How To Plan An International Trip

5 Steps to planning an international trip

Planning an international trip is a lot of work, but it’s well worth it. Taking on this monumental task requires patience, a significant amount of time, and some savvy. Lucky for you that you landed here: How to Plan an International Trip. This step-by-step guide will help you plan your international trip in just 5 steps.

This guide jumps right into the details of planning and booking your trip. Suppose you’re still trying to determine where you are going, when, or for how long. Then you’ll want to read: Useful Things To Do Before Planning An International Trip. After planning your trip, make sure to check out: 13 Things We Always Do Before Taking A Trip.

Jump to an international trip planning step

• Step 1: Book a flight
• Step 2: Rough itinerary
• Step 3: Find and book lodging
• Step 4: Lock in transportation 
• Step 5: Ways to explore Your destination

Step 1: Book a Flight

The first step to planning an international trip is booking the flight. Generally, you should book at least 4 months in advance for an international flight and 1-2 months in advance for a domestic flight. Booking a flight is a task with many small steps. You will first need to do some research on your destination. Next, you will search for flights on various websites, using different combinations of dates and airports. Once you’ve narrowed down your options, you’ll have to decide what the best way is to book to get the best flight for your money. When booking your flight, you’ll be asked if you want to purchase trip insurance. You’ll also want to make sure you don’t miss out if the price of the flight you booked drops! Oh, and this list doesn’t include setting your browser up for success.  

Google Flights page

Flight searching is a commitment. You need a guide to understand how to find the best options for you, not the flight hack that worked for someone else. Our Essential Guide to Flight Booking Like a Pro will give you all the steps and details you need to book the best flight for you.

Step 2: Create A Rough Itinerary

Creating a rough itinerary can be dangerous; it will make you want to go everywhere! It’s important to be realistic with yourself. When hopping around to multiple cities, be honest with yourself about how often you want to repack a bag and move to the next city. Determine how many nights you can spend in how many different locations. If your minimum number of nights is 4, and you have 12 nights in your destination, then you can go to 3 cities. But if you are good with 2-3 nights in each city, then maybe you can see 4-5 places. Start by narrowing down options.

1. Narrow down options for your destination.

In order to narrow down your options, it is helpful to physically see your ideas, so write them down. Based on your flight, where do you need to stay the day you arrive and the night before you leave? Would you want more than one night in those locations? How many nights do you have left to spend in the cities that you want to visit? And what are your top destinations of choice? (1-3 per week of travel, depending on proximity)

Think through these questions and then create options A and B (and potentially C if you want three options). These are just ideas for main locations, the number of nights, and if it will work. Look at a map and see what looks interesting or like it might work. You will look closer at the logistics of getting from one place to another later. Let’s assume you booked a flight into London and out of Paris. When creating your options, it may look something like this;

Trip A

1. Fly into London and out of Paris (12 days + 2 bookend travel days)
2. London
3. Amsterdam
4. Brussels
5. Paris 

Trip B

1. Fly into London and out of Paris (12 days + 2 bookend travel days)
2. London
3. Brussels
4. Champagne region, France
5. Paris

Trip C

1. Fly into London and out of Paris (12 days + 2 bookend travel days)
2. London
3. Bodeaux 
4. Nantes or Lyon
5. Paris

2. Map out time in each place.

Once you’ve chosen your rough plan, start determining exactly how many nights you need in each city. Do you need to reduce the number of cities? Google search ‘how much time do I need in X city’. You’ll find many articles and results that tell you a minimum amount of time. If you’re like us, you’ll want to marinate in a city, so add a day to the recommended number of days. For example, you might like Trip A but decide you would rather spend some time in the Champagne region. So you give up a night in Paris. Now, trip B is looking pretty good. Add the number of nights you think you need in each city to your rough itinerary. 

Do a quick search with Google Maps or Rome 2 Rio to get an idea of how you are going to go from one destination to the next. Will it be a flight, train, bus, or will you need a rental car? Add this information to your rough itinerary for each trip idea. It will look something like this, for trip B:

Trip B

1. Fly into London and out of Paris (12 days + 2 bookend travel days)
2. 3 nights in London, travel to Brussels, Belgium (train 2 hours)
3. 4 nights in Brussels, travel to the Champagne region of France (train 2-3 hours, car 3-3.5 hours)
4. 3 nights somewhere in the Champagne region, travel to Paris (train 1 hour)
5. 3 nights in Paris, fly home.

Pick one of your rough itineraries. We know you want to do it all, but you have to choose something so you can book lodging. If you can’t decide, try reading some blogs about the areas you are considering. Pay attention to which cities really excite you the most.

Step 3: Find and Book Lodging

1. Know what lodging to search for and where.

Now that you know where you want to go, you have to figure out what area to stay in. This is largely going to depend on your budget, your needs, and what you want to do. You should narrow it down to a couple of neighborhoods, consider transportation options, and the vibe you want. This will help you cut out some of the noise when searching for lodging. Google search things like ‘Best neighborhoods in [insert city name] to stay in’. You will usually find articles that tell you things like which neighborhoods are best for families, nightlife, safety, proximity to transportation, for foodies, etc. Use this to guide you when searching. 

Where to search

Once you’ve narrowed down a couple of neighborhoods, it’s time to start your search. Just like with flights, this is one of those areas that you’ll hear tons of hacks for. They won’t always work for you (safety and comfort should be a major factor). Head to the websites of the usual suspects for mass searching (Expedia, Booking.com, Agoda, or Google Travel). These sites make it easy to see multiple options in an area. These sites will have a variety of stay types. You can filter for most of these: hotels, hostels, B&Bs, resorts, vacation homes, etc. You don’t have to book there; you can head over to the hotel’s booking site to book.

Another place to search is with your credit cards and loyalty programs. If you have a credit card, odds are pretty good that it has a travel booking platform. If they do, you might get extra points for spending with your credit card on their booking site. If you have loyalty programs with hotels and airlines, you should also check what they offer. Who doesn’t love a free stay!

Last words about researching lodging

READ THE REVIEWS. You will learn so much more about a property by reading what others say. Take it with a grain of salt. Not everyone is reasonable, and some are too reasonable. If someone complains about something, don’t assume it’s as bad as they say. Newsflash- if you want to be in the center of it all, it won’t be quiet- bring earplugs. After all your searching, narrow down your top 2-5 lodging options for each location.

Our favorite earplugs are inexpensive and disposable; get them here on Amazon. If you want something that is longer-lasting, check these out on Amazon. 

2. Type of lodging: Is a hotel or vacation rental better?

Choosing a hotel or vacation rental is a personal choice. Here we will outline some pros and cons of this (based on our personal experiences). Hotels often have on-site customer service and can be very helpful. With well-known chains, you usually know what to expect. Hotel rooms can also feel very small when shared with someone else for several days. Especially in Europe, where even a suite is much smaller than hotels in the United States. A vacation home is great when traveling in a larger group or when you need extra amenities. Think washer and dryer, a kitchen, or an extra bathroom. Aside from amenities, hotels and vacation rentals are not always in the same neighborhood. 

Finding a locals vibe

When considering your type of lodging, the location or neighborhood may play a big part in your choices. Usually, hotels are located near major transportation areas and the main tourist areas. You may be thinking that staying in a vacation rental is going to get you more of a locals’ vibe. This is somewhat true, but not always, and has become quite controversial. When we first started traveling, we loved vacation rentals. We could get 2 bathrooms, a washer, and a “less touristed” neighborhood. All for what used to be lower prices than hotels. With the rise of vacation rentals in major cities, they have begun to water down these ‘less touristed’ neighborhoods. Some areas are full of vacation rentals and no locals anymore. Additionally, the prices of vacation rentals are in line with hotels in many destinations, and sometimes higher. 

This change over time is why vacation rentals have become controversial. They lead to gentrification, rising costs, and a depletion of locals in the area. We still use vacation rentals some of the time, but we’ve started going back to hotels for shorter stays. Especially in areas that we know are having issues with overtourism. The tourist is not the only one responsible for this. The owners of the rentals, the city officials (and the regulations in place) are all part of the problem.

If the vacation rental is there (and legal), then it may be part of a local’s livelihood. But it could also be a foreigner who bought up property to make a profit. A vacation rental may be perfect for you in areas that don’t have hotels. Think remote areas. This is our personal experience; we aren’t the authority on this. We won’t judge you if you book a vacation rental, do what is best for you, and what you are happy with.

3. Getting the best deal.

When deciding where to book your lodging, there are more factors to consider than just the price. You may find a great deal on a room with one of the larger third-party booking platforms. Read the fine print. Extra perks (like included breakfast) and reasonable cancellation policies may make the difference. If you book with a 3rd party, you may not have the best cancellation policy. AND you have to go through them for any changes or issues you might have. Communicating directly with the hotel will probably be easier. 

Loyalty points can be extremely beneficial here. Make sure you are signed up for all the main hotel chain loyalty programs. It adds up. Even if you don’t have enough points for a stay, this may help you get perks like late check-out (or early check-in). Even a free bottle of water upon checking in is nice. Save all your loyalty cards in your phone wallet so you can easily find that member number when you check in.

Loyalty cards in an Apple Wallet

You might be wondering what you can do if the price of lodging drops after you’ve booked it. Oftentimes, there is something you can do, but it will take some work on your part. First, know that if it is a promotion, then they likely won’t change it for you if you didn’t book within the promotion window. That said, if you see a price drop for the exact same room type (consider the view in some destinations, as that matters too), contact the hotel and ask for an adjustment. Another option is to rebook and cancel the original booking; check your cancellation policy first. Some 3rd party booking platforms offer a service that automatically rebooks you at the lower rate. Always read the details and policies for these services.

Step 4: Lock in Transportation For Your International Trip

1. Bookend Transportation

Bookend is a term you will hear in travel planning that refers to the flights, lodging, and other transportation you need at the very beginning and the end of your trip. Think about how you will get to and from your home airport. Is someone going to drop you off and pick you up? Will you park a car? Or hire a driver, or use a rideshare app, or taxi? Can you use public transportation? Consider all of these things. You may need a hotel near the airport the night before you leave or when you return, if your departure airport is not close to home. 

After booking your flight and your lodging for the trip, you’ll want to start securing any transportation for your trip. Start with transportation to and from the airport and home. You may be driving and parking at the airport. Maybe you have a friend or family member who will drive you. Other options are a rideshare, a taxi, or a shuttle. Depending on the location, there may be public transportation options.

The next step is to look for transportation to and from the airport in your destination. Remember that many airports are up to an hour away from the city that they are “in.” If your flight is early, there may not be a public transportation option. Perhaps your hotel has a shuttle service or could arrange a taxi pickup for you. This piece can be very location-specific. Next, you’ll want to plan the transportation during your trip if you are going to multiple cities.

2. Transportation On Arrival and Between Destinations.

Again, you want to look at the bigger pieces of the trip before the small pieces. If you are going to multiple cities, you need to figure out how you are going to get around. Use Google Maps and Rome 2 Rio for general transportation ideas. Such as how long a flight, drive, or public transportation may take. A 2-hour flight versus a 5-hour train ride is going to take about the same amount of time. Once you account for arriving at the airport early, waiting for luggage, and then transferring into the city. Versus a train that goes directly into the city.

Also, think about the size of your group. A rental car for 6 or 7 people could cost less than short flights or long-haul train tickets. Another option is to look for a transfer that would move you from one city to another, or to and from the airport. Determine the best options for you. If you are going to book more flights, repeat the beginning of this article for how to find those flights.

Private Transfer

Think about it, you land, you’re tired, and someone is there with a sign waiting for you. They load your bags up and take you where you need to go. Easy peasy. Welcome Pickups offers a service like this. Welcome Pickups provides local drivers who share local recommendations and insightful tips. Tailored services, 24-hour dedicated support, and up to one hour free wait at the airport! They track your flight, too. This is a no-stress way to transfer like a pro.

Sites like Viator and GetYourGuide will have some general airport transfer options. Hire a specialized private driver for a transfer, a number of hours, a transfer with a stop, or a number of days.

[stock photo private driver]

Get creative and see what you can create. Take a travel day and turn it into an excursion between cities. Go from Rome to Florence and stop in Siena on the way. Or hire a driver to take you all over the Tuscan countryside while homebasing in the Chianti area. Your imagination is the only limit here. All while your luggage is safe and secure with your driver.

Trains

Taking a train is far more enjoyable than going through the airport, and oftentimes it’s worth an extra hour of travel. On a train, you have the freedom to get up and move if you need to. Seats are more comfortable and larger. And there aren’t limitations on your luggage (which can stay with you). We do recommend keeping it smaller- it’s more manageable than the giant trunks we see people hoisting into the train. 

Not sure what luggage to get? Check out our recommendation for the best luggage for travel. 

For the most part, you will want to book longer-haul trains (more than 90 minutes) 4-6 months in advance, as prices can fluctuate. If you are taking shorter, regional trains, you can usually book at any time. The prices are usually set, and the routes run more often. If you happen to be going to Italy, read about navigating Italy by train here. For trips to Europe, especially those involving multiple countries, Rail Europe is a great spot for train tickets. Rail Europe can help you connect the dots, as each country has its own train lines. You’ll be able to select the fair type you want and the type of seat.

Rental Car

Taking a flight or a train tends to be the go-to mode of transportation. But maybe you want a rental car. With a rental car, it’s easier to visit some of the more remote areas and take the trip on your own schedule. If renting a car, it’s a good idea to book in advance. Especially if you are traveling during a holiday (or high travel season), or you have specific needs for the size and type of vehicle. For rental cars, we suggest Discover Cars. Their car rentals are not only competitively priced. But they are in just about every destination you might be headed to. You can compare and book rental cars around the world with ease. A bonus: they have a high customer satisfaction rate, and we love that.

On a side note, if you are traveling to Europe, it is more common to find manual transmission vehicles and to pay a premium for an automatic. You will also need to check with your destination country’s regulations on driving. Oftentimes, you may just need to get an international driving permit, which can be done at many AAA offices and is rather inexpensive.

3. Ground Transportation

Okay, so you’ve got the main transportation pieces worked out. You know how you are getting to and from the airports and from one city to the next. This next piece of ground transportation can be worked on while you are planning the rest of your trip and even during your travels. We recommend getting a general idea of what to expect in the cities/countries you are visiting. Do some Google searching about the best ways to get around X city, and you’ll find many blogs about it. 

Public Transportation

Regarding public transportation, larger cities will likely have pretty good public transportation options. Some will have combinations of buses, trams, metros, and trains. Find out the best way to buy tickets. Many will have an app or an on-site kiosk to buy from. But some will still require purchasing a paper ticket. One of our favorites was in Budapest, where we used an app to scan a QR code as we were entering and exiting the tram. We were charged daily for our trips. They did offer a multi-day pass, but we didn’t need it. Doing a little research ahead of time will make the trip a bit smoother. Check to see if the city offers a multi-day pass if you plan to use public transportation often. 

Taxis and Rideshare

While discussing ground transportation, it would be amiss for us not to address taxis and rideshare options. You have probably read many cautionary tales about taxis having shady practices with foreigners (probably all around the world). Read up about your specific destination. In our experience, we have found that in some places a taxi is the chief way to get a ride. Stand in a queue and wait for your turn. In other places, we have found it to be unreliable, especially in smaller destinations where they have fewer taxis. Uber and Lyft are not everywhere; do your research and be sure of what rideshare options you do have. FreeNow is something we use a lot in Europe, but we are starting to see Uber in more locations. Side note: Uber in Poland is CHEAP!

Depending on where you are headed, you might also be looking at water transportation. For example: water taxis or the Vaporetti in Venice, or ferries in Norway. There are so many ways to get from one place to another, planes, trains, and automobiles aren’t the only way. A little creativity can change transportation into an experience on its own!

[stock photo vaporetti in Venice, Italy]

Private Driver

Last but certainly not least, why not hire a private driver? There are many companies that offer private driving services. Welcome Pickups is a great option for transfers, sightseeing rides, and tailored service options with professional drivers. We mentioned this company earlier. They do more than airport transfers; you can use them to get out of town or to stop along the way when moving from one city to another.

Step 5: Ways to Explore Your Destination

After getting all the logistics sorted out, it’s time for the really fun part of planning. Activities, experiences, and exploring. In this section, we will cover discovering your options, how much of your trip you should pre-plan, and tips for finding and booking the experiences. 

1. Knowing what you can do and picking your favorites.

The best way to find inspiration for what to do is to search online, on social media, and on YouTube. Do Google searches for ‘how to spend x number of days in x city’ or ‘off the beaten path things to do in x city’, or ‘Must see in X city’, etc. Look for social media pages that are about that destination or food in that destination. Read the blogs, watch the reels, and YouTube videos. When you come across something you want to do, look it up on Google Maps and save it. 

Google Maps with activities and restaurants saved to a list

We like to read Lonely Planet books for ideas. For example, 500 Best Food Experiences in the World gives us ideas for what food to try and where. It was such a great gift. Most mornings, we flip through Flipboard and read articles about travel. This helps us plan trips for someday (and for our clients). Make a note about it. Say why you want to see it, or eat there, and if you need to book or reserve in advance. Get excited, this is the part of planning a trip that gives you the most joy.

2. Where to find the activity or experience.

It may seem obvious to go to the website of the thing you want to see or do and book it there, but you may be missing out on other ways to experience it. In larger cities, there may be a city pass that includes multiple sites and museums, and some even include public transportation. If you plan to be somewhere more than a day or two, this might be a great option for you. You should also check sites like Viator and Get Your Guide, as they may have skip-the-line passes and tours available. These are also great places to find things like food tours or wine tasting. 

Personalized experiences

We hear you, you don’t want to do the tourist things, you want to experience it like a local. In our experience, even those who say so still want to see a few things that are ‘must-sees’. You can find large and small group tours on sites like Viator and Get Your Guide. And you can also find private tours. With private group tours, you can have a more personalized experience. And the guide with all the knowledge, all to yourself. This is especially great in larger cities where you don’t want to walk around with 50 other people. A private tour or a self-guided audio tour is a great way to reduce the overtourism of popular destinations. 

Self-guided tours

A good self-guided audio tour is a great way to learn about a place and take it at your own pace. Add in some nice breaks for coffee, lunch, a drink, or some shopping, and you have a lovely day. Our favorite app for self-guided audio tours is Voice Maps. Each tour is narrated by a local who makes it easy to really picture the history of the city. They will guide you on where to go (for example: after admiring x, turn to your left and walk towards x, and continue with the x on your right, etc.) You put in your favorite earbuds, slip your phone into your pocket, and go.

3. Golden pre-planned vs. free day ratio.

Vacations are meant to be an escape from our everyday life, and if you are like most, that everyday life is structured around a schedule. When you travel, there are things you want to see and do that you must plan for and book in advance. Or you won’t see them. We’ve been to Milan multiple times and still haven’t seen the Last Supper- it’s not easy to get tickets. However, it’s important to enjoy yourself and give yourself some freedom. Plus, if you’re traveling, there is always a chance for a delayed flight or other unexpected changes beyond your control. 

We recommend building in free time. We rarely plan a booked activity or reserved dinner on the day we travel into a place. That’s a free evening or day to explore. Additionally, pick a day in each city to not have plans or only one small plan. This will allow you to explore more or do something you heard about from a local or another traveler. Or just revisit something you loved. We usually put that “free day” in the middle of our time in each city.

4. Tips for booking an experience.

Once you know what you absolutely want to do in your destination, map out the opening and closing dates and times. Next, determine which days are best for each activity. This way, you don’t box yourself out of anything you really want to do by making other reservations. If an activity has skip-the-line tickets, it’s for a reason. Book them so you don’t spend hours of your vacation in a line. Download any apps you might need to get passes on your phone. Make notes of the things you can book closer to the trip or on the fly while you are there. 

Anecdote incoming. We just had a friend traveling to Puglia, and his top must-do was to try spaghetti all’assassina in Bari. He wanted to do this at Al Sorso, where the dish was created. Well, it was a Monday, and they are closed on Mondays. Research would have helped. Don’t worry, we saved the day with a backup recommendation that turned out to be a pretty great experience.

When you book, make sure to look at cancellation and change policies. Also, check the number of people allowed on a tour, and what is and isn’t included. We did one of the big tour bus excursions, which we generally advise others not to do. While on the tour, we met two gentlemen who used AI to plan their trip. They were quite surprised that the tour they booked was a double-decker bus for 65 people. 

Where to put all that information

Save all of the information for everything you book in one place. Put it on a Google Doc or use an app like Tripit, or at least save it in your calendar. We mean everything- flights, lodging, transportation, activities, restaurant reservations, etc. You don’t want to have to go through emails from months ago each morning of your trip. Save confirmation documents directly on your phone so they are easy to find, too.

Conclusion

Now that you’ve planned an amazing trip, make sure you are prepared to go. Read about the 13 Things We Always Do Before Taking A Trip

Planning a trip is a lot of work; many spend 15- 30 hours or more planning a big trip. When you sit down to work on trip planning, do it one step at a time. Set aside time for it. You will find that 40 minutes on your lunch break is not enough time to book a flight. You want to dedicate time to this. If you’ve read through this and followed the steps, you should have a pretty solid trip planned. 

If you are overwhelmed by this or don’t really have the time to plan your trip, then you should check out our travel planning services. We offer trip coaching and custom trip planning. We love travel, we think everyone should experience it, and we want to help you travel however we can. Best of luck planning your dream trip, and smooth travels!

Your Next Read:

Useful Things To Do Before Planning an International Trip

Essential Guide to Flight Booking Like a Pro

13 Things We Always Do Before Taking A Trip

-XO, The Twins

How can we help? We would love to hear your questions!

Contact us by email at thetwins@twicethetraveler.com

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