{"id":4107,"date":"2019-09-27T10:00:14","date_gmt":"2019-09-27T14:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/?p=4107"},"modified":"2019-09-26T08:56:49","modified_gmt":"2019-09-26T12:56:49","slug":"tips-planning-perfect-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/tips-planning-perfect-trip","title":{"rendered":"Tips for Planning your Perfect Trip"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>There\u2019s a lot that goes into planning a vacation: taking time off work or school, booking flights, hotels and transportation, packing, deciding where you want to go and how to fit everything into your schedule, and more. Along with the planning often comes an unusual and unexpected sense of worry: Am I using my time off as best I can? How do I make sure I see it all?<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s no simple task, and as such, there\u2019s no simple answer. In honour of World Tourism Day, we asked the WorldStrides Explorica team how to plan a perfect trip, because, well, it\u2019s what we do! Here\u2019s what we had to say:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Before you leave, download local city maps to your phone to get a sense of where you are staying in the city in relation to the sights and hot spots.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><em>&#8211; Carolyn, Director of Domestic Bus Sales<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Even better, downloading maps to your phone will allow you to pin spots you want to go to, so you remember them for later\u2026 or if you take a wrong turn, downloaded maps will help you get back on track without using extra data or having to hunt down WiFi!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><em>&#8211; Todd, Manager of Client Experience Managers<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-4120 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Friends-consulting-Map-510x340.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"510\" height=\"340\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Friends-consulting-Map-510x340.jpeg 510w, https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Friends-consulting-Map-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Friends-consulting-Map-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Friends-consulting-Map.jpeg 1731w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 510px) 100vw, 510px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>When booking hotels, look at the destinations (like museums, restaurants, etc.) you\u2019re going to, and see if you can find places that are somewhat central so you\u2019re always right where you need to be, and will be able to make the most of your time!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><em>&#8211; Luke, Client Experience Manager<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Research the best way to get around your destination, whether that\u2019s using a metro pass, walking, or biking! For example, it might pay off to buy a metro pass in advance or as one of the first things you do when you arrive, so you can get as much use of it as possible.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><em>&#8211; Scott, Business Development Executive<\/em><\/p>\n<p>When planning your itinerary, make sure to leave some time each day for\u2026 well, anything! Whether you overhear a conversation on the metro about this AMAZING restaurant, want to wander around the downtown core and soak up the sights (and smells and sounds), or enjoy some me-time and relax with a good book, be careful about <em>over-planning<\/em>. Create some free time in your itinerary so you can see where the day takes you and what adventures you may discover.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><em>&#8211; Alana, Marketing Director, Canada<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Know anyone who\u2019s travelled to your destination? Ask what they saw, what they loved, what they would do again, and what they wish they saw more of. Those will be great starting points \u2013 someone who has experienced those things will be able to give you amazing insight, especially if you trust their opinion!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><em>&#8211; Alyssa, Senior Client Experience Manager<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Once you\u2019ve arrived, be sure to put your phone away every once in a while and live in the moment. Don\u2019t just see the sights through your phone\u2019s camera lens \u2013 remember to enjoy and take in the beauty of the place you\u2019ve travelled so far to see.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><em>&#8211; Alessandra, Performing Tours Specialist<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-4122 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Girls-smiling-in-park-510x340.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"510\" height=\"340\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Girls-smiling-in-park-510x340.jpeg 510w, https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Girls-smiling-in-park-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Girls-smiling-in-park-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Girls-smiling-in-park.jpeg 1732w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 510px) 100vw, 510px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Check out Instagram hot spots and popular hashtags! Posts found here will showcase the most photogenic sights and where people seem to be sharing a lot of content from, which means they might be worth a visit!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><em>&#8211; Vanessa, Client Experience Manager<\/em><\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re at a museum, monument, or important building, don\u2019t hesitate to ask questions! More often than not, there are knowledgeable staff around who can share interesting tidbits of information you wouldn\u2019t have known otherwise. Even if you\u2019re simply enjoying a coffee at a local caf\u00e9, ask your server for tips on nearby spots, they will likely know the city like the back of their hand.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><em>&#8211; Stephanie, Senior Client Experience Manager<\/em><\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re staying in a hostel or meeting lots of new people, ask what they\u2019re doing on their trip! You might make a new friend and discover a great spot that you wouldn\u2019t have known about otherwise \u2013 especially if you\u2019ve managed to see the spots you prioritized and want to check out something new.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><em>&#8211; Amanda, Client Experience Manager<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Planning your trip can be overwhelming, and sometimes it can be difficult to figure out where to start the planning process, especially knowing that you don\u2019t want to feel like you missed out on something major. Hopefully, these tips can help point you in the right direction of planning your perfect trip!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There\u2019s a lot that goes into planning a vacation: taking time off work or school, booking flights, hotels and transportation, packing, deciding where you want to go and how to fit everything into your schedule, and more. Along with the planning often comes an unusual and unexpected sense of worry: Am I using my time <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/tips-planning-perfect-trip\">Read More &#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4108,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-explorica-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4107"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4107\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4124,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4107\/revisions\/4124"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}