Planning your trip

First of all, we love the planning process, almost as much as the trip. Lots of research goes into most of our trips, but we are also learning to just pick a destination and then start the planning. 

Travel blogs, designated travel Facebook groups and personal friends are a great place to start.  Using others' experiences can help you effectively plan a trip. From when you need to buy tickets ahead, to what time of day is best for a tour, to where to go, to finding small group tours that aren't on tourism sites, to the best place to enter attractions, to restaurants, and many, many, more tips, doing your own research makes the best out of each destination.

Google flights is where we almost alway start and then we always book directly though the airlines, always checking different dates, airlines and surrounding airports for the best options. Lately, we have had good luck with one-way tickets and flying into one airport and out of another. It is a lot of work but we find the best options that work for us.

Business/First Class vs Economy: Well we really only have one answer, we fly economy! When the cost of two  business/first class tickets can pay for another trip, we always choose another trip vs. the comfort of one trip. We do usually choose a ticket that allows us to select seats but not always, especially if it is a quick flight and more expensive.  Airline status and airline credit cards help with this and baggage fees.

As we are flying  out of a smaller airport, connection times are important!!! We have chanced it with a short layover and no checked bags, but we usually make sure to allow adequate connection times, especially when heading to our destination. And since our original airport is smaller and we have smaller planes, a lot of the time our carry-ons are checked at the gate, sometimes picked up at the gate and sometimes at baggage claim. We never know, so recently, we have been just checking a bag, unless it is a really quick trip.

Hotel or AirBnb....it really depends on the location and the experience we desire. Always read lots of reviews and book directly with the hotel or through AirBnb/VRBO. Check the cancellation policies. 

For us, it is almost always location, location, location as the priority. We want to be immersed in the location, whether is in the middle of the action or has an amazing view, location is always important to us. And we are thankful that we can make this a priority and budget for that.

Depending on the location, car rental, trains and public transit are all great options.  One-way rentals are worth looking into, if that helps your trip flow. 

If we are in a city, we try to go without a car and take public transport, taxis/ubers and we walk a lot. If we want to explore outside of the city, we will rent a car or taking a train from town to town is another favorite way to travel. Learning to navigate the roads and train stations adds to the travel adventure! 

If you are renting a car, investigate the parking options. Sometimes this is a challenge!!!

If you do choose to rent a car in a country be sure to look into whether you will need an international drivers license.  Some countries require these and they are easy to get for a small fee through AAA.   Note - these may NOT be required by your car rental provider but if you get in an accident it will be necessary if required by that country.  It's a small thing that can make your life a lot easier so get it if required.  

Travel Insurance: We use the benefits of our Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card. By paying for even part of the trip with your card, you have full coverage for your trip. And we have had to use it! We compared this coverage with other independent travel insurance plans and found this coverage is almost as good as paying extra for these plans and it is free!

Medical Insurance: When traveling internationally, we always get medical insurance. We use the website Insubuy.com to find the coverage that we want. It is usually pretty inexpensive. We now have chosen to get annual medical travel  insurance since we will be making multiple trips abroad every year.

Car Rental Insurance: This is a tricky one and we aren't consistent. If we are domestic, we usually use the coverage provided by our credit card/personal car insurance. If we are international, we sometimes use the credit card coverage and sometimes pay for full coverage. Some destinations we know there is more risk, so we just opt to pay for the coverage and know we can walk away. It's just a trip by trip decision!

Always have a budget!!! For us, having the money for each trip budgeted, allows us to enjoy our trip knowing we can afford it. We create a budget, sometimes based on monetary restrictions and sometimes we create a budget for what we want our trip to be, because we know we can afford it and we are making conscious choices. Make your budget realistic. If you want expensive meals and drinks at a fancy bar every night, plan for it. If you know you have a daily maximum, be conscious of your expenses throughout the day. Plan for your excursions and tours, don't let these be a surprise, because they can add up.

Knowing your expenses can be paid makes the trip much less stressful. The key here is knowledge and awareness. Hold yourself accountable to stay on budget!!! This way when you get back you aren't trying to figure out how to pay for the trip you just finished but you are planning for the next trip.

Again....budgeting, awareness, accountability are the key words!!! And the more you do this, the easier it gets to do it over and over again. You will learn!!

Find a hotel brand and be loyal because it eventually pays off. We have earned a lifetime status with Marriott, through business and leisure travel, that allows us late check out at 4 pm and lounge access or free breakfast. These benefits, along with the points, make travel much easier, and not to mention cheaper. And you will see we stay at a lot of Marriotts because of this!

We mainly use a Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card as our main credit card and always book our travel on it. From the travel insurance, rental car coverage, no international fees and of course, the points, this card is our day to day credit card. 

We sometimes use airline credit cards for the sign up bonuses, but don't stick to these unless they have benefits that consistently outweigh the annual fee.

But make sure you have frequent flyer accounts for all the airlines and hotels you use, eventually the points add up!

We love to create our own adventures but there are certain locations where a tour is indispensable! In these places, we like to find small tours on Airbnb experiences. Small tours allow a more personal experience and on some of these tours your tour guide is not a professional tour guide, but an archeologist or a PhD art student. Their expertise in an over-whelming location makes the experience come to life and most Airbnb tours are more personal than a general guided tour.

Take them! All of the pictures on this website we have personally taken, with the exception of one, and it will have a photo credit. And yes, we take selfies, posed pics and group pics, too, but we aren't sharing them here. If you know us, you know we love to share those pics!

Be patient! Sometimes waiting a few seconds will result in a pic without anyone else in it, change the angle and it may look like no one else is there, make sure the lighting and angles are good for pictures of you.  Taking a few minutes to get the perfect pic is sometimes worth it!

Pictures are important to us and we do take the time to ensure good photos, as they do last a lifetime and help you remember your experiences. But we also are learning to snap the good pic and then enjoy our environment with our eyes and not through a screen. Sometimes you don't get the pic, but being present will still last a lifetime. Find your balance!

At this time, we find it convenient to use our ATT International Plan, which charges a daily rate (discounted for additional lines) and caps out at a monthly maximum. Being able to switch the phones on and go, with access to our email, current phone number and maps is worth the extra cost for us. No stopping for SIM cards or disposable phones saves us a lot of time. When we first starting traveling, we did just use wifi, but it is worth the cost for us now.

We have never felt unsafe, but we are smart. Wallets in front pockets and crossbody purses are essential. And in crowded places and public transport, always be aware and keep a hand on your items. 

AirTags: DEFINITELY put AirTags in your luggage!!! This has saved us by allowing us to retrieve our "lost luggage".

Luggage Size: Be mindful of luggage size AND weight, especially if traveling abroad. Some airlines are very restrictive, especially the weight of your carry-on, and they do weigh them.

Luggage Storage: Storing luggage at a train station is an option readily available, especially in Europe! There are also stores in cities that will store luggage for you. It is worth the small cost and so you can explore with no baggage! 

Maps: We use Google maps and Maps.Me. Make sure to download your maps before you get to your destination.  Even with cell service, we have relied on our downloaded Maps.Me maps to navigate when the cell service is not great, and this happens a lot! But otherwise, we use Google maps to navigate and find our way.

Communication: WhatsApp is a messaging app used by many international hotels, tour providers, restaurants and just about anyone for communicating via messaging. So, if you just have wifi, you can communicate and you can use your own phone number. Make sure to download and get your app set up before traveling so if someone wants to message you, you are all set.