My good friend, Sedona, has the definition of the perfect instagram feed. If you swing on by, you’ll find vibrant photos of Sedona’s travel adventures in places like Venice, Italy, Paris etc etc. What’s even better is that she blogs all about em’ over at Juniper and Indigo, her lifestyle blog that she recently started. In today’s post, she’s dropping her wisdon on how to plan and cultivate a trip that’s rejuvenating and magical in every sense.
Author: Sedona Anderson from Juniper & Indigo
Travel is one of the most incredible things you can give yourself. You learn invaluable lessons, encounter people and cultures different from your own, step outside your comfort zone, grow as a person, and become more confident. Plus, it’s just amazingly fun. There are some things that will help you get started planning your trip and make your travels easier once you get there. Here are five things I’ve learned along the way to help you out!
- Do Not Treat Travel as a Contingency
You can’t treat travel as a contingency. You can’t say, well, if I have money after I pay all these other things, or if I have time after I get this done, THEN I’ll go. Because you’ll never go. If you’ve always wanted to go to Greece, then stop saying “I’ll go if” and commit to what you need to do in order to save the money or the time. Put the hundred dollars into your plane ticket fund at the beginning of the month, and it’s easier to turn down expensive happy hours or those new pair of leggings because you’ve already allocated the money to a different, concrete plan.
- Know What You Want to Do
In order to get the most out of your hard-earned trip, you have to know a little bit about yourself! Do you love to eat (like me), go to museums, do yoga on the beach? Think about the things that will make you happiest so that when someone asks you if you want to go to a car museum when what you really want to do is hike up a mountain, you won’t say yes for sheer lack of a plan.
- Remember to Research the Details
I’m not so great about this. I love to think about all the amazing places I’m going to eat or trails I’m going to hike but thinking about logistics is way less fun! But don’t be fooled, still very necessary. Do you need a visa? Do you have to book train tickets ahead of time? What are the customs for tipping? Make sure you know the status of your passport months before your trip so you can renew if you need to, check your phone plan to see if it needs any updating for international, make sure you tell your bank where you’ll be traveling so they don’t shut off your card. It’s also never a bad idea to print out the names, addresses, phone numbers and reservation dates for any hotels you’ll be staying at so that you can give loved ones a copy of your itinerary
- Have a plan
I’m all about getting as much as you possibly can out of your trip. The best way to do this is to have a plan. Again, know what you would most like to do, and research things in the area that fit your interests. There are SO many great travel apps for this (I use literally all of them). TripAdvisor, of course, but also FourSquare, AirBnb guides, OpenTable, Google Trips, Lonely Planet (guides and trips). Take your pick, or download them all.
- Be flexible about the plan
Maybe the most important thing I’ve learned about travel is to come with a plan, but learn to embrace the unexpected. Things never go exactly as planned when you’re traveling, and that’s okay! Roll with the punches and always be grateful you get to enjoy a new experience. If you arrive with this mindset, you’ll be able to enjoy yourself even when plans are changed or you encounter setbacks
xo
