Last week, we talked about the “why” of travel—that undeniable itch to see the world. But we know that for many people, the “how” is what stops them cold.
After 27 years of planning trips, we have learned that the biggest hurdle is almost always overload. You open a browser, type in “best places to visit in Europe,” get 45 million results, get overwhelmed, and close the laptop.
If you want to turn “someday” into a boarding pass, you have to simplify the initial process. Forget the minute-by-minute itinerary for now. You just need three pillars.
1. Pick Dates (and lock them in) Don’t say “sometime next summer.” Look at your calendar and block out specific weeks. Request the time off work. Once the dates are real, the trip becomes real.
2. Pick a General Destination Don’t worry about specific cities yet. Just narrow it down. “Italy” is better than “Europe.” “The Caribbean” is easier to manage than “Somewhere warm.” We have found that keeping a list of countries that we have visited and those that we haven’t yet visited (but want to) is a great way to figure destinations out.
3. Book the Big Thing This can be a big thing for many to actually click the “book now” button and enter your credit card information. It’s a step in the process, and for us, when you pay in most cases it sets a timer where you can decide “was this the right thing or not?” (some refer to this as buyer’s remorse). The feeling we get after we make a booking normally decides if it was the right thing, but – and check the fine print – if you get a different feeling, you can normally cancel without penalty within 24 hours.
As simple as this image looks, circling those dates changed our mindset from “dreaming” to “doing.” Once the big ticket item is booked, the rest is just details. You now have a target to look forward to, and this is where most of the fun starts to happen.
Next week, we’ll talk about how to start to fill in those details like a pro, and turn your dates into the experience you will have when those dates arrive.
What is your biggest hurdle when starting to plan a trip?
