Travel Planning - My Top 6 Tips for How to Prepare for a Major Trip

In a very short few months, my husband and I will be taking an adventure of a lifetime - 4 weeks in Australia and New Zealand! I've been in hard core planning mode since November (yes, 7 months!) and I can finally see the landing gear in the horizon. People ask me all the time, what now? Now that all of the hotels are booked and reservations are made, what's next? Well, in my opinion, reservations are just half the battle - it takes well executed end game that really solidifies a perfectly planned trip. So, here's a glimpse into the mind of a Type A trip planner...

1. Print all confirmations and communication.

Go through an highlight important details (dates, addresses, confirmation numbers, check in/out times, etc.). I realize that you can use TripIt and you can absolutely put all of this information into a spreadsheet, but I can't trust electronic connectivity overseas, so I prefer to print them and always have them handy.  I'm sorry if my paper waste offends you, but I do buy recycled paper.

2. Create a Packing List.

Include items based on necessities, weather and activities. Keep it accessible so you can add items as you think about it. I prefer to create a Google Doc spreadsheet that I can share with my travel partners so they can add items to the list as well. I also go as far as scheduling a test pack 1 week prior to leaving so that I'm not freaking out because I can't fit it all the night before we leave. 

3. Create a Wish List.

This is  the items you'd like to buy before going, but are truly optional. Some items on my list include a new bathing suite, an underwater camera, a new wide angle lens, a small collapsable cooler (so I can buy perishable goods along the way), etc. This way I can start accumulating them as budget and space allow. 

4. Start a To Do List.

These are all things you don't want to forget before leaving.  Your mind turns to mush with excitement and anxiety right before a trip and you end up with Home Alone moments where you leave your kid behind if you're not careful.  Ok, that's a bit extreme, but this is a piece-of- mind list that helps you to not forget the important little pre-departure details.  Items on my list include: Get $100 cash and small bills, call credit card companies, make copies of passports and insurance cards, give a copy of itinerary to family, lock all doors and windows, buy extra pet food, put away message on email, etc.  

5. Map Out Your Destination.

Create a customizeable Google Map of all the places you will be going and want to go including hotels, restaurants, sites and attractions, etc.  You can click here for a full post about how to do it. I use this as a constant reference tool so that wherever I am, I have a list of places nearby to eat, shop and see based on my personal preferences and research. I also print detailed directions/instructions for getting to/from the airport and any locations you may have trouble finding along the way. Like I said, I don't trust having cell/wireless connection while traveling abroad so I prefer to be extra prepared so I don't end up lost, wasting valuable travel time. 

6. Finalize Your Budget.

Setting my travel budget is one of the first things I do at the beginning of my trip planning process, but it always changes over time and money is not something I ever like to be surprised by.  I start by listing out expenses by day... hotel cost, activities, rental car, flights, food, etc. Many of these are estimates based on the itinerary, so it won't always be exact, but at least it's close. I also include a column to mark what items have already been paid so that I can have a strong plan for what bills I will be returning to after the trip.  The last thing I want is to come home to thousands of dollars in credit card bills unexpectedly - so planning and saving for the right amount is key. This is also the point that I make sure to talk through the final budget with my travel buddies (in this case my husband) so that we are fully on the same page when it comes to what the end cost will be and how the money is being allotted. Sometimes we agree to cut costs in certain areas to increase in others or we decide that we are under budget and can make reservations at that really nice restaurant we heard about.  Budgeting can be annoying, but it's way scarier to come home to a pile of debt - definitely not a souvenir you want to bring back! 

Well, there you have it; all my anal, mind numbing, overthought pre-trip planning tips. If you would like to use one of my many templates that I've created, just shoot me an email - I'm happy to share! 

Being Type A Doesn't Make You Perfect

I absolutely pride myself on getting great deals on fabulous trips, it's kind of my thing. But I'm not perfect and I was recently so kindly reminded of that both by Air New Zealand and my husband. So here's what happened...

In August my husband and I will be traveling to Australia and New Zealand for almost 4 weeks. Exciting, I know. But what's not exciting is the cost of flights; they can be upwards of $2,000 each from Los Angeles. So I set my focus on finding a deal - diligently tracking flight costs on a weekly basis and constantly checking sites for any changes. In December I found an amazing deal that allowed for a stopover in either Fiji or Cook Islands for practically nothing. 

For $1,200 per ticket on Air New Zealand we were traveling from:

Los Angeles  to Sydney / Cairns to Auckland / Auckland to Rarotonga, Cook Islands / Rarotonga to Los Angeles

Woo hoo! Not only did I get a deal, but I've got us going to Rarotonga for 4 nights for some island relaxation. Here was my thought process: Rarotonga is a fairly unknown island compared to places like Fiji and Bora Bora and everything I was reading said that it was just as beautiful, less expensive and way less crowded. Score! 

Now here's where the problem occurred.  I started to really plan the trip a few weeks ago - creating a detailed budget, researching places to stay and what to do, etc. When it came to Rarotonga... my island dreams of laying on white sand beaches in front of my five star hotel for next to nothing was very quickly fading into the sunset. I discovered that while it's off season in New Zealand, it's high season for the Cook Islands because all of the cold Kiwis travel to the island to escape winter! On top of that, it is the island's centennial making it extra busy and there are only a handful of high-end, luxury accommodations available making them even more expensive. What did this mean? Let me break it down for you...

• 5 Star Hotel Average Cost Per Night: $600

• Cost of Food for 2 Per Day: $100

• Excursions Per Day: $75

• Rental Car cost: $200

• Total Cost for 4 Days = $3,300!!!!

Well, spending over three grand on four days was not what I was thinking when I booked a stopover in Rarotonga and I was devastated.  After all of my planning and research and convincing my husband that this was a good idea, I had screwed up. Feeling like an idiot and in a panic of losing a small fortune I needed to figure out a plan B. Here were my options...

A) Of course, I could always go with a cheaper, boring option for a hotel... but that wasn't so appealing (and to be honest, the accommodation options were pretty mediocre in general).  

B) We could just swallow the money and go (and risk for the next five years hearing from my husband that I spent more in a couple days than he paid for his last car).

C) We could pay the cost to change our plane tickets and stay a couple more days in New Zealand instead (literally take a handful of hundreds and throw them into oblivion).

Being a numbers gal, I busted open a new Excel sheet and a white board and started crunching numbers. I won't bore you with all of the dirty details (unless you like that sort of thing), but long story short I figured out that changing our tickets and painfully paying the penalty of $250 per ticket to stay extra days in New Zealand (taking into account the cost of food, activities and a super nice hotel) would still ultimately save us nearly $1,000 instead of going to Rarotonga.  We both agreed that this was the best option for us and the opportunity of spending more time in Hobbitville sounded pretty awesome. 

So in the end, I lost us more money than I saved, but sometimes that's the price you pay for traveling.  Type A or not, planning trips is hard and at times frustrating, but worth it in the end.  

Barcelona - Top 10 Type A Tips to Know Before You Go, Plus My Full Guide to Visiting Barcelona

Barcelona is one of my favorite cities in Spain; it's one of the best European travel destinations for everyone from foodies to beach bums and jet setters alike. I recently went back with my husband for a week and took detailed notes and did major research, including meeting with locals, to provide you with the best possible recommendations for planning your next trip. Check out my Full Guide to Barcelona for a list of my top Type A picks for what to do when you're not taking a siesta!

See My Full Guide to Barcelona - Click Here

Here's a summary of my top Type A tips to know before you go:

1. The airport is a good 25 minutes away from the city center and is a pricey taxi ride. Instead, consider taking the Aerobus which takes you to and from the airport for about 5 euro one way, stopping at a few major points around the city. We were able to walk or take a cheap taxi to our hotel from the convenient drop off points. Be sure to know which terminal you are going to because they are very far apart and if you get dropped off at the wrong one it could take you about 30 minutes to get to the correct one (something we learned the hard way!).  There are free buses that run between the terminals frequently, but if you are there early in the morning or late at night they will be hard to find. It costs a minimum of 20 euro to take a taxi between terminals and we only had 17 euro on us and a 10 dollar bill and we had to pay it to get a ride, otherwise we would have missed our flight. It was a nightmare! 
2. Tipping in Spain varies, but 10% is a reasonable tip at any restaurant.
3. Like most of Europe, you need to request the check when you're ready to go. Just say, "La Cuenta, Por Favor" or signal your server by writing into the air and you'll be on your way in no time.
4. In Barcelona, Catalan is the local language, not Spanish (a conversion of Spanish and French). So if you're using a translator app (which you should!), you will need to swap between Spanish and Catalan depending on what you're looking at. Even if you don't speak the language, you want to know how to say Thank You at the least. It's best to say it in Catalan instead of Spanish and although it is very similar, it's not the same. Thank you = Grathias NOT Gracias. Got it?
5. There is free wifi all over the city. Wifi hotspots are at every metro stop so you can always connect if you're lost, are in a bind or just need to check my blog for where to go next. 
6. There's so much to see spread across the city, so I definitely suggest buying a metro pass so that you're not limited to one area. The metro is very easy to navigate, comes often and there are convenient stops near all the major attractions. To make it easy, get a 10euro pass that covers 10 single uses, which can also be shared between multiple people.  The pass is also transferrable to the bus system and if you get off of metro, you can use that same pass on the bus within 2 hours without having to swipe again. 
7. Uber and other "taxi" like services are outlawed in Barcelona, but Taxis are pretty prevalent and safe - just keep in mind that most of them are cash only so stop by an ATM.
8. Each time you use an ATM you are usually charged a fee by your bank and by the ATM, so get a good amount out each time. Banks usually limit you to around $150-200 each transaction, but you can call them and request a higher cash withdrawal limit so that you can avoid all those unnecessary charges. 
9. Most places have stopped using swipe only credit cards, so it's better if you have one of the cards with a chip in it.  Also note that European credit cards often have pins and will ask you for one when you are charged. You can either add a pin to your card by calling your bank or just press the green button when asked for a pin and hope it doesn't stop you (we were fine doing that 90% of the time). 
10. Hostals (opposed to hostels) are smaller hotel accommodations, many similar to boutique hotels. They vary in price and in rating, just like anything else, but are worth checking out because I found them to be much more intimate than the larger hotels in the city.