These are a few things I personally consider when planning for a trip:
- Purpose. This sets the tone and the theme for the entire trip.
- Time of the year. This affects the season of the country you'll be visiting, which restricts your activities, since can't really be snowboarding in summer.
- Duration of the trip. Don't try to squeeze too many places in a short amount of time. That will stress you out during the trip and it kills the enjoyment and relaxation that travelling brings.
- Budget. Now, this is very important because it determines the type of airline you'll be travelling on and the type of accommodation you'll be staying at.
- Travel buddies. The type of people you're travelling with will affect the type of activities you'll be doing. Travelling with parents will mean less strenuous activities, travelling with young children would require family-friendly activities.
Once you've established all these, you will have a narrower framework to work with and a much more focused scope of activities or places of interests to look for.
Some websites I usually use for booking of flights and accommodation:
- Skyscanner: It allows you to compare all the various airlines, timings and prices at the same time
- Agoda: I like Agoda because you can accumulate points and then redeem them for discounted prices once you've accumulated enough
- Trivago: It's like skyscanner but for accommodation
- Airbnb: It gives you a different sort of feel for accommodation. If you wish for a more homely feel or if you're travelling alone, this is great!
I used to book from booking.com but I stopped once I started to use Agoda. I think it's personal preference, but booking.com doesn't really give any form of rewards system.
These are just some basic guidelines! If you have any other tips you would like to share, feel free to leave a comment!