If there is one thing I get asked constantly it’s how to plan a trip abroad! And the biggest misconception I hear is that traveling is really expensive. Sure, it can easily rack up if you’re choosing luxury hotels and eating at fancy restaurants; But no matter your budget, traveling can likely be within your means! So I’ve summarized the best ways to plan a trip abroad in 5 easy steps plus lots of tips and travel hacks. Everything from exchanging currency, finding great deals and planning a perfect itinerary. Read along!

Side note: Keep in mind that research is a huge part of planning a successful trip. The more research you do ahead of time, the less time you’ll spend figuring out what to do or where to eat during your vacation. Also, you don’t have to do these steps all at once. I usually spend a few weeks on each step!

1. Create a Budget

Creating a budget will set the foundation for your planning. If you come up with an overall dollar amount on how much you want to spend on the entire trip, it can help you figure out how many days you can travel, how luxurious you vacation can be and so on. Since hotel and airfare usually take up the largest sum of the budget, you’ll want to look into the websites below for help finding flights and hotels at great prices. I honestly don’t know how people traveled prior to the internet (kidding!) but I rely heavily on certain websites to find the best deals for flights and hotels. Here is a list of my favorites:

Websites

One of the best features of Skyscanner is the everywhere search. If you put in your home airport into the from field, you can then select everywhere in the to field. If you are flexible, instead of selecting specific dates, select the whole month. You will get results of the cheapest flights all over the world from your home airport.

There are also what are called glitch fares. These generally don’t last long, but if you are lucky enough to score one, your flight or hotel can cost as little as a penny! The best way to be notified of current glitch fares and travel deals from your home airport in general is to subscribe to Secret Flying and The Flight Deal emails. Priceline is great for hotels and car rentals! Their bidding feature can help you score great deals. And to become a Priceline bidding expert, Better Bidding and Bidding for Travel are great for learning how to work the site and to see what people have paid for hotels in specific cities.

Travel Hacking

I’m a huge fan of using credit card points for travel. If you’re new to travel hacking, I strongly recommend you visit The Points Guy and join the Award Travel 101™ Facebook group for great insight and information. I am so far from an expert and pretty new to this but we’ve traveled internationally quite a bit for a fraction of the cost of a single flight. My favorite card for points is the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card which has lots of additional perks. The key is to be responsible. I use credit cards to buy the things I normally buy and simply pay off the balance each month.

2. Choose a Country

The second step is deciding where to go or narrowing it down to a few places. If there is a place you are pinning to visit, research the best time of the year to visit. Some parts of the world get very crowded with tourists during high season and this can usually drive costs up a bit. So often times we will consider visiting during shoulder season, the time between high and low season. Weather is usually still ideal during shoulder season but the costs and crowds have diminished a bit. Other things to consider are vaccine requirements, safety and ease to get there (i.e. is the nearest airport hours away?).

A great way to narrow down your choice is to decide on what kind of trip you’re looking to have. Are you planning a family vacation? Or is it more of a romantic getaway? With a bit of research, you’ll quickly find out if the destinations you have in mind are fit for you. Another great idea is to ask around! Buy a frequent traveler friend cup of coffee or a beer and pick their brain. Or join Facebook groups and ask for recommendations! One of my favorites is Tiny Globetrotters, which is targeted towards parents that travel with their littles!

3. Choose Accommodations

I know some people don’t care too much about where they are staying since the idea is to spend more time exploring and little time in the hotel room. Though there is nothing quite like coming back to a nice, clean hotel room after a long, exhausting day. But that doesn’t mean they have to be 5 star hotels to be clean and pretty. Some of our favorite hotels have been inexpensive hidden gems. Read reviews from previous travelers on sites like hotels.com and Booking.com to choose hotels. I filter within our budget and research all hotels in the area. A quick read can tell you if the hotel is under construction, if the beds are comfortable or if the front desk staff is friendly. Besides aesthetics, the main things to consider when choosing your accommodations are these:

Location – Is it near all the main attractions? Is it walkable or do they offer free shuttle to local attractions? Is public transportation nearby? If it’s near all the attractions, is it loud at night?

Ammenities – Is breakfast included? Do they have a pool? Does it offer free parking (if you’re renting a car)? Is the front desk available 24 hours a day? For parents traveling with little ones, do they provide cribs?

Cost – My rule of thumb is that I usually choose the highest guest rating hotel in our budget. I also often sacrifice amenities for location since we love to wake up and wander the streets. But sometimes staying a bit farther from the popular areas will offer wallet-friendly hotel prices. If you are staying more than 3 nights, ask if they have any promotions such as 4th night free. Of course, if you have points with certain hotels such as IHG or Marriott then you definitely want to see if they have any hotels at your destination.

And if there are different parts of town you’d like to visit, it may be worth splitting the nights in different areas. And of course, if you prefer a more private setting or are traveling in big groups, sites like Airbnb and VRBO are worth checking out. We’ve stayed at some true gems that we’ve found through these sites so I never dismiss them.

4. Choose Your Side Trips

Planning a multi-city trip abroad is easier than it sounds. Many airlines offer multi-city or open jaw flights (read more about these here) and often times for the same cost as a simple round trip flight. We recently flew from Texas to Portugal, Portugal to France and France back to Texas for the same amount of points as if we had flown from Texas to France and back.

Once you have an idea as to how many days you plan to be at each destination, you can see if it’s worth going for a long or short of a period. Sometimes you’ll need more days than the ones you have allocated to really see and appreciate a place so it might be worth postponing until your next visit. For example, during our recent week-long road trip through northern Italy we opted not to visit Rome only because friends and family strongly recommended we stay at least 3 days to see it all. Since we didn’t allocated that much time for it, we put it off for a future visit.

5. Choose Excursions

The way I narrow down what things we want to do is first I write down everything there is to do in a city.  I read up on the reviews and tips from previous travelers to get an idea of what’s worth it and what’s worth skipping. Sites like yelp, travel blogs and trip advisor always offer great tips and suggestions! I also look at the cost of each activity, distance from the other stuff I want to do and duration. Be sure to take a peak at Groupon for deals.

The biggest thing I’ve learned when planning side trips and excursions is to leave room for R&R. We like making the most of our vacations so we try really hard to balance fun and relaxation. Traveling can be exhausting and if you have a tightly-packed schedule, you may easily burn out. One of the things we love doing most during our travels is sitting in an outdoor cafe people watching or just wandering the streets or even lounging by the hotel pool. It’s tempting to want to see and do as much as possible but it isn’t worth if you’re exhausted.

Chris and I are major foodies so we always have a list of places we want to eat at in each city. This is our favorite way to emerge ourselves in the culture of the place we are visiting. We also ask just about everyone (i.e. our hotel concierge, taxi drivers or locals) for recommendations! And we almost always avoid restaurants full of tourists or with pictures of food on their menus!

Other Things to Consider

Paying for stuff

A lot of places don’t accept credit or debit cards. You definitely want to have some local currency cash available prior to your trip abroad. In my opinion, the best place to get the best exchange rates is your bank or credit union. If you wait to do it at the airport or in a foreign country, you may end up paying extra in fees and getting an exchange rate that is less than favorable.

Get Global Entry!

It has many great features for international travel and saves lots of time and headaches!

Traveling with Baby?

Be sure to read this post on everything you need to know before flying with an infant!

Luggage Size & Weight Limits

Luggage weight and size limits differ in each country. Be sure to research the limits of each of the airlines you will be traveling with, particularly if you are taking carry-ons. And read this post for great travel and packing hacks.