How to Plan an Overseas Trip (This Works Domestically Too!)
I recently posed a question on Facebook asking if anyone had recommendations, suggestions, or questions they might be interested in reading about on this blog. I mean, who couldn’t use some inspiration for what to write? 😄 A handful of friends said they’d be interested in knowing how I go about planning and “organizing” my trips. Perfect timing because I have an upcoming trip I hadn’t planned out yet! So with that, here’s an example of how to plan an overseas trip. (And don’t worry… it works domestically, too!) 😊
Step 1:
The most important tool I use to plan an overseas trip (or any trip I go on, really) is the Lonely Planet travel guide for that country. You can find these at bookstores, buy them online or, what I do, check them out from the library. Lonely Planet publishes updated versions of these books every 1-2 years (or so) so I suggest making sure you have the most recent version of the book for the country you’re traveling to.
(As you can tell, I’ll be planning out my trip to Guatemala in this example).
When I start planning a trip I first look at the map and the top recommendations in the first few pages of EVERY country’s Lonely Planet Guide. In this case there’s a top 15 for Guatemala. Some books have a top 10, 20, 25, (you get the idea).
I read through the top recommendations for that country, and when I find something that sounds interesting enough that I’d want to check it out while I’m there, I circle it on the map. I also read what’s in the little white boxes on the map as that information isn’t always included in the top 10-25 for each country. Lastly, I do a Google search for the country I’m going to. I type in “what to see and do in [Guatemela]” and I browse through results and circle anything on the map that sounds interesting to me that I haven’t circled already.
Step 2:
So now that I’ve read the top 15, the information in the little white boxes, done a Google search, and circled all the places on the map that I’d like to see, my map now looks like this.
From here I determine the best route to take to see all these places. In this case I know we’ll be flying into Guatemala City, so we’ll be starting there. We’ve talked about *potentially* getting in a few beach days in Belize at the end of our trip so I’m going to plan on finishing our travels in that direction. That being said (*refference the map above for this so you can SEE what I’m saying*), I think the best route for us to take will be to first head west of Guatemala City and see those sites, and then make our way northeast and see Semuc Champey and Rio Dulce along the way. We’ll end up north in Tikal, and then (potentially) cross the boarder into Belize from there for our beach days. Make sense?
Step 3:
My next step is to figure out the logistics of this route and how we’re going to travel between each destination.
***** A note on how to use the Lonely Planet Guide. I find it’s best to read this book by destination. So for example, if I’m wanting to know more about Antigua I look in that section of the book. As you can see in the first photo below, there’s information about sites, activities, sleeping, eating, and so on. The sites and activities sections along with some Google searching are how I determine what I want to see and do at each specific destination I’ve circled on the map.
In the last few pages about each destination (in this case Antigua) you’ll find the “information” section. As you can see in the second photo below you’ll find exactly that. Information. Emergency information, tourist information, medical information, etc. What I personally use this section for most frequently is the “getting there and away” section. This is where I go to figure out how I’m going to get to and from the destinations I’m planning on visiting. This is also where you’ll find bus information which is incredibly helpful. So what I’m about to share below was all found in the “getting there and away” sections of the respective destinations I’ve written about. *****
Step 3a:
We’ll first need to get from Guatemala City to Antigua. According to the Lonely Planet guide there’s two bus options; the national bus and the chicken bus. *I put a red dot by Antigua on each of these bus tables so you you can easily find the cost, time and frequency of each.* The chicken bus is the cheaper of the two options (and probably the most fun, let’s be honest 😄) so that’s the one we’ll probably take.
Step 3b:
From Antigua we’ll be going to Chichicastenango. I didn’t find the bus from Antigua to Chichicastenango listed under the bus section in Antigua, but I DID find a bus from Chichicastenango to Antigua listed in the Chichicastenango section. If it goes in one direction it has to go in the other, right? 😉 (I find this isn’t uncommon when I’m looking for bus routes in the Lonely Planet guide. The bus route I’m looking for will be listed in one direction but not the other.) Just going to put a little faith in the universe that it all works out. 😉
Step 3c:
From Chichicastenango we’ll be making our way to Lake Atitlán. Based on my Lonely Planet research, we’ll want to visit San Marcos La Laguna and San Pedro La Laguna which are two towns along Lake Atitlán. According to the Lonely Planet guide we’ll have to travel from Chichicastenango to a city called Panajachel which is where we’ll catch a boat to San Marcos La Laguna.
This is another instance where I didn’t find the bus from Chichicastenango to Panajachel listed in the Chichicastenango section but I DID find the bus from Panajachel to Chichicastenango listed in the Panajachel section. Gonna put some more faith in the universe that the bus runs in the other direction as well. 😉 In the same place I found the information about boats from Panajachel to San Marcos La Laguna I found that it’s also possible to travel between San Marcos La Laguna and San Pedro La Laguna. Perfect. We’ll figure out the details of that when we get there.
Step 3d:
Next on our route is Quetzaltenango but I’m not 100% about visiting this place. It sounds interesting which is why I circled it on the map, but maybe not quite as interesting as some other places where our time would be better spent? 🤷♀️
I’m keeping Quetzaltenango in the back of my mind with the intention of chatting with locals and fellow travelers who have been there and asking their opinions on whether or not we should visit. If we do decide to go we’ll take a bus there from San Pedro La Laguna. If we DON’T go to Quetzaltenango, we’ll most likely take a bus from San Pedro La Laguna to Guatemala City, connect on a bus to Cobán, and then connect on another bus to Lanquín. I’m guessing this will either be an insanely long travel day or we’ll spend a night in Guatemala City or Cobán to break up the travel time. We’ll figure out the details of this when we’re there. 😉
Step 3e:
Lanquín is where we’ll be based to visit Semuc Champey. When we’re ready to continue on we’ll make our way to Rio Dulce on a bus which looks like we’ll need to book through our ho(s)tel.
Step 3f:
From Rio Dulce we’ll make our way to Flores which according to the Lonely Planet guide is the best place to stay to visit Tikal. Looks like we can take a bus to Santa Elena (a nearby city to Flores) and I’m assuming we’ll take a taxi from there to our hostel in Flores. Putting some more faith in the universe because this is another situtation where I found the bus route from Santa Elena to Rio Dulce and not the other way around.
At this point we will have visited all the places I circled on the map! So next we’ll make our way to a beach in Belize? Decide to head back to Guatemala City? We’ll be figuring it out as we go at this point. 😉
But that’s it! That’s the route we’ll be taking.
Some Odds and Ends:
This is honestly the extent of what I do to plan an overseas trip… I research the places I want to see and verify via Lonely Planet that there’s a way to get to each of them in the order/route I’m planning. From there I put a little faith in the universe that it will all work out and I figure it out as I go along.
As for getting around within a specific destination I always use public transportation and the occasional taxi. Depending on the city and country I’m traveling in there’s often times public transit directions available on Google Maps. If that’s not an option I ask the front desk at my ho(s)tel about which bus(es) to take and I find they ALWAYS have the information I’m looking for.
If you’re wondering about booking places to stay, I do that about a day or two before I plan to be there. It gives me the flexibility to change or adjust my travel plans as I go if necessary. I know that may sound nerve wracking to some, but I can attest to the fact that in the 9+ years I’ve traveled like this, I’ve never been without a roof over my head. And in some cases I’ve even scored some sweet last minute deals by booking so close to my arrival date! I wrote a post about the resources I use for traveling and that’s where you’ll find my explainations of the websites and apps I use for booking things (and everything else) when I travel.
My Final Thoughts:
Everywhere I go I meet incredible locals and fellow travelers who are kind, GOOD people that are ALWAYS willing to help. Whether that’s offering anwers to my questions, giving some advice on how best to see or do something, or providing information on how to get from here to there, I find that the travel and local communites really look out for each other. Traveling with a loose do-it-yourself plan is totally doable ESPECIALLY when you’re surrounded by so many people who have your back. 😊
Please let me know if this process of how to plan an overseas trip made sense to you or if you have any questions about anything I can clarify. I really do hope this sheds some light on trip planning and gives you a little inspiration to plan out an adventure to come. 😊
Safe travels friends.
CE
