I thought I’d write a blog to all on my point of views and tips when planning for a big holiday or just a trip for 2 weeks or so. When I plan for a trip I have 5 major things I note down and carefully consider before take a course of action and book it all.

Itinerary:

We need to firstly plan which destinations we would like to go and get a rough idea of what we want in a holiday. When planning for a big trip lets just say in Europe, getting around the Continent can be quite pricey if travelling by plane, if we want to do all the main places like Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany, Spain or even The Netherlands many alternative ways of transport are available like the Euro Train or even busses.

The most common ways people like to do Europe is with a Tour Company these companies provide accommodation, transport, most meals, included activities and of course an experienced trip leader who can speak many different language in area where English is not spoken. Many of these things can be organise alone on the internet but I highly recommend going through a travel agent and using Debbie Bean at Travel Managers if your planning on going on a trip 4 or more weeks and want to go to several destinations as she can provide packages which include a lot of transfers and hotel/accommodation deals.

Money:

People commonly ask themselves how much money do I need when I go away? Well in my opinion it depends on what you plan on doing which could include: Shopping, Activities, Tours or Going out to Fancy Restaurants. If you are going to Europe for a month you would wanna allow yourself at least $8,000 AUD and you don’t need to spend it all. Or if your going for 2 weeks cut it back to $4,000 AUD.

In the past I have used a Qantas Cash debit card would allows me to pre-load 10 foregin currencies and lock in exchange rates, I also earn 1.5 Qantas Frequent Flyer points for everyone $1 AUD or equivalent. Saving money isn’t always easy depending on your lifestyle but relying on a Credit Card isn’t always the safest option as you will pay interest rates on top of what you have spent, so before considering a credit card think of ways you can change your everyday life to save and have a trip of a life time because coming home in debit isn’t ideal and a poor way to come home from an excellent vacation.

Luggage/Personal Items:

Ok Girls, Don’t overpack your suitcase! It just makes it worse if your planning on buying a whole lot of clothes and you can avoid paying for oversized luggage.

If your going for a month pack 5 of everything (t-shirts, shorts, pants, light jumper) because you can do washing over there, if your heading somewhere cold pack thermals and lots of warm jackets, Trip Advisor has a great page for tips on what to pack also (click here) . For shoes bring 1 pair of runners, thongs and a pair of neat casual shoes if you decide to out somewhere fancy.

For your toiletries I suggest buying travel size amenities you can fit them easily in your travel bag and they don’t take a lot of room – just don’t bring aerosols on the plane as they are flammable.

Electronics/Power Adaptors:

This is always gonna be the biggest topic of them all – Our Personal Electronics, because we all need to share our pictures and videos with the world on social media. Wi-Fi is everywhere you go when travelling but there will be times when it can be out of reach so then we rely on our Cellular Network.

If you decide to Roaming from your Local Network Provider remember heavy charges will apply, please review your networks international roaming chargers before travelling aboard.

Carriers in Australia like Optus provide customer $10 a day travel packs that include unlimited calls and texts to Australia as well as 100MB of Data in Zone 1 Countries only (click here) to check it out. Other carriers in Australia like Telstra, Vodafone and Virgin also have similar packages for international travel you will need to get in contact with them for more information or check out there websites.

Another option which I highly recommend is buying an International Sim Card from Datago.co they are an Australian based company in Melbourne selling international sim cards from all different countries giving many options and reasonable prices for your trip.

Insurance:

Now this topic is a very important one because is it HIGHLY RECOMMENDED you purchase travel insurance for anytime you travel away from home. 

Say for intense you lost luggage or needed medical attention if insurance wasn’t covering you high charges will apply that cannot be claimed back in Australia. A great way to compare insurance is to go to Compare the Market – (click here) for more important and compare different deals offered in Australia.

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I hope this information has been more then useful for you, if you would like to get in contact with me for more questions please (click here) and complete the form and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

Peace Out.

TZULS 😛