9 Travel Planning Tips By, K. J. Updated 2025
Planning a vacation can be exciting, but it also comes with challenges. Whether you’re a seasoned traveler or planning your first trip, these 9 tips will help you make the most of your travel experience while keeping stress at bay. Plus, we’ll share the one mistake you must avoid to ensure your trip is truly rewarding!
We love the whole travel process, from the early planning stages to the actual trip, but things never go exactly as planned. Having a skillset to help deal with different travel scenarios that may come up will help you enjoy the journey and not stress over the variations in details.
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9 Travel Planning Tips List:
No matter your vacation destination, these 9 travel planning tips for almost every trip can help you get the most out of travel and keep stress to a minimum.
- 9 Travel Planning Tips List:
- Tip 1: Research for a Successful Trip (research is the key to a great trip)
- Tip 2: Embrace Planning — Or Travel with Someone Who Does
- Tip 3: Start with a Local Food Tour First
- Tip 4: Explore Destinations with Walking Tours or Pub Crawls early on in the trip.
- Tip 5: Don’t Underestimate Hop-On, Hop-Off Bus Tours (I know this sounds "touristy", but hear me out)
- Tip 6: Stay Flexible with Your Plans – but be open to change
- Tip 7: Schedule Downtime on Your Trip to Recharge
- Tip 8: Be Mindful and Respect Local Customs and Traditions
- Tip 9: Capture the Trip Memories with Photos and Videos
- What is the 1 thing to avoid on a vacation?
- Final Thoughts
- Travel Resources
- Related Posts
Tip 1: Research for a Successful Trip (research is the key to a great trip)
Research is the foundation of any great trip. Knowing your destination inside and out will help you:
- Discover hidden gems and must-visit spots.
- Learn the layout of the area to save time.
- Avoid missing out on unique local experiences.
Start with the official tourism websites (Louisiana Dept. of Tourism has a great example) and local blogs to uncover both popular and lesser-known attractions. Check transportation options, holiday schedules, and even local customs to ensure a smooth trip. Don’t forget to read recent reviews from trusted travel sites!
Pro Tip: Use local newspapers and community forums to find events and experiences that aren’t advertised to tourists.
- It’s great to make a wish list of all of the locations within a destination that you would like to visit and plan out the logistics.
- Next, find out about transportation options and schedules, look at holidays and if things will be open during the visit, and learn a little history or unique facts on the locations that you are planning on visiting. I also look for non-touristy things that are going on during the time of the visit.
- I also usually read reviews on trusted travel websites just to get an idea of recent experiences.
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Tip 2: Embrace Planning — Or Travel with Someone Who Does
Having a plan can help you make the most of your time, especially on short trips. While spontaneous adventures are great, having a loose itinerary ensures you won’t miss out on key experiences.
Key Things to Plan:
- Transportation and accommodations
- Must-see attractions
- Dining reservations for popular spots
If planning isn’t your strength, travel with someone who loves it. They can handle the logistics while you enjoy the journey.
Pro Tip: Bundle your flights and hotels for better deals. Use travel budget calculators to estimate your trip expenses. Flight + Hotel Deals Under $400
- Having a plan is just a guideline for the journey and not an unchangeable script. It’s especially important (for me) for shorter vacations so that everything can be organized into a short time without feeling overwhelmed.
- I am the planner in my family and travel-friend group, and it is one part of the travel process that I love so I don’t mind doing it. I know others who just like to “go with the flow” and let experiences happen and that is a totally awesome way to experience travel too.
- A plan also helps evenly space the activities so that it doesn’t feel tiring or get boring. If this is not your style of travel that is okay! It is still important to plan out how you will get to your destination, hotel reservations, flights, and when you will go so even if you “go with the flow” there is still a level of planning that must be done to make the trip happen.
- We also have a Free Easy Travel Budget Calculator to help you find out how much you’ll need for your trip!
Tip 3: Start with a Local Food Tour First
Food tours are a fantastic way to:
- Get a “lay of the land” early in your trip.
- Discover local cuisine and hidden dining spots.
- Meet other travelers and locals for recommendations.
Many food tours also include historical tidbits, giving you a deeper connection to the destination.
- You may also see other points of interest that you’re interested in trying out.
- My husband and I have met many other couples and families that we wound up going to other places together or sharing information on what we should try and do during the trip. Vacation collaboration or gaining tips from others is great!
Some of our favorite food tours that we have done:
- Key West Cultural Food Tour – We repeat this food tour every time we are in Key West!
- Austin: Hill Country BBQ & Wine Shuttle Food Tour – This was a great way to get started in Austin!
- Charleston: Small Group Food Tour – Savor the Flavors – One of our favorite food tours we had a great group!
- New York: Chelsea Market & High Line Food & Culture Walking Tour – This was a fantastic food tour!
Tip 4: Explore Destinations with Walking Tours or Pub Crawls early on in the trip.
Similar to food tours, guided walking tours or craft cocktail crawls can help you:
- Learn local history and culture.
- Discover off-the-beaten-path spots.
- Connect with fellow travelers.
Tip: If you prefer self-guided adventures, check out DIY tours online. For instance, our free self-guided cocktail tour in New Orleans is a hit with travelers!
- It’s a good way to meet people and have fun in the safe environment of a group in an unfamiliar city.
- Learn tidbits about the destination that you may not have known otherwise.
- In Key West, this Tiki Cocktail Tour was so much fun and we met a great group of fellow travelers to do other activities with all week.
Tip 5: Don’t Underestimate Hop-On, Hop-Off Bus Tours (I know this sounds “touristy”, but hear me out)
- It’s a great way to further get a feel for the layout of the city and have the freedom to jump off and see the places you want to see while having transportation if it’s a little outside of walking area.
- On a short trip to New York, this was a great way to get around and hit so many attractions that were not in walking distance to the hotel. (this is the one we used in New York: NYC Sightseeing Pass 1 Pass to 90 NYC Attractions – We used the 3-day pass version and the hop on hop off bus was included as well as tons of attractions so it definitely saved us money.
- We used this in Paris as well and covered so much more ground than just walking in the center.
- Another thing to consider is that the hop on hop off bus services have many pick up and drop off spots so choose a hotel next to a stop to make finding a close stop easier.
Tip 6: Stay Flexible with Your Plans – but be open to change
No trip goes exactly as planned. Weather changes, attractions close, and unexpected opportunities arise. Staying flexible will help you:
- Avoid stress when plans fall through.
- Seize unexpected opportunities for fun.
- Keep a positive mindset when things go awry.
Tip: Always check cancellation policies and have backup activities ready. Flexibility is key to a rewarding travel experience.
- Even the most well-planned trip has some deviation from the plan and that can be a source of some unexpected great times.
- I get it, planning is really hard work and once it looks like everything falls into place and you’ve thought of “everything”, put it on the spreadsheet, dreamed of how the trip will go, etc. some unexpected thing occurs and adjustments need to be made. Being open to this will help your sanity and keep things going smoothly.
- Having to deviate from the plan is also a great way to find hidden gems!
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Tip 7: Schedule Downtime on Your Trip to Recharge
Vacation burnout is real! Make sure to:
- Schedule a day (or at least an afternoon) to relax.
- Avoid overloading your itinerary with back-to-back activities.
- Allow yourself time to recharge and truly enjoy your trip.
Example: On a recent trip to Key Largo, we dedicated a day to relaxing on our balcony. It was one of the most memorable parts of the trip!
- Vacation meltdowns happen usually because someone is too tired or gets a little cranky because of always being on the go (it has happened to me as well). Your body also needs some rest after going all-out on the sightseeing for a few days.
Tip 8: Be Mindful and Respect Local Customs and Traditions
Being respectful of local culture enhances your travel experience. It shows:
- Appreciation for the destination’s heritage and preservation.
- Respect for local residents.
- Your willingness to be a mindful traveler. Knowing what is expected or the “norm” of the area helps you avoid looking like the rude tourist.
- This is a good practice whether you’re traveling in the United States or abroad.
- Make researching local customs and traditions a goal during the initial vacation research on your chosen destination.
Tip 9: Capture the Trip Memories with Photos and Videos
Documenting your trip with photos and videos helps you:
- Relive the memories for years to come.
- Share your experiences with friends and family.
- Create beautiful mementos for your home.
You don’t need a fancy camera — your smartphone is enough! Organize your photos after your trip to keep the memories fresh and easily accessible.
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- The best way to remember everything about a trip is to take photos so that you can look back at the things that made your trip great.
- I like to organize them after the trip so that I kind of have a flow of the way the trip went so if I ever return it’s easy to know what places I loved and want to revisit or things that weren’t the greatest and don’t want to revisit.
What is the 1 thing to avoid on a vacation?
Rigid Expectations.
The biggest mistake you can make is sticking too rigidly to your plans. Travel is full of surprises — some good, some not so good. Being adaptable ensures you can handle anything that comes your way.
Here’s why:
- Plans change, and that’s okay.
- Unexpected moments often become the best memories.
- Flexibility keeps stress levels down.
Remember: Travel is an adventure. Embrace the unexpected, and you’ll find joy in the journey.
- Travel catastrophes happen, plans get cancelled, people in your group may not all be on the same page and not cooperate, and many other unplanned things may appear.
- This is where the “go with the travel flow” attitude will help and being flexible as well as having back up options when things don’t go as planned will save a ruined trip.
Final Thoughts
These travel planning tips are designed to help you reduce stress and maximize enjoyment. While every traveler has a different style, a little preparation goes a long way in creating memorable and rewarding trips.
Happy travels — and don’t forget to enjoy the journey!
Travel Resources
- Getting around New York City is much easier with Big Bus Hop on Hop off Tours and I really got to see things that otherwise would have been out of walking distance.
- In Austin, the BBQ and Wine shuttle tour was the only way that we got to visit this wonderful wine country area. I also want to return to the winery for a B&B stay next time.
- If your travels bring you to Louisiana, check out our new article on the Best Haunted Places in New Orleans
- We also have a list of Free Things to do in Orlando on a Trip!
- More tips in our post on what to do in Key West if you only have a day.
- If you are looking for travel tips on Beautiful Napa Valley wineries we have a great new article!
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