“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
– Mark Twain
Twain had it right – Explore, dream and discovery is at the heart of every adventure. The difficulty is balancing these adventures with work. How do you find time to plan an adventure when you’re knackered? How can you make your trip plans work with a full schedule?
Here are our 4 steps to planning a trip: Instagram, Purpose, Company and Transport/Housing
The initial planning phase begins with instagram. We use the platform to learn more about locations we want to visit. By following other weekend warriors we can see some of the local locations they go to. Rose and I then save these pictures in a folder to refer to when we decide that we will go away for a day or a weekend. This is passive planning and it makes sorting out where to go much easier.
If you’re looking for some tripsperation check out some of these accounts: 42adventures, carmenhuner, lolaphotography or purenewzealand
Purpose
Next sort out where you want to go and what you want to get out of that location. For us it is often seeing or experiencing something new. We look into the weather to determine when the best time to be at the location is. We do a broad spectrum search on best locations within the location.
We will then write down all the places we want to go. What shots we want to get and when we will need to be leaving to make it happen.
Rose and I have both found that when you go to a new location it can be easy to lose sight of what you want out of it. By writing down a list we make sure we always leave satisfied.
Company
The third step in our planning process is to reach out to friends and family. We’ll see if they want to come or know anybody at the location.
“There are good ships and wood ships, ships that sail the sea, but the best ships are friendships, may they always be!”
– Irish proverb
Having friends come along is always a highlight. Additionally, asking some acquaintances to come is a great way to build stronger friendships. There is no downside to making your next trip a group activity. So hoist up the sails and build a friendship.
Transport & Housing
The final step in planning a trip is sorting out how you’ll get there and where you’ll stay. Most of the time it is as easy as hopping into our sports car (Toyota Prius) and racing away to the destination. Yet, there are times when transport becomes a big deal. This could be if you managed to find a low-cost ticket on grabaseat and are out of town or if you need a larger car.
In reference to step three once you’ve sorted out who is coming and who you may know you can ask about transport. Sometimes a family friend may be able to lend a car other times your mate may have a car big enough for the whole squad.
Thanks to Airbnb and Bookabach finding a place to stay is actually pretty easy. We usually go for the cheapest, enjoyable, option. There are often cheap places to stay that would be take away from the experience. We tend to avoid these and go for the next best option, a place that makes the experience neutral or better.
While it may seem as though there is a lot to this list it usually takes one to three hours to plan an adventure. Let us know how you plan adventures in the comments below 🙂