5 ways to save time when planning travel

When planning a trip, whether it be for a night or for a month, it is always important to prepare. Don’t spend your time in utter chaos. See our tips for how to save time when packing and focus on the activities you love.

Create a Binder

If only travelling for a night, you might not need an entire binder, but it may be nice to have some sort of light itinerary sketched out. Schedule ahead and follow or a general idea of where you will be going.

For longer travel, create a binder with different tabs. Have a copy of your full itinerary, travel insurance information, flight information, hotel information, embassy locations and telephone numbers (for overseas travel). Also, remember to include a map of your destination city so that you can easily find your way around. This way, if something unexpected occurs, you have one place with all the information you need to complete a claims form and to keep track of details.

Pre-Print Boarding Passes

Pre-print your boarding passes or train tickets and have them in a special storage location. This will save an astronomical amount of time at the airport or train station, especially if you are running behind. If you are checking bags make sure there are no additional fees you need to pay, if there are, find out if you can pay ahead of time to reduce hassle at the airport. Additionally, check to make sure your bags are at an appropriate weight. Ensure, you are adhering to proper security limitations for your carry-on bags. Lastly, if possible, map out each airport you will be visiting. Some airports are rather large and you may have to visit many different areas. It will be helpful if you already know where you need to go and how much time you have to get there.

Pack Light

Nothing is worse than walking through an airport and needing to stop every few steps to fix your heavy duffel bag or take a rest because you can’t quite carry it. A good rule of thumb for packing (if you tend to pack heavy) is to lay out everything you want to take and then eliminate half of it. You would be surprised how often you can re-wear certain pieces. Take a clothes-freshening spray for multiple wears. Also, make sure you can actually carry your luggage by carrying it around your house for about 10 minutes. The last thing you want to do when you get to a new city with unfamiliar transportation is struggle to carry your bags to the hotel without toppling over. Also, don’t forget that you will want to bring home souvenirs, so pack enough room for those little trinkets.

Learn Your Modes of Transport

You may be shocked to find that the airport you arrive at is 45 minutes from your hotel (certainly not within walking distance!). Nothing is worse than hailing a cab, only to find out one trip takes up your entire transportation budget for the holiday. Save yourself time and money by researching the city, the distance from airport to hotel, and how you will be getting around the city during your stay.

The hotel concierge will be a great help in finding what you need, and getting you the best transportation deals if you are on a budget, but it’s always good to prepare for yourself. Grab a map of the local subway, find out the local taxi fares, and check to see if there is a free streetcar that will take you where you need to go.

If there will be one splurge for your entire trip, use it on transportation from your hotel to the airport on your final day (if your hotel does not provide a shuttle). You won’t want to have a morning flight with a 4 a.m. wakeup call, lugging your suitcases down the sidewalk in chilling temperatures. Give yourself the luxury of a taxi or car service, it will be well worth the cost.

Do the Research You Didn’t Think Of

You truly cannot prepare enough before going on a long trip. The more information you have the more smoothly your trip will go. Research wireless internet options, learn the local currency conversion rates, read up on local customs and, if you are going to a country that speaks another language, learn a few simple phrases to help you better communicate. And, above all, research your travel insurance options. There are a million things that can go wrong on a trip, don’t be liable for problems out of your control. Click around the youGo website for more information on why travel insurance is important.