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When organizing a trip there are many issues to take into account.
Here you will find my favorite tips, resources and discounts to help you plan an unforgettable trip.
Pleasse note that some of the links included are a affiliate links, and pay me a small commission on any product or service bought through them. It isn't a lot, but this money goes directly back into creating useful content about travel and natural living.
Transport
SWOODOO: My favorite website that I always search first. I like their search engine, which allows you to search for the cheapest flight options not only for a specific date, but also within individual months. They also have a great phone app
SKYSCANNER: Another good option to look up your flights. Its search engine allows you to quickly see all the possibilities you have to reach your destination. And you can even search by price if you don't have destination preferences, but want to stick to a budget.
AIRLINES: It often pays toe check the airline websites directly, especially if you plan to visit a place or region more often, it can sometimes make sense to register with an airline. Some of them have loyalty programs and offer you discounts or special promotions for a small annual amount. Here are some of the low-cost airlines in Europe that I have used before and can generally recommend. However, keep in mind that with budget airlines, the first price shown when searching for a flight is usually not the price you end up paying, as you will often pay extra for your luggage, your seat, of course your meals if you want one, and so on:
- Wizz Air - I could save some money this year by joining the Wizz Discount Club as I was flying to Croatia 2 times this year.
- Ryanair - flights to London and Alicante - everything went fine
- Vueling - cheap flights to Barcelona. A word of warning: my return flight was postponed twice. Not just a few hours, but days. The first time I was able to accept it, the second time I had to shorten my trip. So if you're as flexible as I usually am, that's fine. If you have fixed flight schedules, you should be careful when choosing flight dates.
Accomodation
BOOKING.COM: There are many accommodation search engines, but if there is one that I use practically everywhere I go, it is Booking. In their global accommodation portal there is a loyalty program called Genius. If you register, you will be at Genius 1 level and you will automatically have 10% on your hotel or apartment reservations! As soon as you book on other occasions, you will upgrade to Genius 2 and later to Genius 3, with more benefits and discounts.
AIRBNB: I've started using Airbnb on my travels in the last few years, depending on whether I'm traveling alone, with friends, for pleasure or for a "workation" where I will need a little more privacy. AirBnB has apartments, houses, cabins, rooms in private homes, tree houses, boats and endless accommodation options in almost every corner of the world. If you want your trip to be different, this is your website. If you are not only a traveler but also want to offer your house/apartment or a room to travelers and become an Airbnb host, you can do that too. I'm currently exploring this option for myself. I'll tell you more as soon as I have all the information.
HOSTELWORLD: If I want to travel cheaply or surround myself with lots of other travelers, I specifically look for hostels in the respective destinations. This site usually has all hostels available in one place with good reviews. Sometimes I compare these with other search engines like Booking.com, as sometimes other types of travelers (e.g. more older travelers like me 😉) also leave their reviews there. There are also some nice travel blogs who specialize in finding the best hostels in different places. Just look up "Best hostels in...." and you'll find some nice recommendation pages. This was how I found a great hostel for my last adventure trip starting in Canoa/Ecuador which I can really recommend: Hostel Coco Loco.
TRUSTEDHOUSESITTERS: If you love animals and traveling, this might be one of your favorites. You can take care of dogs, cats or other animals in people's homes during their vacation and use the accommodation free of charge. You must register on the website. If you want to apply for “house sitting”, you need to take out a membership for a few euros a month. I haven't tried it yet, but I've been thinking about it for a long time. Hopefully I will tell you more soon.
COUCHSURFING: If you are brave and want to travel cheaply, use Couchsurfing. Sleeping in people's homes is one of the best ways to get to know a place and its customs and stay cheaply. For a minimal annual fee, you can stay with a wide variety of people around the world. I haven't tried it yet because I didn't dare to do it as a solo female traveler. Not sure if the opinion that it wouldn't be safe for me is correct, but so far I've preferred not to try it.
Insurance
So far, I've always been lucky in terms of health and safety on my travels. I usually book my trip individually and don't take out travel insurance for the flight or accommodation, especially if I don't plan too much in advance and the trip doesn't cost a huge amount of money. I have my VISA credit card, which includes basic travel insurance if I pay for the trip by card.
Of course I wasn't that relaxed for my trip around the world. I knew something could potentially happen within 11 months. I booked all of my big flights with my travel agent (STA Travel) and also took out travel insurance. So it all depends on how willing you are to take risks, how big your budget is, how far in advance you book your trip and whether you have another option, such as insurance via a credit card.
Others
TOURS:
FREE WALKING TOURS: Almost every time I arrive in a new city, I want to get a rough overview at the beginning. I really like to book a “free walking tour” on the first day of my stay if possible. You learn something about the history and curiosities of the places and get to know the city a little and only pay what it was worth - a "tip", so to speak. And sometimes I was lucky enough to meet other travelers who were interested in meeting up later to explore together.
There are different agencies in every city and sometimes I try to find a real “local” travel agency. However, if you want to be sure of what you are getting, you can contact an agency that offers tours in different cities. Eg FREETOUR has current tours in more than 120 countries that you can book at no cost. GURUWALK is another provider that offers free walking tours in many destinations worldwide.
TRAVEL ESSENTIALS:
FIRST-AID-KIT: on my trip around the world I took many different tablets and other travel medications with me. Luckily I hardly needed any of it and took most of it home with me again. Nowadays, when I travel, I almost only take my “natural medicine cabinet” with me, which mainly consists of several essential oils and some nutritional supplements. Because if you really get a more serious illness, then it's better to rely on local medicine anyway. At least if you don't travel to very exotic or completely remote areas. Almost all of the oils I need are included in the Young Living Starter Kit. If you want to know more about it, just contact me or buy directly from this link and I'll be happy to explain the details to you😊
More to come...
one inspiration at a time
one inspiration at a time
