Tips on Planning Your Next Epic Budget Trip

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Hello Steemians! Recently I've been planning me and @branlee87's upcoming Japan trip (we're super excited to go back!) and I've not mentioned this before but I really really love Japan. I also love planning and organizing trips and meet-ups so Japan and planning? That's a win-win for me. I am by no means a big traveler unlike @explorernations, and have only been to 2 countries, Singapore which by the way my husband and I absolutely love traveling to as well and Japan for our Honeymoon back in 2016. I've been meaning to post about it, perhaps I will soon :)

Since planning brings me much joy, maybe I could share some tips for people out there who have not planned for a trip before, or people who just absolutely dislike planning but are willing to try to learn how to plan. I will be basing my planning off previous and current Japan trips but I'm sure some points will apply to other countries either way.

Let's start with the basics. What is your ultimate and main goal to travel to insert destination here? It could be for a concert of a band that you're a die-hard fan of(that did not include Malaysia as part of their tour), an exhibition or attraction for a particular game like Cool Japan that consists of Final Fantasy, Monster Hunter, Detective Conan and Sailor Moon in Universal Studios Japan. Or maybe your goal is just to travel and experience Spring with the blooming of cherry blossoms or the beautiful foliage in Autumn. I quote:

Work makes you money, but travel makes you rich
-blanke

So let's begin with :

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Now that you have set your main goal, let's start collecting information on what other events are on-going and some good food to eat! No travel is complete without eating the best local food. Search for the typical keywords such as, best food in Osaka, what to do in Tokyo, you get the drift. Create what I like to call a Link Dump list and compile whatever that sounds interesting and categorize them according to states/areas/prefectures such as Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto etc. If you're visiting just one prefecture, you could instead compile by the nearest station as well. This way it's not too messy when you start locking down your itinerary in detail.

^{My 2016 Link Dump. Not bad, it's cleaner than I last remembered!}

If more than one place is listed in the link such as Top 10 Places to Eat but you're only interested in 2 of them, put a note beside the link. And also if it's a time-limited attraction, jot down the dates too! Things can get pretty confusing real quick if you're like me and you just can't decide what's good and compile everything you see. Once you're done overloading your list, head on to the next step!

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You've done your research, now it's time to select the best time frame for your visit! Refer back to your Link Dump to spot the ideal dates(especially time or season exclusive attractions!) for your trip. It also helps to check for Public Holidays during that time to minimize leave taking for those of you who are working. Bear in mind that if you're headed to popular destinations, try to have more weekdays than weekends to avoid the crowd. The last thing you would want is to be squished alongside other tourists, ruining your insta-worthy posts. Once you've gotten your dates down, you can start looking out for cheap flights and accommodation. If you're on a tight budget, write your budget down too! Plan your trip as cheap and comfortable as possible and then we can have a bit more leeway to adjust some things here and there later.

Now it's time to create another list! Much like art, you need to draft your vision, add in line art with pencil, then go in with pen and colours in the end. Trust me on the bountiful lists you'll be creating ;) We'll call the next list Itinerary Draft. So original, I know! Segment your notes by putting in the Date and Day of travel for each day. Much like this:

^{The neater it is, the easier it is to keep track of everything}

Now you can allocate areas of travel for specific dates by referring to your Link Dump. You should be planning them depending on how hectic your itinerary per sections are. For example, if you're planning to go to Universal Studios Japan and will only be back at your accommodation at night, it will be best to pair the next day with a relaxed itinerary, much like an afternoon stroll/brunch in Namba so you get a much needed rest in the morning. You wouldn't want to fall sick while traveling now, would you?

^{An example of a drafted itinerary}

For those of you who like to "go with the flow", this itinerary is probably enough for you. But if you're a worrywart like me and everything has to be precise down to the price of the ticket, let's head on to the next step!

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Dates, check! Attractions, check! Famous eateries, check! The last and final step is to lock-down and to minimize time wasted fumbling about in Japan. You've already selected places to visit within the vicinity, now you can start planning on what to visit first and work your way in one direction. I use google maps for this part so I can get a better feel of where everything is located.

^{Much walking, much chomping on food followed by lovely cheesecake}

Referring to the image above, Ichiran Ramen and Don Quijote are on the same lane, so it would only make sense to pair them side by side then heading back to Rikuro Ojisan Cheesecake for dessert before heading back to Namba Parks. This makes it is easy for you to lock down all your destinations especially if they are located in one place. What about days with 2 areas to visit?

^{Don't worry, we didn't walk all the way to Umeda}

From this map, you can see that there are 2 areas to visit. You can then separate them into different maps and jot down the train stations to head to as well. First there's Osaka Castle followed by shopping in Umeda. Let's break it down below!

^{Osaka Castle sight-seeing!}

^{The nearest station and easiest route to Umeda}

^{Time to spend some moolah in Umeda!}

To research on best train routes and prices, I recommend using Hyperdia and Google Maps side by side so you'll know which train station to take and which one to stop at. Now time to update your Itinerary Draft accordingly with train stations(and cost if you'd like) so your research and efforts do not go to waste! If you're bad at directions, taking a screenshot of the Google Maps route will be a big help. It may even prove helpful when asking for directions.

^{Train routes, stations and cost in italic}</center

For travel within Osaka, you may even choose to use the Osaka Amazing Pass, or JR Pass for travels between prefectures. They even have a JR Pass for the whole of Japan so be sure to do your research! Likewise, depending on the country you're going to, do your research on the best transportation available that's worth your every penny.

Plan your trip as cheap and comfortable as possible and then we can have a bit more leeway to adjust some things here and there later.

Remember this part? Once you're done planning and budgeting for food and transportation, check to see if you have reached your budget or still have more to go. Now is the time to see if you can afford that small upgrade of accommodation or that entry ticket for the view on top of the tallest building :) If you have passed your budget, look through to see which item you could minus off from your Itinerary Draft. Go ahead and tweak until you're happy with your list :)

Congratulations! You can now turn your Itinerary Draft into your Itinerary! Remember, the more information you have on hand, the less worried you'd feel, at least that is the case for me :) Even after you have completed your pretty Itinerary, if you have the time and would love to give that extra effort, why not create an e-book pdf file? It's also easier to share your Itinerary e-book to friends who are also traveling with you ;)

Thank you for reading this extra long post on something as boring as planning! If you have reached this far, I hope you enjoyed it! If you have any other questions that I may help with, do let me know in the comments! Happy travels! :)

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