In this series of "The Beginner's Guide to Travel", I would go through all the nitty-gritty of planning a holiday. To travel is a luxury at a huge cost. Not only would you need to put time aside to plan; you would also have to spend some money. So, for the first part, you would learn to plan a trip.

Sometimes, people ask me how do I plan a trip? I usually am not a planner. I hardly plan trips. When I plan a trip, this is how my thought process would be like because the budget is my top-most priority. If a trip is too costly, I would travel to another country or not travel at all. 

1. Start Thinking! 

It’s simple. Start asking yourself these 3 questions: 

• Where do you desperately want to visit? 

• Which season do you want to visit the place? 

• How can I save money for this trip?

The reason why you need to know which country and the season that you want to go is because you can then set aside a comfortable budget. The expenses vary according to the season that you want to travel. If you live in tropical Asia, like Singapore, the cost of travelling to a country in the winter would cost you a bomb because you would need to shop for winter clothing. 

2. Start Researching 

Now that you know where and when you want to go, you can start to do a bit of research so that you can set aside a decent budget for your trip. How do you go about to do your research? Let’s use Japan as a case study, and you want to see the cherry blossoms. 

These are the five areas which I would advise you to start researching on: 

• Price of air tickets

• Price of hotels 

• Is the travel period a peak season for tourist? 

• Transport cost 

• Average cost of the meals 

This is an example of the research and cost breakdown based on my personal experience:

• Budget airline ticket including 20kg baggage: $500++ (cost of air ticket, bought at least 6 months in advance) 

• Air ticket (full-fledged carrier): $658++; Arrive in Narita Airport (cost of air ticket, bought at least 6 months in advance) 

• Hotel: $200+ per night (Based in Shinjuku, also at least 6 months in advance). No breakfast. No onsen. 

• Meals: $10 - $40 per meal 

• Transport: $300+, inclusive of JR pass for a week of travel in Japan. JR pass is an essential item if you are travelling from one city to another. Eg. Tokyo to Osaka.

Based on the above necessities, a trip to Japan could cost you easily $3500 onwards. The price excludes entrance fees to tourist attractions, shopping and misc fees. One reason why it’s so expensive to travel to Japan during Spring is that Japan is famous for the cherry blossom. 

So, now that you know you need this pool of money, it’s time to start saving. Or, if you think that $3500 is too much for a trip to Japan. You can opt to go to other countries like Korea and Taiwan, which has cherry blossom also. It cost slightly lesser to travel to Korea and Taiwan as compared to Japan. 

Know your priorities. Is it Japan that you want to visit or is it the cherry blossom that you want to see? If you desperately want to go to Japan, go during the off-peak season. If it’s the cherry blossom that you are after, opt for Taiwan.

PS: Read this post for more money-saving tips!

3. Stay Committed 

Once you have finalised your grand plan, it’s time to stay committed to it. Stop dragging, it would get you to nowhere. Let’s continue with the scenario that you want to see cherry blossom in Japan. Let’s say it’s the month of May now. This is a perfect timing. You have half a year to track the prices of the air ticket and accommodation, and a year to save money. It’s best to get the air tickets and the hotel as early as possible.

Pro Tips! 

1. You can book most hotels in Japan around 3 to 6 months in advance. Some hotels’ room could run out easily once it’s available for booking. I would recommend that you camp by the computer during the day when the rooms are made available for booking.

2. Compare prices of air tickets of both budget airline with full-fledged carriers. Sometimes, a full-fledged carrier has better pricing, and it includes, meals, luggage and entertainment.

3. Change the currency when it’s in your favour. You have plenty of time to track the money. You can save a few bucks with this method. Alternatively, get a multi-currency card. 

4. Plan Your Itinerary

Once you purchase the air ticket and accommodation, you can start to plan your itinerary, purchase your transport tickets and tour packages. I always like to get them early, as some countries’ public transport provide early bird prices. This is why I said planning is essential especially if budget is a concern. Purchase the warm clothing or other items that you need for the trip too. 

Now that you have completed the above 4 steps, congratulations! You can now think about the logistics and countdown to your trip! It may sound simple, but it takes a lot of effort to plan for a trip, especially if you want the money to work for you. 

Tip for People who Do Not Like to Plan!

Go through a travel agent and join a tour group. The booking of the air tickets, accommodation and itinerary would be prepared for you by the agent. Just follow instructions, and enjoy the trip. At times, I opt for this option, and totally enjoyed my time. 

Now that, you have finished reading this, there is no excuse for you not to travel, especially if you crave so deeply for it. You need to browse around, put in the effort and plan. Then, the trip would happen, and you can have a good break.

x, Esther

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Stay tune for Part 2!