Trip planning is an area of travel that can make or break your vacation. A successful trip starts with successful research. Successful research starts with finding resources that cater to your areas of interest. Areas of interest could include State or National Parks, hiking trails, shopping malls or souvenir shops, or historical sites, just to name a few. But how do you find all of these activities and things to do? Here are a few of my favorite resources:
Why do the work that I have already done for you? Look at for your destination at Savvy Sojourner and learn about hikes and all the things to see and do. It is a one stop shop for everything I have done at every place I have sojourned!
I like to use Pinterest as my first stop for trip planning. Just enter your destination and an overwhelming amount of pins will suddenly appear. The most popular activities for each destination will become clear by the amount of pins dedicated to them. At first Pinterest can be a tad overwhelming, but eventually you will find bloggers or webpages that are the most helpful and suit your interests. These will become your “go-to” resources when planning future trips. My one bit of advice is to take Pinterest in small bits at a time, because it can become very overwhelming!
Savvy Sojourner Tip: Make a list of the popular activities or destinations you find in your initial Pinterest searches and then research them further at a later time. Also keep a list of your favorite bloggers or websites to use for future trips!
Who knows a National Park better than a former Park Ranger? Ash is a former Park Ranger who knows a lot about National Parks. She know the best times to visit the parks and the insider things to see and do that get you away from the crowds. Her website includes trip planning guides and “Can’t Miss Lists” for many of the most popular parks. I love this resource and use it often!
If you love hiking in our National Parks, this is the resource for you! Amy & Pete Brahan, along with their children, travel to our National Parks and then write travel itineraries, hiking guides, and blog posts to help you navigate the parks with your family. The hiking guides give you a variety of trails, ranging from easy to difficult, so you can find just the right one for you. I have a hiking guide for every park we have visited and it is a MUST HAVE! Another bonus to this website is they also create custom-made travel posters from your photographs! It is an amazing souvenir for your home!
Trip Planning Tips
Start Planning Early! I generally plan our vacations a year in advance, so planning begins a year out…if not sooner. I also like to research destinations as soon as I hear about them, and then keep that research handy for when we decide to travel there. This “pre-planning” also helps in deciding on where we would like to travel each year. I can pull out my travel research and we can decide which place intrigues us the most!
Savvy Sojourner Tip: Keep a list of future travel destinations. When you have a few spare minutes, do a little research and find one or two things to see/do at each place. This list will give you ideas for where to go for your next vacation!
Stay Organized! Keeping all of your reacher organized can be difficult if you don’t have a system. I create boards on Pinterest for each travel destination. For those like me who still like to handwrite information, I keep a notebook that has sections for each destination. Whatever system works for you, keep your research (list of things to see and do at each destination) where you can access it and keep it organized for your trip.
Savvy Sojourner Tip: My favorite way to organize my research is in a traveler’s notebook. You can keep several small individual notebooks for each place you are researching in one accessible location. Once your trip is done, you can remove that notebook and replace it with a new one for a new destination!
Keep Your Ears and Eyes Open! As you are planning your trip keep yourself open for suggestions from others. Jot down place you would like to see as you scroll through your social media feed. Write down suggestions that friends or strangers give your for things to do. Look at where your social media friends are traveling and write them down. Be on the lookout and make notes for things to research for your own trip. Personal recommendations have led me to some of the most amazing destinations!
Savvy Sojourner Tip: Never limit how many activities to do at each place you visit. It is always better to have too many options of things to do than to not have enough. As a general rule I plan anywhere from 5-10 activities for each destination (depending on how long your stay is). More is always better!
When done correctly, trip planning is one of my favorite parts of a vacation. I love planning things to do and places to see…and then actually seeing and doing them with my family. There is so much satisfaction in planning a journey and then seeing it come to fruition. I hope these tips and resources will give you the same satisfaction on your next vacation!
