Summer is almost here and we can’t wait to take advantage of the warm weather and longer days! If you’re planning a getaway, we’ve got you covered with a few summer travel itinerary tips. Whether you’re someone who plans everything out to a tee, or you prefer to “wing it,” you’ll want to take note of these tips.
Book Early
If you’re sticking to a budget, the best way to save money is to book as far in advance as possible. It may sound like common sense, but there’s actually a science behind it. Using pricing data across airlines, Skycanner found that international flights are best booked a few months in advance, and domestic flights are best book between 3 and 6 weeks ahead of your trip. That means you still have some time to snag a good flight deal! Make sure to book hotels or Airbnbs as soon as possible too.
If you’ve already booked your flights and hotels, you’re ahead of the game. Now it’s time to plan some adventures during your trip.
Do Your Research
Whether you’re headed to another country or exploring new places on a domestic trip, there are endless things to do and see during vacation. So how do you pick the good ones? At Discoverlist, we love to plan activities based on our friends’ recommendations. Their honest feedback ensures we don’t waste precious time while exploring, or worse, pick a bad restaurant. Discoverlist’s bucket list feature makes it even easier to save trip recommendations from friends.
Ask the Locals
What if your friends haven’t traveled to the place you’re going to? The next best thing to asking a friend is asking a local. Most locals are happy to provide recommendations about their city. Your Airbnb host, hotel concierge, waitress, cab driver, or locals you cross paths with all have personal experiences they can share. Try asking questions that focus on their personal recommendations, rather than what they would typically recommend to a tourist.
For local advice that helps you explore the city like a local, try questions like these:
- What’s the biggest tourist attraction? Would you go see it?
- Which are the attractions that are a must-see?
- What should we avoid? What do you tend to avoid?
- What’s your favorite place to eat, personally?
- Are there any local markets or fairs happening soon?
- What’s the best mode of transportation?
- Is there anything else we should know?
Also keep in mind that the busiest places often lure tourists in with convenience and charge extortionate prices for mediocre food and service. Trust us, we’ve learned from experience!
Plan by Proximity
Once you have a good list of things to do and places to eat, take a look at where these places are located in proximity to one another. For example, if you’re visiting New York City for the first time, you’ll find that a trip from one end of the city to the other (or another borough entirely, like Brooklyn) can take an hour or more. This can quickly add up to a few hours of travel time.
To avoid this, decide the main things you want to do and use these attractions as the foundation of your day. In other words, plan everything around what you really want to see, then take a look at the other things on your bucket list that are nearby.
Planning by proximity can help save precious time traveling, so you can spend more time enjoying your adventures.
Don’t Overdo It
As much as you’d like to see every last thing in the place you’re visiting, overfilling your schedule will likely make you stressed and exhausted. Try separating your bucket list into a “must” list and a “if we have time” list. This will take some of the pressure off of doing too many things at once. Spend time at each “must” place without the fear of having to rush to the next.
To avoid overpacking your schedule, look to answering questions like:
- How are you getting to your first destination in the morning?
- What’s the best way to get from your first destination to the second and third? Is public transportation easiest, or is a cab more efficient?
- How long do people typically stay at these attractions? Should you plan to stay there for one hour, or four?
If you’re ready to start planning an itinerary for your summer travel, make sure to check out the Discoverlist app and create your own bucket list! If you want to help the rest of the Discoverlist community plan a perfect summer trip, make sure to add your own recommendations for places you’ve already traveled to!
