Planning for fun

Arinola has always wanted to travel. Growing up, she would stare at magazines and television shows and dream of herself in the far away lands she saw. She imagined that when she got older, there would be a lot of travel across the world in style. Reality of course, would be a little different and she would come to realize that travelling entails a lot more that just getting up to go.

Let’s face it, many of us cannot afford to take as many trips as we would like. Would that we were rich, and preferably multilingual *wistful sigh*. However, there are steps that can be taken to ensure you have the travel experience of your dreams. Let us examine them:

Saving:

The beginning of the year is a good time to decide on how much you need for travel and start saving for it. With the availability of many Fintech solutions for savings and investments, this should happen easily. Set a goal and a target (after some research on the possible costs) and save, save, save!

Organizing:

One cannot overemphasize the importance of organizing to planning a trip. It is important to know where you are going, what you are going to do there and what you need to get there. This entails booking, budgeting, vaccination, research, reservations and so on. If you are not very good at organizing, you might want to consider using a travel agency, it’ll cost you more, but you can sit back and relax.

Budgeting:

Travel and vacation is the fastest way to blow money. Trust me, I know. If you’re not careful, you’re going to spend more than your allotted vacation fund and you may find yourself broke afterwards, or worse, stranded! The best way is to draw up a budget on how much you are willing to spend on food, shopping, sightseeing and other activities. Try as much as possible to stick to it. It is also advisable that your budget includes a little amount for miscellaneous cause you never know!

Language & Culture:

This is a major factor that can make or break your travel experience especially if you have decided to visit a place with a different language and culture than where you are coming from. It would be prudent to familiarize yourself with the language and a bit of the culture of where you are visiting. You can pick up on basic phrases and words to get by using apps like Duolingo. You also need to learn some of the acceptable and otherwise social norms. For example, it is considered rude to point, tip or blow your nose in public in Japan. Therefore, to avoid causing unnecessary offense, do some research.

Packing:

Now that you have sorted out money, making arrangements, knowing how to say please and thank you in the local language, the next thing is to go enjoy your trip. Packing can be challenging to many people and deciding what to take or leave behind can be a task. The first thing to note when deciding on packing is the weather of your destination country at the time of your visit. Don’t pack bathing suits to Paris in December or sweaters to California in the summer. The next thing is to ensure that you’ve got the essentials: toiletries, personal effects and safety objects (like condoms and maybe pepper spray).  Finally, think of the activities you have planned and pack accordingly.

There are many considerations to be made when you decide to travel. However, the above listed should get you started in the right direction for a great experience.

What are you waiting for? Start planning that trip today!