Three Easy Ways to Simplify Summer Travel Planning
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Summer is peak travel time! But it’s also a time when the last thing you want to do is spend hours planning and preparing for your trip. There’s a few things that are easy to do that’ll help keep summer travel planning a breeze. Here’s my three top summer travel planning tips, and how I used them on my recent girls’ trip to San Francisco.
1. Find Easy Travel Inspiration
When it’s summer and it’s gorgeous outside, who wants to clock time inside, sifting through travel guide books? Not me.
Ditch The Heavy Guidebooks
No disrespect to ye old classic travel guidebooks, but when it’s summertime, I find it so much easier to plan my travel visually. With a quick scan through photos of a destination, it’s usually pretty easy for me to get a sense for the places I want to hit.
The best way to do this? Instagram, of course! (Follow me on Instagram for more ideas and travel tips!). Using Instagram to plan your travel is perfect for summer trips, because you can do it on the go, and if you only have a few minutes, it’s easy to hone in on what you’re looking for.
How to Use Instagram to Plan Summer Travel
Most of the research I do for summer travel planning on Instagram is through hashtags. I usually start with a quick search of simple hashtags using the destination name itself – like #SanFrancsico or # London .
Scrolling through the top posts with these hashtags will lead me to some that are more specific – like #SanFranciscoStreetArt or #PrettyLittleLondon. Searching for the top posts in this second group of hashtags, I will almost ALWAYS find one or two spots that I know I need to visit!
An Instagrammable Trip to San Francisco
On my last trip to San Francisco with a friend, planning my trip using Instagram was a cinch. I fell in love with the Instagram account for The Riddler, a champagne bar in Hayes Valley – and I knew it was a must-visit for our trip.
If you’re a sucker for pretty places and instagrammable hotspots (like me!), then this summer travel planning tip will be perfect for you.
2. Use a Shortcut to Book Accommodation
I don’t know about you, but I am a HUGE fan of keeping things simple when it comes to booking travel. That’s one reason why I am a fan of travel packages! I love that it’s possible to book an entire trip with just a single visit online. The simplicity of bundling a hotel with a flight is perfect for those trips when you don’t have a lot of time to plan.
The only time that packages don’t work for me? When I haven’t had the chance to figure out ALL of my travel preferences. Sometimes I’m ready to book a flight, and want to take advantage of a great airfare, but I’m just not yet ready to commit to a hotel.
A New Travel Planning Feature to Simplify Booking Your Accommodation
Expedia has come up with a new solution to this exact dilemma, and I’m all about it! The Expedia Add-On Advantage is a new way to save on hotels with Expedia’s website, and it’s an ideal solution for those of us who want to take our time making travel plans, but also keep things super simple.
Expedia Add-On Advantage takes the pressure off of planning and paying for your entire trip at once, and lets you take all the time you need to research the perfect hotel at the perfect price. Pretty much everything a girl needs when it comes to vacation planning!
A few weeks ago, I decided to take a last-minute girls trip to San Francisco with a longtime friend. Spending a summer weekend in the city was exactly what we had in mind. No agenda, just hanging out, catching up, and exploring the city like locals!
I love pretty much any opportunity that allows me to take my time when it comes to shopping for what I want, and that includes travel plans. Of course, I also adore saving money when it comes to travel, so I was really excited to unlock special discounts for hotels in San Francisco.
How to Use Expedia’s Add-on Advantage Feature
Using Expedia’s Add-On Advantage feature couldn’t be easier. Just book your flight, car, or package on Expedia as usual. Then, when you come back to book a hotel for the same destination, you’ll see that you’ve unlocked special discounts on tons of places to stay.
All of the qualifying hotels will be marked with the “Add-On Advantage” logo, so they’re easy to spot. This is one of my new favorite summer travel planning tips, so I hope it helps save you some time and money!
3. Pack Carry-On Only
It’s summer, so chances are good that you don’t need to pack lots of heavy layers for your trip. That means that you have no excuse to not pack carry-on only! Seriously – you can do it.
Why You Should Never Check your Luggage
There’s no worse way to start a trip than with lost luggage. If you go carry-on only, this will never happen! You can be assured that all of your things will show up at the same time you do.
Not only that, but you’ll also save $25 – $50 each flight by not checking a bag! Save that cash to spend during your trip, or save it for your next vacation.
It’s easy to pack carry-on only if you know some tips and tricks. Here’s a rundown of my best packing tips for women. And for some of my favorite carry-on suitcases, check out this post.
There you Have it – Three Easy Summer Travel Planning Tips!
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
For more help planning your trip, check out my quick and easy pre-travel checklist. It’s got a rundown of everything you should do before a trip, and exactly when to do it.
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Pack like a pro with these free printables!
- Carry on packing list
- Travel outfit
- Pre-travel checklist
