Hey Wanderlust…
wan·der·lust
/ˈwändərˌləst/
a strong desire to travel.
If you’re like me and you like to travel welcome, welcome, welcome. Let’s chat and discuss some of my personal tips for travelers or anyone looking to travel more. I absolutely love taking trips. I love long trips, mini trips, and most importantly budget friendly trips. I remember saying last year that I wanted to take a trip every month during the year of 2019. However, I snapped back into reality and felt like it would be impossible. But here I am in June of 2019 and i’ve actually had the opportunity to travel somewhere every month this year.
January: Dominican Republic
February: Birmingham
March: Charlotte
April: Houston
May: Denver & Myrtle Beach
June: Orlando, Washington, D.C, Boston & soon Jacksonville (busy month)
Now what’s even crazier than the fact that i’ve taken this many trips on a teachers salary, is that I only had 2 of these trips planned initially. Everything else has been a spur of the moment, last minute invite and I agreed to go.
Here are my personal tips for traveling:
Mix and Match your travel style: You don’t have to take the same mode of transportation everywhere you go. Some trips require flying and others are more suitable for driving. I strongly recommend mixing and matching your mode of transportation if you want to travel frequently. So, one month or trip plan for a destination that requires a flight because often times flying will require a little more money. Then for the next trip plan to drive because 1. driving your own car or 2. a rental car may be a little-lot less expensive than flying, therefore you can adjust your budget.
Booking Flights: I like to search flights through google because they show the price comparisons for most airlines excluding southwest. This is less time consuming and easier to compare flight prices (this is my preference — you or others may have an easier more effective way). When searching for flights remember to clear your history and cookies because the prices does tend to get more expensive when they see you are constantly searching for flights for the same city (makes it seems like the demand is higher). Another tip is to always check flight prices on Tuesdays.
Set a budget: Set a budget for your trip and stick to it. My trip budget, depending on the destination is always $150. Larger cities with a higher standard of living may require a higher budget but it all depends on what you plan to do while you are there. I suggest always taking an emergency credit card or have emergency money, something between 100-200 dollars just in case anything happens.
Effective Planning: Always try to get an idea of what you want to do (attractions, restaurants, night life). Check price comparisons to find the most cost effective route. Some good websites to use when planning a trip are apple vacations, Expedia, or booking.com. If you are traveling with a larger group and going out the country I highly suggest using a travel agent. Planning for larger groups can be stressful and it helps having one person to handle all of the planning and booking. Booking through a travel agent also helps for those people who don’t have all the fund up front. You can set a payment plan and make weekly, bi-weekly or monthly payments. Additionally, be sure to constantly check weather trends. This helps to ensure you are packing appropriately.
Travel buddies: Pick a selective group of people that are down to have fun, adventurous and optimistic. Go out of town with people that do not mind being on the go. Me personally, I don’t really sleep in on vacation. I’m up early and on the go because I want to make the most out of the limited time I have wherever I am. You also want to travel with people who you know will pay in a timely manner. Lastly, travel with like-minded people. You don’t want to ruin your trip over petty disagreements because you cannot get on the same accord when it comes down to what to do, when to do it, etc.
Utilizing Social Media: Social media is a hugeeeee help when it comes to finding things to do in another state or city. I often use eventbrite to see what’s going on in the city or I use instagram. On instagram I type in the location and I watch the insta-story associated with the destination. I also check out the places and tags located on instagram.
Know your destination: Knowing your destination and what each place is “known for” or “famous for” gives you some ideas to throw on your to do list while you are there. If a city is known for seafood you would want to make sure you try one of their seafood spots. If they are known for having the worlds largest this or that, be sure to check it out while you are there. If you are visiting a state or city and you know people that live there reach out to them. Ask them where to live, what to do, and what places are a must see or go-to for food.
Picking a destination: I created a bucket list. I like to travel to places that help me cross of things listed on my bucket list. I think the greatest thing I’ve done this year would be snowboarding and zip-lining. When selecting where you want to go, also consider when you want to go because rates may be higher during certain parts of the year. The goal is to always have a budget friendly trip so i’m taking the cost-effective way out every time.