TauniThere are a lot of moving parts in trip planning, especially when there are multiple people and if you are planning for multiple locations or countries. Here are some of our best recommendations for laying out and executing your tour plan.
- THE PRE-PLAN: SHARED GOOGLE SHEET – Once we have a general idea of where we want to go, we always use a Google Sheet to lay it out. It is helpful to visualize all the moving parts and how they will fit together: where we are on what day, who reserved it, how much it costs and who paid for it, cancellation rules, confirmation numbers, visa rules (and if there is a Starbucks there because–priorities!). Each of us adds to it as we make a reservation, and when something changes, we just update the sheet and you can always check the version history. Here is a screenshot of our Caucasus planning Google Sheet:
- PACING – PLAN BREAK DAYS! We can’t stress this enough.If you are like us, you will want to do all the things. We were lucky to have a little more time than our normal 9 or 10-ish days on this trip, and with the >90o F daily heat, this was ideal for spacing out the long/busy days and adding in some slower paced days. We had to remind ourselves that, yes, we want to do all the things, but it is also our vacation. On our slow days we still usually walked a ton and just explored the city, maybe grabbed a few souvenirs, making sure to linger over coffee/wine as needed, obviously!
- TRIP INSURANCE – Because Michele caught the ‘rona a month before our trip latest trip, and Tauni had had it only a few months ago, but also because $**t happens, trip insurance is probably a must. We had so many moving parts, and we were traveling in 2022 (the summer of lost luggage and flight cancellations); we were careful and optimistic, but also realized anything could go wrong. US $80 per person for more than two weeks and four countries (basically a nice hotel night) was a small price to pay for some peace of mind. We used World Nomads this time, but I have also used Allianz (and actually needed to cancel my trip and make a claim a few years ago) and they were great to work with as well.
- FLEXIBILITY – Have plans B and C in the queue and be ready/open because plans change. Our perfectly choreographed itinerary was changing all.the.time. Sometimes because WE wanted it to change and sometimes due to delays/cancellations beyond our control.
- ONLY BOOK CANCELLABLE/CHANGEABLE HOTELS/TOURS – These days many hotels offer different prices for hotels, depending on whether they are cancellable or not, and whether you pre-pay. While it costs a few additional dollars to reserve a cancelable/refundable room, we have found it to be absolutely worthwhile. Most tours will also provide you a cancelation window – make sure to track that cancelation deadline on the google doc.
- While we plan meticulously – see google spreadsheet above for reference – during travel things happen you have no control over. Flights for sure, but lots of other things can happen. On our recent trip to the Caucasus Region, when we realized we would arrive in Tbilisi far later than planned due to flight delays, we were able to push our first tour back a day on the phone from the runway just inside the 24 hour mark, phew! A few days later, after 2 full day tours in Georgia, we honestly needed a break from the car/roads. We were able to cancel an additional tour we had made as long as we did it within 24 hours of the tour. We also ended up spending less time than planned in a few places, so we canceled/rebooked hotels as needed, being mindful of the cancellation/modification window.
As you can see, much of the HOW needs to be done before you go–but planning is half the fun! These tips are what worked for us and are meant to inspire you that it is do-able!
