I like being spontaneous. Whether it’s driving down the street or across town, driving eight hours, flying across the country, or across the globe, there’s something about doing things on a whim thats exhilarating and freeing.

So when I found the perfect flight on Kayak to London and back from Dublin over Thanksgiving break, I had to book it. This was October.

But once I made the decision to go, I did need to plan a little. So here are six tips for planning a spur-of-the-moment trip:

Your Budget

Buying a plane or train ticket is one thing, but sometimes you forget all the extra costs involved in traveling - hotels, food, bus tickets, car rentals - it definitely starts to add up. Create a budget for yourself and stick to it. Do you really need to stay in a fancy hotel? Maybe you can skip going out to a nice restaurant and opt for take out. Instead of renting a car, can you use public transportation or take a taxi/uber? Make sure you're mindful of your expenses!

The Destination

Make sure you know where you’re going and what you want to do. Don’t wing this part. As much as I would’ve liked to go wherever the wind took me, I knew I needed to be smart. After all, I was traveling in a foreign country alone. You can imagine how worried my parents would've been if they didn't have any idea where I might be on a particular day.

I had been to London before, so I knew that I didn’t want to spend most of my time revisiting the main tourist attractions (i.e Big Ben, the London Eye, the Tower of London, etc). So my objective was to explore areas of the city I haven’t seen before. I made a list of all the places I wanted to go, arranged them in order of importance, then mapped out what could be feasibly possible in the timeframe I was working with. I spent a lot of time on Google Maps, especially planning for Ireland.

And to ease my parents' nerves, I created an itinerary for them.

Be Flexible

It’s important to be flexible in your itinerary. You might not be able to see everything you want to and you should be okay with that. It’s about the journey, not the destination. Because I traveled in November to the UK and Ireland, I was fighting 4:30pm sunsets, and I had no control over this. So I made sure there were some things I could do after the sun went down. This was a bit easier in London because it’s a bustling city even after dark, but Ireland was tough. You can’t see castles and landscapes in the dark!

I had never been to Ireland so I wanted to see as much as I could, so I decided I wanted to drive from Dublin to Galway to Connemara to Lahinch to the Dingle Peninsula to Killarney to Cork/Cobh to Kilkenny and back to Dublin, all within 5 days. This was a huge undertaking, and I wouldn’t recommend seeing Ireland this way, but I was determined to make it work. And while planning, I actually had to scrap Dingle because there was no way I could fit it in, which was a real bummer.

Buddy or Solo Travel?

Since I decided to travel over Thanksgiving break, and because I planned this trip on such short notice, I knew I'd most likely be traveling alone. I’m lucky enough to have people in my life that view travel in the same light as myself. But major family holidays will definitely take priority. But for me, ever since college, I stopped flying home for Thanksgiving because flights would be $700+ for the short weekend. So, not spending Thanksgiving with my family wasn’t new to me.

As an aside, it bothers me so much that international flights are cheaper than domestic flights. Yes, I know, Europe doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving, but it’s the principle that flying 5,000+ miles should be more expensive than 2,000. But anyways…

I had never traveled alone before, but I wasn’t afraid to start. Moving to LA by myself gave me the confidence I needed to know that I was savvy enough to travel alone. But I needed to make sure that where I was traveling would be safe for a 25 year old woman (safe enough at least). Luckily, Ireland is one of the friendliest countries in the world, and the English are pretty jolly themselves, so I felt confident in my choices. And actually, traveling alone was one of the best things I could’ve done, and it won’t be the last time I do it. I definitely recommend it to anyone who has the travel bug and are just sitting around waiting for someone to join you. JUST GO!


Paperwork

If you are traveling abroad, make sure you have a passport that will be valid 6 months after your travel date. For example, if you are traveling on February 3, 2018, your passport must be valid until August 3, 2018. Also, some countries may require you to carry a visa in order to visit, and obtaining one could take months. Other countries might require you to get immunizations, and you’ll need to schedule an appointment for that. You’ll have to factor in these costs and scheduling restrictions into your budget and timeframe.

So, even though that cheap plane ticket might be enticing, it might not be the best destination for you right now.

The UK and Ireland do not require U.S. travelers to carry a visa, nor do you need any special vaccinations, so I didn't have any hoops to jump through to make this trip work.


Pack Light

Don’t weight yourself down with heavy luggage. Pack light so you can easily move around, as if you’ve packed for a long weekend. This will not only save you money by not having to pay airline bag fees, but you won’t be risking your luggage not making it to your destination. I bring my Osprey Kyte 46 Backpack as a carry-on, and my Lululemon Festival Bag as my purse/personal item, and thats it. And if you forget something, you can most likely buy it there. Also, make sure you have enough room in your luggage to bring back gifts!

And I know some of you are thinking... if I'm traveling for two weeks, how do I make everything fit in one bag?! Well, look out for an upcoming post, where I'll be talking about packing light for summer and winter months.


So while being spontaneous can be exciting and carefree, make sure you have some sort of plan in mind!

What are some of your last minute travel tips?

xo, H


**A quick tip for Ireland!

The best way to get around Ireland is by car. But beware - Ireland’s insurance fees for rental cars are absurd. Some companies make you put a €5,000 deposit down, and whatever damage you come back with will be deducted from your deposit. The reason for this is because Ireland’s roads are extremely narrow, and there are frequent incidentals, examples being, your sideview mirror gets clipped, or you accidentally drive too close to the wall of a mountain. I booked my car through Enterprise because they didn’t require a large deposit. However, they urge you to purchase €30-a-day-insurance on top of your already-included-basic-insurance. I opted to purchase the extra insurance only because the amount of money you’d owe if there’s any damage larger than a golf ball is larger than the total of €30-a-day (ugh).