Planning a trip

I often read travel guide books borrowed from my local library on different travel destinations that I have in mind for future travels. I buy my own travel guide book when I am sure of my destination. I check out websites to check if I need a visa or documentation about my kids. I see if there are rules about the number of days I can spend in that country or those countries. I have a rough idea of visa costs already and know it is a struggle to afford visas for Russia. I compare transportation costs like flights or train fares. I look into likely accommodation costs. Sometimes I need the very cheapest accommodation and that was how it was when I went to Cape Town. I realize book accommodation if it is a Saturday evening in the summer. I know taxi costs added up when I was in Colombia and when I was in Brazil. My son is in a wheelchair and Vancouver was a dream come true for wheelchair accessible transport. In places with buses unfriendly to wheelchairs taxis are necessary for my family. In Cape Town a mini bus went to Green Bay. Other attractions we had to go on the wheelchair accessible explorer bus. I like to stay in a quiet road and not on a street with busy traffic. I like a cheap guest house with a ground floor room or the accommodation has an elevator.

I think your first three checks are right on the money. In Australia we have a government website called 'smart traveller' which has basic travel advice but also (and more importantly) more detailed, location specific info. I assume most governments have similar websites. Checking availability of international ATMs I have found particularly helpful as I just feel more secure having digital access to my money rather than having to carry large amounts of cash. It only costs me $4 aus to withdraw overseas and that is definitely a price I'm willing to pay for security. I am not a typical traveller so big tourist attractions rarely appeal to me so I don't find guide books to be particularly helpful. I am usually looking for contemporary local culture so websites like 'resident advisor' are very helpful. I find blogs more useful than guide books or travel sites simply because of the personal subjective nature of blogging. Always a good idea to look into medical facilities just in case too, broke my finger in Japan recently and just had to live with it because I knew nothing about their medical system. Language barriers can be fairly easily overcome these days with smartphone apps. Otherwise I tend to wing it, don't like having an ironclad itinerary

I always have a checklist drawn up so that I do not miss out on anything and this along with the check list that our agent gives us goes a long way in making the trip a success. I normally surf the net about the main features of the country I plan to visit and compare it with the package that I am taking. If what I long to see is not there in the package I would not hesitate to change my agent but never venture to travel on my own as I feel we are taken care of in a foreign country when we travel in a group led by the representative of the travel agent who is well versed. On one of my first trips I had bought a hand bag with several sections which I numbered and made a typed list so that I know which section contains what. But when one is travelling there is hardly time to put back the items where it belongs and this created havoc while I was wanting to things. I discarded that bag and promised myself that I would never ever be so organised! I also decided to go slow in making friends with the group as that too did teach me a lesson on my first trip.

First I check that I can fly there without too many changes. Living in the middle of Norway has it disadvantages when it comes to travelling :-) Then I check what I take pictures of, and of easy it is to get around. And the temperatures. I don't really like too much heat, so going somewhere where the temperatures are over 30 degrees would be stupid. Unless it is very dry.

I think your list is very good. One thing I do, that many seem to think strange, is I write a list of everything I want to pack. I start a week or two before I need to start packing. That way, I pay close attention to the things I use daily and I don't forget anything. It would be just like me to pack everything just to get there and discover I didn't bring enough tops or I left my swimming suit at home. So I create a list. I may cross off things during the couple weeks I'm writing the list. When it's time to start packing, I rewrite the list. I pack directly from the list. Everything on the list is packed. If I see something at the last minute that needs to be packed or that is on the list that doesn't get packed (this is rare), I adjust the list. Then I pack the list. I have left more things in hotels than I can count. When I begin packing to leave the hotel, I make sure everything on the list gets packed. Since doing this, I've accidentally left nothing behind on trips. For me, the list is part of the planning process.

Planing a trip is a tough job, first of all, I will check the tickets to the destination, if that confirmed, I will book the hotel from the internet, next I will check all the detailed information about the place i want to visit, including the routes, ticket fees, the opening time and the closing time. I always think that a good preparation can lead to a very happy trip.

When planning a trip it is very important to check few things like the place which you are going to stay are up to your standards and worth the money you paid, the person who will guide you there, mode of local transports, local important places like ATM, police stations or hospitals etc, few good places to shop and eat as well will come handy if you study all this before starting your trip.

There are many things to do before a trip. I never go alone. I usually check a tour with a tour service. This is more convenient :)