How I Plan my Trips

May 17, 2026

By Raistlin van Spronsen

Every trip, no matter the reason needs planning from the dates, transportation, and accommodation. This guide will walk you through my process of planning my trips from pre-planning to arriving at my destination. 

How far in advance do I begin planning?

This is a very good question, for local getaways I usually begin planning 2-3 months before the trip as there is minimal planning as it’s usually a hotel reservation  and planning a ride to and from that place.

Trips that are your typical vacation I usually plan 6-8 months out to get the best prices in airfare, hotels and activities 

Longer, international and complex travel I begin around the 10-12 month to make sure I have everything in order. 

Make sure to have a checklist to make sure you don’t miss anything important (this goes for ALL trips) 

So what does my process in planning my vacation/travel look like, I have a 7-step process from pre-planning to actually arriving in your destination to enjoy your trip

Step 1: Choose Your Destination & Dates

Step 2: Set Your Budget

Step 3: Book Flights & Accommodation

Step 4: Plan a rough Itinerary

Step 5: Review all documentation

Step 6: Pack and Go

Step 7: Enjoy your trip  

Step 1: Choose your destination and dates

The first step to select your destination (where you are going to spend your vacation). There are many popular destinations across North America, Europe, Asia and even Oceania, it’s so hard to pick one destination. One thing I’ve considered doing is a multi-city trip (where you visit 2-3 places during your trip; this is highly depended upon how much time you’ve allotted for your trip) 

Once you’ve settled upon your destination, you need to also select your dates. This will be crucial when you are in the booking stage to get the best rates, book early

Step 2: Set Your Budget

Setting a budget will give you an idea of what kind of trip you can afford. Some trips will be more expensive than others.

My usual trips to Vancouver can range from $1000 to $1500 CAD, as I always stay with family significantly reducing my accommodation costs. I’ve had trips that cost more than that and others that have been way less. Ensuring you are keeping in your budget by selecting more affordable (budget friendly) hotels, staying with family, using public transit 

Step 3: Book Flights & Accommodations

Once your budget is set, you’ve selected your destination and dates. The time is now to book your flights and accommodations. There are a few options to book your trip and I’ve done all of them. 

For all research use a website such as Expedia to find all possible flight options (not just with a single airline) and hotel options all in one place based on your dates. When you are booking always book directly with the airline (3rd party bookings are more likely to be bumped if the flight is oversold) 

Again with hotels (if you are not staying at an Airbnb, VRBO or another short term rental) research using Expedia and then call that hotel directly (There’s a hotel in FSJ I once booked for $99 a night compared to the $139 quoted online because I called in and got a cheaper rate and spoke with the manager, you don’t always need a manager but he was the one that picked up my call) 

 

Step 4: Plan a rough itinerary

Once your flights and hotels have been booked and confirmed, now it’s time to begin planning your trip. A few tools I use are Lonely Planet travel guide, local tourism agencies, TripAdvisor, Wanderlog to name a few. 

Lonely Planet travel guides are published travel guides available at your local library (select countries depending on the curator), or their website available here while they mostly advertise their books for sale, there is a limited amount of infomation

Tripadvisor is another travel site full of information from hotels, activities, restaurants, and tours. It also is home to millions of reviews from travelers alike who have been to those locations you are planning to visit. 

The best resource for local information is local tourism agencies (simply Google tourism followed by destination city; add state/province for additional regional information as well) 

The final tool I use is an app/website called Wanderlog, it’s a site where I can build out my itinerary day-by-day to plan the entire trip from beginning to end

Step 5: Review Documentation

Once you’ve booked your trip and dates, you should review any documentation you need; passports, ETSA’s, and ETA’s as often they need to be completed a certain amount of time before leaving  

For local trips ensure you have valid ID for traveling (Provincial ID or drivers license. This will help with local flights, rental cars and checking into your hotel. 

It’s also advisable to purchase travel insurance as well. 

Step 6: Pack and Go

The final step before your actual trip is to pack for your trip. I use a handy packing list that I found on the internet (it can be customized to your trip) and have 2 copies; one at home and one in your suitcase so nothing is left behind before returning home

During the travel portion of your trip allow for extra time, arrive early, if you are able to check in online, skipping a step, especially at major hubs with no checked luggage you could essentially walk in and head right to security.

Step 7: Enjoy your trip

Lastly enjoy your trip! Whether you are on the beaches of Hawaii, hustle and bustle of Disneyland or the quietness of rural Dawson Creek, be sure to enjoy the trip and snap some photos (whether on your phone or if you brought a digital camera) 

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