Travel Bits: February 2019

Travel Plans.......

The months of January and February are usually the time of the year when I plan my travels for the year. Besides those ad-hoc trips that may crop up due to business or other reasons, my vacation trips are typically planned well ahead.

When I planned a trip, I usually only took care of the broad outlines of the itineraries including where to travel to, the best time of the year to travel to the planned locations, accommodation costs, air tickets availability and visa requirements. The nitty gritty stuff like what to do during the trip, where to go, things to see and do etc. are usually left for much later.

Where to travel to: This is usually the first question I asked myself when a trip was being planned. As a creature of habit, I have re-visited the same places many times either due to my likes for the destination, the environment, the food, the culture and the people. But I do also visit new places which I have never travel to before. I will try to visit new places in at least one of my vacation trips each year. I typically travel for vacation about 3 to 4 times a year. These include  2 trips with longer durations that are between 10 to 14 days and 2 trips with shorter durations of 5 days or less. 

Best time of the year to travel to the destination: This is an important question to answer when planning my trips. With the internet at my finger tips, I will look for information with regards to the peak and low tourist seasons of the intended destinations. This directly impact the cost of my trip. To get the best value out of my trip, I will choose to travel during the periods between the peak and low seasons of the destinations. The savings in the costs of accommodation and the prospect of  less crowded destinations are well worth the efforts of a little research. Weather information is also an important input of my travel plans. I certainly do not want to visit a city at the height of a typhoon or monsoon season and risk having my entire trip washed out by inclement weather. Spending thousands on a vacation just to sit in my hotel room watching the rain outside the windows is not a very wise thing to do!

Spring is a great time to visit Japanese cities but accommodation and air tickets will be pricey due to this being a peak travel season in Japan, Ueno Park, Tokyo, Japan (2017)

The crowd in the peak travel season of spring each year in Japan can be a daunting prospect, Ueno Park, Tokyo, Japan (2017)

Air tickets: With the destinations and the period of travel decided, the next question will be air tickets availability. Yes, there are airlines that I like and which I would prefer to travel with due to membership privileges and such. But I am also no stranger to traveling with new airlines or less preferred airlines as long as the ends justify the means. A quick cost-benefit analysis typically follows before I decide on the airline to fly with for my trip. Cost, safety, convenience regarding flight times and onward flight connectivity as well as the airline's service standards are important considerations for me.

Enjoying my in-flight meals on a trip from Singapore to Hong Kong (2019)

Visa requirements: This is usually not a problem for me as I am a citizen of a country whereby my passport allows me to travel visa-free to more than 180 countries, territories and jurisdictions. However, I still check up on the latest visa requirements of the destinations before I book and pay for my trips. This is to prevent any travel hassles that may surfaced due to last minute changes in visa requirements. And just for the record, visa-free travel usually does not mean I can just take my passport, book my flights and turn up at the destination unannounced. For many travel destinations, an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) may be required and has to be applied and paid for before travel may commence. 

With these 4 questions answered, my planned travel is finalised. Now, the waiting time for the trip is all that stands between me and my dreamed vacation.