Happy Sunday Friends~

For today’s blog post I thought I’d shed some light on how MP & I split travel planning for our trips and vacations! I think the planning piece itself is what stresses a lot of people out when it comes to travelling! And since travelling can definitely be a lot of work in terms of planning, it’s nice to to be able to split those efforts with somebody and ensure it’s a vacation that we both enjoy! We’ve been #blessed with a ton of trips and here’s some insights as to how we have have been able to easily plan our trips over the past 8+ years!

Trips always start with two things, the destination and the dates. How do we decide on these?

Me: Majority of our travels revolve around either 1) my business trips or 2) MP’s school schedule so we don’t have to worry too much about either of those since they’re pretty much made for us. Either we tack travels onto my business trips or we just travel during the designated school breaks. I am the one who picks the final destinations and dates (typically restricted to MP’s school calendar) based on flight prices because there are only so many options, whereas hotels I can figure out later because there are usually a handful of decent hotel options for every place.

MP: I normally do not pick any of the places. I am not a planner, lol (if you know me, that’s not surprising). I will mention things that are cool but that is how far my involvement is when it comes to “destinations.” That being said, when it comes to picking things to do in those destinations or areas to visit, I have a system which I can share more about in the future. I also do not really pick the date because most dates are based around my teaching schedule. So if I have a three-day weekend, you can make a safe bet there is a trip planned. Summer is where we take our longer vacation and Emily and I share our thoughts but normally it’s a natural conclusion based on our budget and what the location has to offer. P.S. Teachers don’t get paid in the summer, but it is nice that I don’t have to request a 7 week leave for vacation.

How do you two split the travel planning?

Me: Depending on how busy either of us are, sometimes I will do all of the planning or MP will do all of the planning! But almost always I book the logistics like flights / hotels / car rentals because I have the status/points from work! I also do majority of anything that requires reservations lol (i.e. tickets, restaurant res.) bc MP has messed up too many reservations lmao. In his defense, there have been times we have rolled into hotel lobbies only to find our we are homeless for the night because I have similarly effed up the hotel bookings lmao. But in my defense, that was when I was booking like 50 hotels at a time during our really big trips!!

MP: Emily and I have different roles when it comes to planning. She plans where we stay, how we get there, and how long we will be there (and most of the time where we are eating lol). I normally do the itinerary and then get it confirmed with Emily in case there are things she may prefer. 

How do you decide activities that you both would enjoy?

Me: MP plans a lot of our activities. I’ll just let him know the 1 or 2 things I may have seen that I definitely want to do, but otherwise I leave it to him. He knows what I like and don’t like! For ex, I like workshops and classes, unique foods, and lesser-known hidden gems. For ex, I don’t like “basic b****” things, strenuous activities, or heat lol. As for MP, we all know he loves shopping so I always reserve time for him to go shopping! And if we are taking my parents on a trip, then everything is tailored for them and TaiTai of course lol.

MP: I think over the years I have learned that unless you know for certain the other person will like the activity, you should instead plan a day for yourself, to a certain extent. Weirdly, the best way I can describe it is imagine you are going on a first, second and third date in a short period. Now to decide what makes it on that date, might be the question you’re trying to answer. I normally tend to listen to people on YouTube. If someone lives in that area, makes a video and puts their reputation on the line, then I tend to trust them. Shorts and TikTok are the opposite, they only care for quick attention so I tend not to trust them for specific “spots” but they are a good source for areas to visit.

How far in advance do you start travel planning?

Me: If I can, I’ll at least book the flight and hotel as far in advance as possible. Unfortunately, like everyone else we are often really busy…so last-minute scrambling and figuring out what to do or where we’ll be is sometimes part of the adventure ^-^ Some of our trips and hotels are often booked the night before or even the day of >.>

MP: Emily plans months in advance if she has the chance to. I normally take 2 weeks to get a full itinerary. But it takes me hours on multiple days to get a nice one made. I would say Emily’s method may be less stressful but I normally only work when I “need” to. I’m a somewhat paranoid/stressed person, think of the guy who likes to go to the airport 3 hours early for domestic flights, so I give myself a decent amount of time but at a cost of many hours a day working on an itinerary rather than splitting it into small chunks over long periods of time.

How do you not get stressed when it comes to travel planning?

Me: Like I mentioned above, we all have busy seasons of life so sometimes we won’t get a chance to plan until we’re at the freakin’ airport or we’ll hardly plan at all! And it’s exactly during those extra busy times that are the BEST to take advantage of your trip and just RELAX – don’t plan a thing, take it easy, and simply enjoy being with each other in a new and exciting place~

MP: Traveling is suppose to be fun and exciting, if there are large moments of stress, then you may want to reconsider your approach. That being said, what I do to remove or minimize stress is make the process work with you. I love YouTube, and I mean love, so when brushing my teeth/getting ready for the day or about to go to bed or any down time, I just replace what I normally would watch with a video about the place I am going to visit. I am not writing notes or doing anything serious, it is time to just enjoy and get a grasp of the trip. Then I make a fake map with a loose sheet of A5 paper and try to dot out all the things that are interesting. Again, this is not a thing of perfection but more like a fun art project with purpose. Then the most stressful part is to make final decisions but curation is about what best suits you and trusting yourself. I only go to Emily if it’s something I am not certain of but most of the time if I find something interesting she might find it interesting too! It’s a win-win.

How do you plan your daily travel itineraries?

Me: Our travels are usually centered around 1 or 2 key activities a day! As long as we do those 1 or 2 things that we really wanted to do, then we are happy and don’t have FOMO! Then this leaves the rest of the day for strolling and exploring around whatever area we are that day for those activities! Anyway, I’m chronically tired so I can only handle so much in a day lol.

MP: I don’t necessarily have things planned but I have like 3 different schedules for the same day and try to have options to pivot from. To me the most important part is that the schedule is flexible. The best way to describe it is that I have 1 for sure thing we are doing that day and then 4 side options to go with that day and if something along the way interests us more, then we are doing that. 

& lastly~

Me: To close this out, I want to say: just GO! We are all so blessed to be able to travel – don’t let planning or the need to have the “perfect” trip keep you from enjoying your vacation or stop you from even going on the trip! While travelling may not be everyone’s priority, I do strongly suggest to make an intention and effort to go on a few trips a year with loved ones – even though it may be a little bit of work and planning. Whether it’s traveling to a brand new country abroad, taking a quick flight to another state, or even a local road trip or staycation! Life is so short, just go~

MP: I am blessed to have a partner who is willing to do the parts I find difficult. And she is the one who really makes the trips happen, if it weren’t for her we wouldn’t go on half or even a quarter of the trips we go on. I would say just taking action is the best approach, especially if you want to go somewhere. As people, I think we choose the path of least resistance and it is way easier to stay at home than to go to a dream destination. So, to make your dreams into reality, you have to put in that effort. 

Thank you for reading!!
Em