Plan your travel and tours on your own…

… with just TripAdvisor and Skyscanner

After a couple of bad experiences with travel agents and tour companies, I tried planning a few trips on my own… and have stuck to this as my primary option since then.

1. Itinerary — get popular itineraries from tour companies — you will find 80% of the destinations to be common. You can even ask the travel agents a few questions and get specific inputs. Look up TripAdvisor to find top traveller-ranked things to do. You may also end up finding some unique choices.
2. Flights — once your destinations and dates are known, set up alerts on skyscanner.com. You can also give some flexibility on dates and chose nearby airports. I personally tend to prefer direct flights and avoid odd hours of travel — the money saved is not worth the discomfort.
3. Visa — for most countries you can apply for the visa online through VFSglobal.com. Some may require physical appearance, but the process is easy to schedule and complete. Note that photograph requirements may vary by country. You may need to submit your passport which will be stamped and mailed in, or there may be an e-visa that you just need to print out.
4. Accommodation— I usually start with TripAdvisor, which in turn leads me to deals on other websites like Booking.com, Agoda.com, etc. Always check out at least a couple of options — you may find a higher discount on the final booking site. Make sure to read the reviews filtered by your month of travel and your group (eg: travelling with children). Many hotels can be booked with no advance and free cancellations. Once you have a booking, you have a ‘local contact’ to help you with specifics on attractions, transport, food, etc. 🙂
5. Local Transport — Usually the hotels can be contacted for airport pick-up and drop. If you are comfortable driving in that country, you can use your existing driver’s license. Many countries honour the DL of our country — I am yet to find any significant benefit of IDP (international driving permit). If you have very specific points of interest and will spend more time there, you can manage with ad-hoc hires to commute.
6. Insurance — get 2 or 3 quotations and you will know the right one meant for your trip. Read the coverage provided by your flight service and your credit cards — there may be an overlap. For example, when my baggage was delayed, the flight operator provided a gift card, and I didn’t need to reach out to the insurance provider.
7. Forex — Most of these can be booked online with home delivery of cash. Some of these may have online payments but ensure that you have chosen a secure, reliable site with good reviews online. There are also local exchange shops which may offer a rate that is worth the trip. In some countries, the USD works almost as well as local currency, and there is negligible exchange fee.
8. SIM cards — You should have a phone with dual SIM. Ensure that international roaming is enabled on your home phone, with at least a basic plan that can receive OTPs. SIM for the destination country can be booked online and home delivered. You may also be able to buy local SIM cards with immediate activation at the airport after landing at your destination country. In case of any trouble, use a phone booth to contact the hotel that you’ve booked.
9. Attractions — some activities and attractions that are in high demand (eg: scuba diving, theme parks) may need up-front booking. You will find deals through various websites. If you have a friend in the destination country, seek their help.
10. Food — I prefer accommodations which have breakfast included… it helps us get an early start for the day’s plan. Your local hotel contact can help with lunch/dinner options, but a quick check on TripAdvisor may be useful to filter for specific cuisines or local favourites to try out. Some accommodations may have a kitchenette, which can be helpful if you need a break from restaurants.

Apps like TripCase can help you manage your plan, but I’ve been quite content with Microsoft Excel 🙂 Let me know if you’d like to see any more details and I’ll be happy to add them.

I have done self-planned trips to Alaska, Australia, Bahamas, Cambodia, Canada, China, India, Nepal, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, United States, Vietnam.