Six Steps to Plan the Perfect VacationMohammad Hijazi | @mhijazi @mhijazi89

Why is it better to Plan your Vacation by yourself?

• Tailored in details to your own preference

• Gets you more involved

• Fun to prepare

• Cheaper

Steps to your Getaway…

• Step 1: Deciding on your destination

• Step 2: Flight booking

• Step 3: Hotel booking

• Step 4: Inter-city and in-city transportation

• Step 5: Getting familiar with your destination

geographically (map map map!)

• Step 6: Finding and deciding on top attractions, top

restaurants and top wild night spots

STEP 1: Making a decision

• Determine your interests: http://www.minube.net/

• Ask questions: http://www.trippy.com/

• Set your dates

• Research unique vacations

• Set your budget

• Visa free countries? There’s a list for that: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_requirements_for_Lebanese_citizens

Step 2: Flight booking

Best websites to book cheap tickets from:

• www.momondo.com

• www.cheapoair.com

• www.Travelocity.com

• www.expedia.com

• www.edreams.com

• www.kayak.com

(always search in incognito mode)

When using these websites filter by:

1) Least number of stops

2) Shortest duration

3) Lowest price

4) Good airlines

However, an agency could be contacted atan early stage to book an unconfirmedticket just in case any change in the datesoccurs. Later on, this ticket could becancelled and booked online using theabove websites with a lower price.

Step 2: Flight booking tips

• Try to stick to one airline alliance for all your trips and claim your travelled miles with one of their airlines.

• Sometimes it's worth it to mix and match especially from the same alliance. Most airlines now sell one-way flights at reasonable prices, meaning one might be cheaper for the outbound flight while the other works better for the return.

• You could even fly to one airport and depart from another.

Step 2: Flight booking tips

• On international flights, book window seats so you

can rest your head on the bulkhead.

• Book seats close to the front so you can beat

everyone to the passport control line. Also, you

will get your food first.

Step 2: Best times to book

• Leave on a Wednesday: It's the cheapest day to do it, says

FareCompare.com. Per the website: "The day with the most seats is likely to have better supply, and thus ... more empty seats that require discounting to fill the plane—meaning they'll have to release more seats at their cheapest price point."

• Book Six Weeks in Advance: A

revealing study from Airlines

Reporting Corporation found

that the best time to purchase

your airfare is about six weeks

prior to travel. The reason:

Around this time, prices drop

below the average fare.

Step 3: Hotel Booking Tips

Best websites to book cheap stays:

• www.hotels.com

• www.booking.com

• www.momondo.com

• www.travelrepublic.co.uk

• www.trivago.com

When using these websites filter by:

• Distance to city center

• Cancellation option

• Price before and after cancellation

• Stars (1 – 5)

• Rating (1 – 10)

• Whether a bus station or any other form

of transportation is next to the hotel

Step 3: Hotel Booking Tips

• Choose a selection of Hotels and pick a few

based on the criteria mentioned in the

previous slide.

• Use Google maps to see the Hotels chosen and

check for any bus station next to them.

• Book a room with a free cancellation option

(even if the price was higher than booking it

without this option). Later on, this booking can

be cancelled when the whole trip is 100%

confirmed and another room without the

cancellation option is booked instead in order

to benefit from the lower price.

• Book several “free cancellation” hotels and

decide which hotel you want a few days before

your trip to better accommodate your

itinerary.

• Book business hotels on weekends and

summer, prices are usually cheap because

demand is low.

• Ask for a corner room because it is usually

bigger and quieter than regular rooms.

• Sign up for a hotel’s loyalty program and try to

book hotels with their chain if you can to get

rewards.

• You can usually find coupon codes for hotels

on Coupons.com and DealIsPlus.com

Step 3: Other options

• Airbnb: Find local short-term accommodations. Travelers can choose a wide range of shared rooms, private rooms and entire apartments or houses.

• Tripping is platform that connects travelers with locals who are renting out their homes around the world. There are over 750,000 rental spaces ranging from luxurious penthouses to rustic beachside stays.

• Hotel Tonight: For last-minute lodging deals, a free mobile app

available on iOS andAndroid devices.

• Hostels.com allows you to book a bed in a shared room at hostels in 180 countries.

• Couchsurf for free with people who share their homes, cities and lives in profound and meaningful ways, making travel anywhere in the world a truly social experience. (Couchsurfing.org)

Step 4: Intercity and in City transportation

• Inter-city transportation:

• Airport – Hotel transportation

• Hotel – Hotel transportation (when visiting more than one City

in the same Country)

• In-City transportation:

• Hotel – Restaurants

• Hotel – Beach

• Hotel – Night Spots

• Hotel – Attractions (Museums, Churches, Mosques, Historical

areas, etc..)

Step 4: Intercity and in City transportation

Step 4: Intercity and in City transportation

Types of transportation forms to consider when on vacation:

• Uber: Using Uber application on mobile or using their website:

www.uber.com. Other similar services include Lyft, Sidecar and Careem.

• Taxi: Ordering a taxi could be done from the Hotel or online depending on

the destination.

• Public bus: Google search the public bus schedule and routes based on the

destination.

• Metro/Train/Subway: Google search the train stations schedule and routes

based on the destination. Most cities have their own metro/train apps.

• Rent a car: Google search rental companies based on the destination.

• Internal flights: Big countries such as US, Canada and India have many

airports and many times internal flights are cheaper than land transport.

Step 5: Getting familiar with your destination geographically

Getting familiar with the area geographically helps

a lot in having a sense of direction when you reach

your destination

This will definitely save a lot of time!

The best way to do that is by using:

GOOGLE MAPS!

Step 5: Getting familiar with your destination geographically

Use of Google maps:

• City Center area with respect to the Hotel

• Bus and Metro stations

• Distance from the Hotel to our targets (attractions, restaurants, shopping centers, pubs and night clubs)

• Star all the locations that you want visit. This will help you cluster nearby attractions together in the same day.

Step 6: Attractions, restaurants and wild night spots

The best way to find and decide on top attractions,restaurants, shopping centers and night spots to visit, isthrough word of mouth and performing a good searchonline.

Contacting a person who lives in the Country you areplanning to visit for the first time is a very reliable source aswell. Even more reliable than what you can find online.

• What are the major attractions?

• What would a tourist most likely won't want to miss?

• Where is it crowded the most in down-town?

Step 6: Attractions, restaurants and wild night spots

The internet is the second reliable sourceto find places to go to as you can alwaysfind people’s feedbacks and reviews…

First, always search for a schedule ofevents and festivals that are occurringduring the days of your stay at the chosendestination.

Also, visit the local tourism office (usuallyin the airport or at main trainstations). They know about everythinggoing on in town. They can point you to

free activities, special events happeningduring your stay, and everything inbetween. Use this resource.

Step 6: Attractions, restaurants and wild night spots

Second, find out what Google lists as top 10 attractions,restaurants, pubs, and nightclubs at the targeted destinationand make a list of each.

These are the websites that could be used:

• www.viator.com

• www.getyourguide.com

• www.expedia.com

• www.visitacity.com

• www.tripadvisor.com

• www.passeportmtl.com

Step 6: Attractions, restaurants and wild night spots

Third, use social media (Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat,

etc…) to check out the lists made by searching online

through:

• Watching live videos of prior year festivals that are

interesting to attend at your time of visit.

• Watching live videos of parties in the chosen night spots.

• Reading people’s comments and reviews of chosen

restaurants and attractions.

• Check out blogs, YouTube, TripAdviser and Forsquare.

Step 6: Attractions, restaurants and wild night spots

Look for deals:

• Sites like Groupon, LivingSocial & Yipit provide you with

great discounts on many touristic attractions and tour.

• Most big cities have city passes or museum passes

where they give great discounts for a bundle of

sightseeing spots. Examples: CityPass.com, Go City

Card, etc…

Step 6: Attractions, restaurants and wild night spots

Check out these apps that help you make a plan.

More tips:• Always have a scan of your passport, visas and important documents

in your email and Dropbox folder in case you lose them or they get

stolen.

• Don’t exchange money at the airport or hotels, ever!

• To manage who paid what when you’re travelling in a group,

download the Tricount app for your phone.

• Always get behind business travelers when in security lines. They move

fast. Try to keep up. Never get behind families. They take forever. It’s

not their fault; they just have a lot of stuff.

• Research the SIM cards available in each country beforehand. Many

times you can order them online directly to your hotel.

• Take pictures of your luggage and clothes. If your bag gets lost, this will

help identify it more easily and speed up the process of having your

travel insurance reimburse you.

• Take earplugs. Snorers and noise are everywhere and you need your

sleep.

• Tell your bank you’re travelling so your card doesn’t get rejected.

Where are you off to next?Mohammad Hijazi | @mhijazi @mhijazi89