The Siberian American: Guest Post: How to Plan for a Trip

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Guest Post: How to Plan for a Trip

Today, I'm excited to have Julie from Say Yes to Happy share how she plans for a trip. I love seeing how other people do their planning, so I was interested in what she had to say. Thanks for guest posting, Julie!

Recently I saw that Olya was looking for guest bloggers and I emailed her to see if she'd be interested in me talking about traveling and how I plan my trips, and she graciously accepted! So here I am today! Hi my name is Julie and I blog over at Say Yes to Happy. I like to blog about my life, travels, what I'm reading and I also love getting to know other people through my interview series. With Olya off on her own trip I though it'd be fun to share how I go about planning my trips.
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I absolutely love to travel. It is one of the things I am passionate about. I know that I will be traveling for the rest of my life to places near and far. I have a major case of wanderlust. I always get excited to go on a trip and I always feel a little melancholy when I'm coming down from the high of traveling. I've been to a lot of places but still have so many places still on my bucket list. I am dying to get over to Europe and see Paris, London, Rome, Venice, Lucerne, etc. Some of my favorite places I've been to are Alaska, Togo, Chicago (my hometown!) and the national parks. I've been to Zion, The Arches, Yellowstone, Yosemite, the Sequoias, the Badlands, Mount Rushmore, Estes Park, etc. 9
One of my favorite parts of traveling is the planning stages. I love to look online to search for things I shouldn't miss. My go to sources are Pinterest, Google, Lonely Planet, and other blogs! I usually type in Must See in (Name of City/state/country) and then I map it out on GoogleMaps and see how far apart the places are. pinterest paris
I also like to look up high recommended restaurants and coffee shops. I love seeing local coffee shops that have character and a muffin or bagel. :) Don't get me wrong, I love Starbucks as much as the next girl, but I like support local businesses too. And it's fun to see places that are special to that specific location. I make to do list or things I need to buy or pack to make sure I don't forget anything. I always pack reading materials, like magazines I haven't had time to read, and whatever book I'm reading at the moment. And I love bringing my journal to write in on the way to get to the destinations.
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I also make sure to reach out to friends and bloggers and ask for suggestions of places I shouldn't miss. The blogging community has been so supportive and awesome and I'm so happy to be a part of it. I'd love to hear how you guys plan your trips and your tips and tricks! Thanks again so much for having me here today Olya! Chicago

5 comments:

  1. I always make a googleMaps plan too. It's so helpful to look at where all of the activities you want to do are. That way you can figure out transportation in advance :)

    Sarah
    Midwest Darling

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  2. "I usually type in Must See in (Name of City/state/country) and then I map it out on GoogleMaps and see how far apart the places are" <-- This is EXACTLY how I plan :) And then my husband is usually in charge of finding good restaurants that fit into my map ha

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  3. Love this. I plan like this a lot too. It is just such a great way to do it.

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  4. I love seeing where other bloggers visit on their vacations and what sort of things were their favorites to do, and where they enjoyed eating! I usually create huge pinterest boards and then start planning on my excel spreadsheet!

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  5. I haven't been on many trips without my parents, but I will definitely be utilizing Pinterest and Google (and I need to remember Lonely Planet) for future trips! Oh and I will definitely ask what I should do in blog posts for future trips too. :)

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