It always feels amazing to step out of our day-to-day lives and live like someone else for a few days. It can be a short trip to a neighboring town. Or it can be flying half-way around the world to spend a month in another country. I’m here to show you how I plan.

Going on a weekend trip doesn’t require as much planning but I still like to have some idea of what I’ll be doing. All trips still have three common factors: Transportation, Accommodations, and Things to do (“TAT” for short).

Transportation

Are you driving there or taking a plane? Have you considered taking the train or bus instead?

There is no right or wrong answer. In my opinion, decide if the journey will be part of your trip.

If you are trying to get there in a hurry or the distance is extremely far, a plane is mostly likely your best option. If you are trying to save money and have time to spare, driving may be your best option.

I’ve seen that sometimes the train ticket can cost almost as much as a plane ticket. It’s perfect, though, for someone who really wants to get to see the sights and experience a small taste of the places they are travelling though. Bus rides usually help you travel long distances with a small budget. There are also a lot of deals to be found to keep the trip in whatever budget you have.

Accommodations

Do you have friends at your destination you can stay with? Will you be staying at a hotel? Are you the more adventurous type and booking an Air BNB or hostel?

Having friends with enough space to host you at a destination is always something to look forward to. Once you know you don’t have friends that can host you, think about looking at the types of accommodations available where you’re headed. Maybe there are no hotels. Once, when visiting Prince Edward Island in Canada I realized there were not many hotels, only cabins. Establish what’s there and book ahead of time so it’s not all booked up and you have to sleep in your car in front of the hotel (true story).

Things to do

Is this going to be a trip where you plan on seeing all the major landmarks? Do you just want to relax? Or do you want to travel to where all the locals go? Knowing your goal will help you know what you want to do. I prefer to do a mix of all three. And think about shopping too. We can’t forget shopping. Shopping  and choosing items I’ll use day to day always makes me feel like I’m taking a part of the place I travel to home with me.

Try these tips and let me know any other things you keep in mind when you travel.