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! 

Eat. Drink. Read. - A Culinary Event for Literacy in San Diego

While I obviously love to travel and explore the world around me, my husband and I also realize the importance of home and caring for where you live. We are always looking for ways to give back to our community and we were honored to attend this incredible event that combines our passion for amazing food and for raising awareness for reading and education.  

My husband Colin has always been an avid reader - flying through at least a book a week since I've known him and we've both been blessed with the accessibility to education throughout our whole lives; however, not everyone has those same opportunities even here in San Diego.  If you've ever traveled to another country and been confused or lost because you couldn't translate the menu or the street signs, imagine what that would be like at home on a daily basis. A staggering number of kids and adults struggle to read at a basic level and the San Diego Council on Literacy helps to provide literacy assistance to 170,000 of those individuals in need each year.  

The event took place in Brian Malarkey's beautiful La Jolla restaurant, Green Acres. Dozens of Chefs and local restaurants came together for the night, each creating a dish that represented their favorite book.  Hundreds of people and businesses gathered to taste the delicious food and celebrate a worthy cause and it was a pleasure to be part of it.  A great thanks goes out to the San Diego Council on Literacy volunteers who worked so hard to organize the festivities and to the chefs who so graciously gave of their time and resources to shed light on an organization that seeks to provide the gift of reading to children and adults in San Diego. I hope you will join me next year or reach out for ways you can help support the San Diego Council on Literacy. 

5 Tips to Cheap Flights - The Smart Way to Compare Prices

As people start to make summer travel plans, the question I get asked over and over again is "How do I find deals on flights?" and my answer is always the same - with work. Cheap flights don't just show up magically in your email inbox at the very moment you start planning a trip (the Flight Fairy still hasn't stopped by my house), so it takes a good amount of organization and diligence to snag a great price.  I personally hate paying more money than I absolutely have to on flights because I'd rather spend that cash on a fancy dinner or swanky hotel, so I'm always on the hunt for airline sales. Most of the time I end up saving at least a couple hundred dollars, if not more, and friends and family are shocked when I tell them the price. Here's the method to my madness, I hope it helps you save some money!

1. SEARCH FOR FLIGHTS USING A PRIVATE BROWSER

Airlines track your search history, meaning that every time you search for a specific flight, the airlines remember it and you are less likely to see a cheaper price. However, you can get around this by setting your internet browser to Private. Every browser is a little different, but in Safari you can choose from the Safari drop down at the top of your screen and choose "Private Browsing" or in Google Chrome click on the File drop down and choose "New Incognito Window."  You can also clear your cookies before every search, which helps to clear your search history. 

2. DON'T JUST RELY ON MAJOR BOOKING SITES TO SEARCH FOR FLIGHTS

I almost always book directly with the airline itself, unless I find a better deal on a booking site.  Airlines will run special promotions and don't charge booking fees when booked directly, so you can often save money just by going to the airline's website.  Don't get me wrong, I still use the booking sites to generally look for pricing - then navigate to the airline itself based on comparisons on Expedia and Kayak.  

There are also many airlines that do not participate in major booking sites, such as Southwest, so you'll want to go directly to those sites as well to check for up to date pricing.  If you are traveling abroad, you'll want to do a search for local airlines in that country/city. For example, when I was looking for flights between cities in Australia, I was able to find 2 local airlines - Tiger Air and JetStar, neither one that shows up on search engines.  All I did was Google "Australia local and domestic airlines." If I had relied solely on booking sites, I would have paid $150pp for a flight from Sydney to Cairns on a major airline like Air New Zealand, but instead I paid $34pp on one of the local airlines. See what a little research can save you?

3. START TRACKING PRICES 

You'll want to track the prices you find early on - usually 4-6 months ahead of time if you can.  I put together a simple spreadsheet that shows the day I searched, what airline and the price, that way I have an idea when I find a cheap flight or not.  Tuesdays and Thursdays are generally known as the days that the lowest prices are posted.  I usually check on prices twice a week for 1-2 months; this gives me a great feel for the flight cost and I'll easily know when I find a great price. You can sign up for automatic flight tracking on sites like Kayak, Airfare Watchdog and Fare Compare and receive email alerts when prices change or make any changes. **When you find a great deal, book it immediately! There's always a chance that it could get lower, but that chance is usually slim. Don't gamble with flight prices, they usually only go up!

4. SIGN UP FOR EMAIL UPDATES FOR SPECIFIC AIRLINES AND TRAVEL SITES 

If you have an idea for what airlines you'll want to fly, sign up for their email updates. For example, when I was looking into flying to New Zealand, I signed up for email updates on Air New Zealand so that if a great deal came up I would know about it.  If you don't have a specific airline in mind, sign up for a few that you know go to your destination.  I have a special email address that I use for these types of emails (not my main one) so that it's all in one spot and doesn't clog up my inbox.  It would look something like "AimeeTravelEmails@gmail.com" (I just made this up, so don't try to email me at it!). I check it a couple times a week for deals, then when I'm done with my trip, I just unsubscribe from these updates. You can also follow specific travel bloggers and websites like Travelzoo on Twitter and Facebook so you can get up to the minute deals straight to your mobile phone. 

5. BE FLEXIBLE - TRAVEL MID WEEK AND CHECK NEARBY AIRPORTS

Finally, get creative for where you fly in and out of and when.  The cheapest days to fly on are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Kayak and many airline websites allow you to look at prices over a month period so you can find the cheapest days to travel. You also want to check various airports, if you have the flexibility to do so.  Most major cities have more than one airport within an hour's drive and can sometimes mean savings of hundreds of dollars.  For example, when I travel to New York, I usually fly into LaGuardia or even New Jersey because it's usually at $100+ cheaper than going into JFK. You'll have to weigh the cost of transportation and the value of your time, but this is an easy way to save extra cash.