I get a lot of questions about how we book travel, the tips and tricks we employ to get good deals and make all the necessary arrangements.  All this week I’ll be revealing my process for booking travel from start to finish, focusing on a different part of the process each day.  So stay tuned every day this week for my secrets to booking travel!

A big part of travel planning includes figuring out how you’re going to get from point A to point B while at your destination.  Not only figuring out how to get between destinations, but also how to get around cities or towns that you’ll be staying in.  It’s important to have an idea of the options before you go, so that it’s not so overwhelming when you arrive!

1.  Research all the options for transportation.

Whether you’ll be traveling between France and Spain or within Paris itself, you’ll need to know all the options available.  Research what’s available: trains, planes, metros, taxis.  The more you know before you leave, the easier it will be once you arrive and the less stress it will be with everything else that comes along while traveling.  Each place is different, so knowing what the options are in your location are really important.

2.  Find out what the best deal is for you both financially and with your time.

Often times when there are multiple options for transportation in a place, you’ll find that one of them will work best for you whether that be financially or just because of your schedule.  For example, while in Spain traveling between Barcelona and Madrid, we had the option to take the train or fly.  We could fly for a lot cheaper and arrive at our destination a little earlier, however trains are often easier and require less effort, so it’s all about figuring out what’s more important to you at that point in your trip.  Finding an option that works better with your schedule but costs a little more sometimes may be better too, rather than finding the cheapest option.

3.  Buy tickets ahead if possible.

Many times when traveling, you’ll need to buy tickets ahead of time.  Particularly if traveling by plane or even a lot of trains between busy cities, buying tickets in advance is a necessity.  I like using websites like Orbitz for plane tickets and RailEurope for train tickets for Europe.  Websites that show you all the options available are best so you can see what will work best for your schedule.