mind, I sign up for that city's Groupon or Living Social deals. I've found great deals for hotels & tourist attractions by doing this.

Now that I've booked my tickets or put gas in the car, what am I gonna do when I get there?

• Besides the internet, try your local bookstore or library--there are some great books out there
• I swear by http://www.letsgo.com/ books. They're funny and honest. These are the easiest books to use and I've read 'em all. I've used these for roadtrips as well as overseas.
• LonelyPlanet.com has great books AND has travel apps, if you have an Ipod/Iphone.
• Internet-wise, I search for "x tips." "X" stands for the place you are looking to visit or whatever it is you're looking for. 
• I love the Urbanspoon app when looking for restaurants to try.
• Twitter has been an amazing resource--just tweet out what you're looking for and chances are you'll get a response back.
• When planning your itinerary, consider your personality: are you a culture vulture (loves museums, culture), or a partier (here to party! where's the pub?), or a shopper? Or maybe a little of all 3? In other words, if you hate museums, don't go to one just because something "famous" is there. Buy a postcard instead. Spend that time and $ instead doing something you'd love. I'm a C-V myself! I hope these tips have helped you out. Bon Voyage!

                                                     

Be sure to check out Sandy from Sandy Ala Mode tomorrow & Diana's post Friday as we continue the Spring Escape! Thanks to Jillian at Cornflake Dreams for letting me participate.