The three steps in travel planning are:

• Where to go

• Where to stay

• How to get the

Destination

First, figure out where to go. To do this, you need to consider factors such as:

Climate

• Temperature - what are your high and low desired temps

• Do you prefer dry or humid climate

• Geography - mountains, desert, sea

Personal Safety

• Numbeo.com can be used to check a variety of safety factors in any destination and can be used to compare 2 destinations

• Government websites list safety issues for travel

Cost of Living

• Numbeo can also be used to look at detailed information for cost of living in a destination

• Search for neighborhood articles

  • Google search on "what neighborhoods to live in __"

  • Choose best areas for your travel purpose and use that as a guide for accommodations

Accommodations

Decide what type of accommodation you need. This can vary from a dorm room in a hostel, a private room and bath, a studio with kitchenette, hotel room, or full apartment.

When you start the search, specify your absolute needs. For me, they are wi-fi, a washer, and at least a kitchenette.

Typical search tools include:

• airbnb

• booking.com

• hotels.com

• vrbo.com

• spotahome.com

• Couchsurfers

• host a Sister Facebook page

Sometimes a more creative approach can result in the perfect place. I have successfully used these four strategies a number of times with success.

• Facebook groups in the destination area

• Google Maps

  • Open to desired area and expand until small businesses appear

  • Find apartment complexes and small hotels, contact the directly

• Property managers

  • Contact them to ask if they have clients who may want to to do a short term rental

• Online real estate ads

  • Place free ad in real estate section

  • Be concise: retired, non-smoking, single female seeking fully furnished home from __ to __

Travel

Options

What are the options for getting to your destination? Consider:

• Cost

• Layovers

• Country layovers with transit visas

• Transfers for buses and trains

• Extra costs, especially airlines, but also transit to the apartment or hotel by taxi, shuttle, etc

Resources

For Flights, trains buses, ferries, these are reliable resources:

• Rome2rio.com - gives all options for getting to a destination

• Google flights to start search for airlines going to your destination and average costs

• Worldwideroutes.com - what destinations each airline flies to, to help plan route

• Man in Seat 61 (seat61.com) - for train travel

• Flixbus - great for long distance buses

• Use third party searches to find a good flight, then contact the airline directly to book

  • Airline may have better price, though not always

  • Sometimes it’s easier to deal with cancellations and refunds directly with the airline, though a third party company may offer assistance, especially for flight changes at the last minute

• Third party agents often used:

  • Kiwi

  • Sky Scanner

  • Kayak

  • Momondo

  • Justfly

  • Jetlagged

These are some of my favorite strategies and tools for travel planning that save me a lot of time and a lot of frustration. I hope they can be helpful to you. As I discover new ones, I will add them. If you know of any that I missed, please let me know and I will add them as well.