10 Helpful Tips When Planning a Trip

Traveling is good for the soul. From going to new places to experiencing new things and creating new memories with your loved ones, traveling is truly a spiritual experience. But of course, not all travel falls into the perfect, Instagram-worthy category. Other cases, such as weather changes, poor reception services, and other travel mishaps, can occur. To avoid those, it is crucial to deliberately plan a trip to guarantee that you are investing your time, money, and effort into a travel experience like no other.

Choosing Your Destination

Picking a destination is one of the first steps when traveling. And here are some factors to consider:

• Budget: When picking a location for travel, it is important to know your budget and if it can cover expenses such as transportation, accommodation, food, activities, stuff to buy, and others. If you have a bigger budget allotted for traveling, you can go to locations that are costlier, but if you have enough budget for traveling, there are still many destinations that are affordable and can offer that quality traveling experience.
• Travel time: It is also important to know how long it will take to reach your destination. Will it require hours or days of travel? It is necessary to know because others might need to file for leave or squeeze the trip into a weekend due to work. Also, if you are in a group, there might be those who love long trips and those who cannot endure long trips.
• Activities: Each one of us has different interests, especially when traveling. There are those who love chilling and swimming by the beach; there are others who want to feel closer to nature by doing hikes; there are those who want to marvel at cityscapes; and there are others who want to fill their stomachs with various foods and cuisines. Knowing these interests helps us pick destinations and determine if they can meet or provide them.

Once you have considered these factors, it is also advised for travelers to conduct further research on the destination. This is possible by reading travel articles or blogs, watching videos or vlogs about the place, or asking questions on the internet or to people who have visited the place. By doing so, you can foresee possible scenarios and setups for where you are going.

Transportation

After you have chosen your destination, the next thing you will consider is transportation. Will the place be reached via driving on the road, taking a plane ride, riding a train or bus, or a combination of two or more? Knowing what transportation you will take will tell you how long your travel time will be. It would also enable you to book earlier for a cheaper flight.

Furthermore, keep in mind that other members of your traveling squad may be babies, kids, or older family members who may not be comfortable with other kinds of transportation. With this, it is important to plan ahead to know what transportation options are available and book them in advance, so you and your travel companions will have comfortable, affordable, and convenient travel.

If you are driving on the road and your destination requires you to pass by along the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX), C5 Link Flyover, and Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX), it is advisable to have an Easytrip RFID sticker to have a faster and more convenient journey. As an electronic toll collection system, commuters with RFID stickers will pass by toll gates without the need to stop and pay for cash. You just need to have a sufficient RFID load in your account to pass through toll gates. You can also use the MPT DriveHub to check your balance and reload if needed. This app also helps you know how much toll you will need from the entry point to the exit point.

Accommodation

Another aspect of your travel is the accommodation, or the place where you will be staying. Some of the popular accommodations include:

• Hotels: Hotels are establishments that provide paid accommodation such as shelter, food, refreshment, entertainment, recreation, and other services and goods for a short duration of stay. You can book this via the internet through their official pages or on travel agency sites.
• Hostels: This kind of accommodation also provides basic accommodation. It has a dorm-style setup, which means there are eight or more bedrooms in a room. However, there are hostels that offer private options. As a budget-friendly alternative to hotels, hostels have shared kitchens, bathrooms, and living rooms.
• Vacation rentals: This refers to accommodations that you can rent for a short period of time. Some of these include a house, an apartment, a spare bedroom, a condominium, or others. There are vacation rentals that offer services like staying in a hotel, while others give travelers the freedom and independence they want.

When choosing the right accommodation, there are also various factors to consider, such as:

• Budget: If you feel fancy and have enough budget, you can book a hotel or vacation rental with 5-star accommodations, but if you are on a tight budget, there are those that have affordable rates and offer good quality services. On the other hand, if you are in a group and want to accommodate all of you at a cost-friendly price, you can opt for a hostel.
• Location: Before picking an accommodation, make sure that you have conducted research on its location. Is it located in a safe part of the city? It is also good to know if it is located near tourist destinations or in the city center so that you can walk or have easier access to those key spots.
• Travel style: Each one of us differs in the way we travel, and this should also be considered when booking an accommodation. Some of us love to enjoy the indoor vibes offered by hotels, but there are also those who want to experience a true backpacker experience while meeting people from different walks of life; hostels are a good option for them. Meanwhile, others can opt for vacation rentals to experience those homey vibes while traveling.

Activities and Attractions

If you have already gone through the three essential parts of traveling, now it’s time to go to activities and attractions. This is where the real excitement and magic happen. Some of the famous activities and attractions are:

Activities

• Island hopping: This includes riding on a boat, which allows you to go from one island to another.
• Water activities: These are activities that are conducted on water bodies, such as snorkeling, diving, surfing, kayaking, and others.
• Hiking: This activity involves walking long distances on trails or paths in woods or forests.
• Cultural exploration: Some of these activities involve visiting places where the locals live and learning about their customs and traditions. Specifically, tourists immerse themselves by doing some of their traditional chores.

Attractions

• Natural attractions: These are beaches, national parks, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, mountains, and forests that you can visit.
• Heritage attractions: Examples of these attractions are local museums, art galleries, historical sites, and botanical gardens. Through these travelers, they get a glimpse of the place's history, culture, customs, and traditions.

How to book these activities:

• Pick what activities you want.
• Conduct research regarding these activities.
• Know how long it would take
• Identify how much it would cost.
• Book in advance to ensure tickets.
• Research the weather forecast for the day you are going to do the activity.
• Be aware of the essential things needed, such as sunblock, water, a first aid kit, and others.

Packing and Preparing

Some of the essential things to bring on your travel are:

• Passport
• Identification Card
• Camera
• Cash
• Debit or Credit Card
• Tickets
• Itinerary plan
• Phone, charger, power banks,
• Clothing (T-shirts, long sleeves, tank tops, shorts, pants, underwear, and others)
• Personalized items and toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, sunscreen, make-up, and others)
• First aid kits and medicine (bandages, gauze, alcohol, and others)

Other tips to prepare your tip

Some of the other trips that you need to remember when traveling are:

• Buy travel insurance: Travelers are suggested to have travel insurance to financially protect them from unexpected circumstances such as medical emergencies, lost luggage, and trip cancellations.
• Read online reviews and suggestions: There are a plethora of travel blogs and vlogs that detail and inform people on what to do while in this place, what to avoid, and other essential travel tips that can make your trip more fun and memorable.
• Print copies of your ticket and accommodation reservation. Despite the digitalization of things, having a hard copy of your ticket and accommodation never hurts. This is to prepare for emergencies with devices that have no battery or when there is no mobile data or wifi.
• Exchange currency: When traveling to other countries, make sure you have converted your money to their currency before flying to avoid looking for money-changing centers.
• Prepare your home: Before you leave, make sure that you have cleaned your house and thrown out your trash to go home to a clean, good-smelling home. If you have pets, make sure that you leave them with a family member or a friend. Also, make sure that bills are paid to avoid inconveniences.
• Load your RFID account: When traveling on the road, make sure you have sufficient balance to pass through different tollgates to avoid inconvenience and bring cash. To know how much your toll fees are from entry to exit, you can use the MPT DriveHub, as it is able to compute. Furthermore, if you do not have enough balance, you can also use the MPT Drive Hub.

The idea of traveling is as exciting as the actual travel experience itself. The sense of adventure, having fun, and navigating unknown places give that exhilarating feeling. However, behind the aesthetic-esque, Instagram-worthy traveling pictures is well-thought-out planning in terms of destination, accommodation, transportation, activities, and others.

The aforementioned tips are just a few of the guides on how to have a memorable and successful trip. You can follow those or do research for more.

For travelers who are on a road trip and may pass on Easytrip toll gates, you may go to the nearest Easytrip installation sites for installation or registration of Easytrip RFID stickers.