International trip planning for some people is filled with excitement and anticipation, while others leaves them with dread and anxiousness.
We at trailvoyage revel in the travel journey planning process and are here to provide some tips and approaches for multi-destination adventure trips.
Not all trips are linear, of having one goal or destination in mind, going there for said activity and returning home. When planning an international trip, there are often multiple requirements and priorities at stake, in addition to the big activity (e.g. riding, skiing hiking etc.).
There may be some layovers that you want to take advantage of, to break up the journey with a 1-2 day stopover, there could be family and friends to visit, before or after the planned activity. Or you want to tack on additional days in another location, to stretch the trip.
All these need to be taken in to consideration, along with time of year, flights and/or award seat availability, accommodation availability and budgeting requirements.
So lets take a look at the building blocks to planning an overseas trip. Building a great itinerary that works for your activity and destination requirements.
How to Plan an International Trip
A little bit of structure and process can go a long way to creating an unforgettable trip. From activity and destination selection, through to accommodation, logistics and great restaurant selection – all these elements combine to create plan worth following, with flexibility built in.
Choosing a Great Adventure Holiday Destination
Choosing what to do can be a challenge, but there is always somewhere in the world where you can ski/snowboard, mountain bike, hike or have an adventure travel experience.
Type of Adventure Travel
Decide whether you want to focus on one particular activity or have a multi-sport experience.
Each trip will have its requirements, advantages and challenges and is helpful to flesh these out, before deciding on the final approach.
Accessibility and Infrastructure
When you have a shortlist or narrowed it down to the type of activity to pursue, understanding how easy or difficult it is to get there should also be part of the early planning process.
Are there direct flights to the final destination or do you need additional local flights or ground transport to get you to the starting point.
What are these additional transport options and what are the costs involved?
What type of accommodation is available is it suitable for you and your travel party? Are you staying in hotels, AirBnB’s, local pensions, hostels, or camping? Work through what is available, the level of comfort required and budget considerations.
Seasonality and Weather
Timing for adventure travel is crucial as adventure activities are often weather dependent for prime conditions.
For example:
- Skiers & snowboarders aim for peak snow conditions in Japan (January-February) or Europe (December-March).
- Hikers in Patagonia plan for late spring to early autumn (November-March).
- Mountain bikers might consider Whistler, Canada, or Rotorua, New Zealand, during their summer or autumn hemisphere periods, for optimal trail conditions.
Multi-Destination Adventures
For travellers looking to add additional countries, consider neighbouring countries or locations that may be a quick flight or train journey away.
For example, you can plan a ski trip to Switzerland and continue your alpine holiday in Austria and Italy.
Or Hike trails in New Zealand and then relax in the Cook Islands or Fiji.
Europe and South East Asia is perfect for this, with diverse countries and multiple flight options, with low cost carriers to assist with the planning.
The US also has excellent and well-connected domestic routes, to plan multi-activity, multi-location trips, with varying geographic climates.
Leveraging Award and Points Travel for International Trips
Maximising points for award travel can be great way to get the jump on flight and accommodation costs.
Getting Started with Award Travel
The general premise is via credit card sign up bonuses, in a ‘flexible’ currency that can transfer to an airline with availability on the selected route.
This is how the majority of travel points and miles enthusiasts get to travel the world, with the cost of essentially the ticket fees and charges. Below is one way of many, to get you started.
- Join a couple of frequent flyer programs, ideally at least one from each of the three main airline alliances
- Oneworld (American, Qantas, British Airways, JAL etc.)
- Star Alliance (United, Air Canada, Lufthansa Group, ANA etc.)
- Sky Team (KLM, Air France, Delta, Korean Air etc.)
- Explore credit cards that may have sign up bonuses that allow you to transfer to various airline partners
- E.g. AMEX, Chase, Capital One etc.
- Meet the requirements of the spends to trigger the sign up offer (e.g. Spend $3000 on the card in the first 3 months to get 100,000 points)
- Accumulate points via sign up offers and general spend
- Search for award flight opportunities with tools like Points Yeah or Seats.Aero or via the airlines themselves
- Transfer points to the airline with the best offer for your selected route
- Book the award flight and enjoy!
How to Book Multi-City and Multi-Country Travel with Points
In much the same way as booking a point-to-point flight, most airlines have options for Multi-City. Again it is a matter of using the airlines multi-city booking tool. See below an example from Qantas.
In this example you can search multi-city options and look for award options.
- Melbourne to Hong Kong
- Hong Kong to Tokyo
- Tokyo to Melbourne
Examples of Multi-City Flight Itineraries include:
- Fly into Geneva for skiing in the Alps and return from Madrid after exploring the riding in the Sierra Nevada
- Start in Tokyo, Japan, for skiing, then continue to Bali, Indonesia, for a diving or surf camp adventure.
Open-Jaw Tickets: Use points to fly into one city and out of another. For example:
- Arrive in Santiago, Chile, hike in Patagonia, and return home from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Accommodation Strategies
The accommodation-booking concept is pretty similar to that of flight award bookings. Using the same approach of using a tradeable ‘points currency’ to multiple travel partners (Airlines and Hotels), you can find award rooms with many of the large hotel groups and their tiered brands.
From luxury suites to budget motels. Look for transfer partners such as Marriott Bonvoy, Accor, Hyatt and Hilton. All these hotels groups have multiple brands to suit various budgets and points availability.
You will need the to join the hotel group’s loyalty program and then transfer the points, once you have found a room that works for your trip.
Other accommodation options that work well, particularly with larger groups or families with outdoor gear is short term rentals. We are talking AirBnB, Vrbo/Stayz and other similar options. Even booking.com have a number of apartment listings, particularly in European cities that are available.
More space, options to prepare own meals, washing and drying facilities all make for a great base for your selected adventure.
Pro Tips for Award Travel
- Plan and book early to secure low redemption rates, especially for peak seasons.
- Many airlines release their award bookings form 330 to 360 days out. If you see an award that works, snap it up quickly before it goes.
- Take advantage of stopovers offered by airlines to explore additional cities.
- Mix and match: Use points for long-haul flights and cash for short-haul regional connections.
- Consider positioning flights – shorter paid flights to get you to an airport that has a great deal or offer on award flights
Step-by-Step International Trip Planning for Adventure Travel
For some, planning out a trip brings immense pleasure, for others – a sense e of dread.
For those that are on the latter pert of that spectrum, see below an approach to make the process a little easier and give confidence that most of the elements will be in place for your next great adventure.
Research and Preparation:
You’ve selected the countries and locations for your preferred activity (ies) – now it’s time to put it together
- Check visa requirements for all countries in your itinerary, especially for multi-country trips.
- Ensure your passport is valid for at least six months after your planned return and you have spare blank pages in the passport for any visa requirements
- Review health and safety precautions for each destination, including necessary vaccinations. These may need to be sorted out beforehand or have a prescription filled
- Learn basic phrases in the local language to ease communication during your travels. Not 100% necessary, but a please and thank you in the local language, with same hand gestures can go a long way.
Building Your Itinerary:
This is where the trip planning comes to life. Now that you have worked out where you are going, the rough dates, flights and activities, its time to put it together.
- Start with Key Locations: Choose primary adventure spots and build your travel planning around them.
- Accommodation requirements such as cost, location, ease of access to both transport and activity (e.g. Ski Lifts, Trailhead etc.)
- On ground transport – is there a train, tram or bus located nearby?
- Can you carry gear on these carriers?
- Do you need access to a hire car/van
- How far is the airport away to arrange shuttles, taxi or public transport?
- Food and Drink
- What restaurants/cafes may be nearby
- Are there supermarkets within easy access of your accommodation?
- Do you need to stock up on supplies before the trip?
- Do you need to consider restaurant bookings for selected nights?
- Plan for Multi-Destination Logistics:
- Consider using a tracking tool to keep all your travel planning in one place – this can be a simple spreadsheet or an app that keeps your details in one place.
- Research transportation options between cities or countries (trains, regional flights, buses).
- Allow Flexibility:
- Include buffer days for rest or unexpected changes, especially in regions with variable weather.
- Consider side day trips – often this turn out to be a key highlight of the trip.
- Additional Activities and/or booking requirements:
- Book activities such as guided tours, ski passes, or trail permits in advance.
- E.g. Backcountry guide, equipment hire, hiking permits, or discounted lift passes, when purchased online
- Check if any destinations require specific gear or licenses for activities.
- Are you looking to do side tours or attractions and what bookings may need to be sorted in advance?
- Book activities such as guided tours, ski passes, or trail permits in advance.
If you have information on the bulk of the details above, you can start to populate this into a schedule and continue to tweak as you receive confirmations, booking references and details from vendors.
Creating a folder on a drive that can be accessed on the road (e.g. icloud, dropbox etc.) to drop in e-tickets, email confirmations and insurance policy docs, make it real easy to access on the fly.
Having copies or images of passports can be useful, if you were lose, damage of have them stolen, whilst on the road.
Finals Thoughts – International Trip Planning
International trip planning is not that much different from domestic trip planning, albeit with some visa, passport requirements and possible language challenges.
Having a plan, locking in some dates and placing the large travel planning items around that (activities, flights and accommodation) will have you well on your way to getting a solid plan locked and ready.
Using good research tools for flights and accommodation such as booking.com expedia, kayak, points yeah helps with the planning process. Sourcing a way to record the info, whether that is via an app or a travel planning spreadsheet and having easy access can help to alleviate the stress and anxiety around trip planning.
Keep some buffer time up you sleeve and consider some side trips, and you have great process in place. Happy planning and happy travels.
