Your Ultimate Trip Planning Guide - Save Time & Money

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Welcome on board! Don’t you love it when you hear those words on a flight? I do, and I guess you do too, which is why you’re here. In this guide I’ll share my best time and money saving travel tips. Here’s what we’ll cover:

Taking the pain (and expense) out of trip planning
Anybody else hate packing? How to do it properly
Destination guides to make your trip great
What to do when your trip goes wrong
How to make your solo or long term trip happen

I send out occasional emails with updates – sometimes personal, sometimes chit-chat, and sometimes to let you know when I’ve published new stuff on the site. Click it, delete it, share it – it’s entirely up to you. If you’re not subscribed already, sign-up here. There’s no need to worry that I’m going to flood your inbox. My writing pace is so glacial I’m still writing up my 1st Round The World trip from 2010!

A bit about Indiana Jo

Who’s Indiana Jo anyway? I’m glad (I’m pretending) you asked. I haven’t written a resume in over a decade but it might look a little like this:

Once upon a time I was a lawyer in London * crowd boos *
In 2010 I did that ‘quit my job to travel the world‘ thing.
Nope, I’m not loaded. I sold everything – my house, my car, my iPod (hey, it was 2010, iPods were a thing).
That one-year trip turned into nearly 6 years as I traded law for freelance travel writing and ultimately learned how to make money blogging.
I was loving the digital nomad life (most of the time). Even the very cold 3 months I lived in a cave in France.
If it wasn’t for ‘that incident‘ in the British Virgin Islands, I would still have been on the road instead of limping back to the UK for knee surgery.
I tried the ‘roots’ thing again – I bought a coffee machine (and a flat in Liverpool), I somehow started running Prosecco Tours in Italy, for 3 years I made the static location thing work.
Then some sad sh!t happened and on the back of a boat load of grief, I packed my bag and hit the road again.
However, that was late 2019 and we all know what happened next…COVID.
So, in March 2020 at the request of the UK Government, I flew home. Again. Anyone else dizzy by now? I certainly was as I unpacked my flat, tried to source loo roll and adapted to a life indoors after months spent exploring the rainforests of Costa Rica.
That was then. And now, with COVID is in the rearview mirror, my family and friends are taking bets on how long before I jet-off once again. I’m tempted. So, so, very, very tempted…

That’s my story. So far. You can read more here.

Want even more? Here are some of my more personal stories you might find fun.

101 Ways Travel Changed Me – I have one less tooth.
The 10 Weirdest Places I’ve Been – the massage in a women’s prison was both weird and excellent.
50 Biggest Culture Shock Experiences – 3 words: toilets in China. With pictures.
So, that was my 30s… I wasn’t where I was supposed to be.

Taking the pain (and expense) out of trip planning

We all love taking trips but what about the planning bit? Unless you’re handing it all over to a travel agent (together with a heap of money), you’re going to have to do some planning to get where you want to go. In this section I’m going to share with you some of my top tips for planning and booking your trip.

Planning your trip

I’ve travelled when it was easy (oh, I miss the 90s), I’ve travelled when it was hard (COVID), I’ve travelled for work, and I’ve travelled when it was my everyday nomadic life. I’ve taken two complete trips around the globe, quick trips, long trips, solo trips, trips with friends, family trips and romantic trips. My point: I’ve planned a lot of trips. Here’s what I’ve learned along the way.

Booking your trip

The internet is great for booking trips but why is there so much of it? And why do my flight prices keep going up the more I look (hint: it might be dynamic pricing – clear your cookies and they might go down again)? Whether you’re confused by the many booking websites or trying to bag a bargain flight (I once flew to Paris for €5 and to Hawaii for $98), here are my best trip booking tips.

Got any travel tips not included above? Leave a comment below.

Anybody else hate packing? How to do it properly

I once went to the Maldives having only packed clothes for the upper part of my body. Yes, I left all of my shorts and skirts in a neat pile on the spare bed. Unless you’re Winne-the-Pooh, who famously always forgets to put on pants and never seems to get arrested, it’s not acceptable behaviour. I’m still very grateful for that one dress I packed.

Since that trip, I’ve gotten much better at packing. In fact, I drew up a travel checklist for myself which I now use for every trip. You’ll find it below along with my other packing tips and lists.

Packing Lists

Travel themed gifts and gadgets

Know someone who’s going on a trip? Want to gift someone or yourself something travel themed? Or are you looking for some new kit? Check out my reviews and gift guides.

Ever been on a trip without taking any pants or are you a packing genius? Leave a comment to share your stories or any other packing hacks you know.

Destination guides to make your trip great

In my decades of travelling, I’ve been to somewhere between 60 and 70 countries. I’m not saying that to boast. I’m saying it because the travel bug is real and if you catch it, your list is likely to get longer not shorter the more you travel. At times your travel wish list can seem overwhelming in its length. Where do you start? I know the answer to that one – start anywhere. It doesn’t matter. Just start.

Remember above where I said I’m still writing up my first round the world trip that I took in 2010? Well, that means that the posts on my site are a bit patchy. Yeah, yeah, I’m working on it…in between trips and coffee and reading travel books. In the meantime, here are the destinations I’ve covered in some detail. Check out my map to see a more detailed list of where I’ve been and leave a comment if you have any destination questions about places I’ve visited but not written about yet.

Europe

UK – All Guides
Italy – All Guides
Spain – All Guides
France & Switzerland – All Guides
Rest of Europe – All Guides
45 Amazing Things To Do In Venice – Italy
30 Best Things To Do in Malaga
10 Things NOT To Do in Porto (and 10 To Do Instead)
3 Days in Florence: The Itinerary I Give My Friends
Is Santorini Worth It?

North America

Latin America & The Caribbean

Central America – All Guides
South America – All Guides
Costa Rica – All Guides
Colombia – All Guides
Cuba – All Guides
The Best Places To Visit in Costa Rica
The Best Places to Visit in Colombia
21 Must Try Traditional Jamaican Food & Drinks
An Itinerary Through Real Jamaica

Asia

Asia – All Guides
Vietnam – All Guides
Japan – All Guides
Myanmar – All Guides
China – All Guides
3 Days in Hong Kong – What to See and Do
15 Best Things To Do In Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
The Best Things To Do In Vietnam
How To Do Your Own Panda Tour in Chengdu (And Why You Should)
I Ate Fugu in Japan and Lived to Tell the Tale
What to Eat in Japan – 20 Alternatives to Sushi

Africa & The Rest of The World

Travel Inspiration

What to do when your trip goes wrong

If you travel often enough, it’s only a matter of time before you hit a snag on a trip. And I’ve had my fair share of them – 2014 was the year I seemed to miss 1 in every 3 flights I booked; in 2015 I had more insurance claims in that one year than I had in all of the rest of my years of travel (broken camera, lost suitcase and injured knee); along the years I’ve caught dengue fever in Mexico, had a snake in my room in Vietnam, climbed a volcano barefoot, and have been sick so many times I’ve written a whole post about it.

Some of these things can be avoided. Others can’t. Then it’s a case of dealing with it in the best way possible and trying to enjoy what you can of your trip. Here are my tips for what to do when travel goes wrong.

When things go wrong

Travel Insurance

Travel Health & Safety

What’s your worst travel story? Prepared to share it? Or got any other travel safety tips? Leave a comment below.

How to make your solo or long term trip happen

I took my first solo trip in the middle of the beak-down of my marriage. Six months later I bought a round the world ticket and haven’t looked back since. Travelling solo (and especially as a solo female traveller) can feel daunting. As can quitting your day job in favour of long term travel or a round the world trip. Whether you’re considering the digital nomad life or wanting to become a travel blogger (ahem, content creators as we’re now known, apparently) or just thinking of a weekend away on your own, here are my solo and long term travel tips.

Travelling solo

Round the world and backpacking trips

Travel writing and being a digital nomad

Are you taking a long-term trip or are you about to go somewhere solo? Got any questions? Leave a comment below.

That’s my ultimate travel planning resource guide. Share your own tips below.