A July Dreamer

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Tips and Tricks ·

Planning a weekend getaway abroad 

Planning a weekend getaway abroad can be the easiest thing you’ve ever done or the most annoying dependant on how you do it and how much time you invest in planning it.

 weekend getaway abroad

I have been on a few weekend getaways abroad and I feel I have mastered what has worked for me and what hasn’t. The tips I am sharing should not be taken as holier than thou but as a guide or a starting point for what might work for you too.

Choose your destination

For those of us in Europe it is so easy to pick and choose a European city and then fly, drive or Eurostar there without much planning but saying that you still need to choose which location is affordable for your budget. I always go for low-budget weekend getaways which give me more for my money than expensive getaways, my reasoning is that I feel cheated spending a lot of money just for Saturday and Sunday. Saying that I do not just choose cheap destinations, I can choose expensive destinations but be smart and realistic about what I am going to be spending money on and what I can bring myself from home. An example is snacks, why not bring snacks from home instead of buying at your destination. Especially if you’re traveling via train or driving, you can bring a lot so you save money for the must see attractions etc.

weekend getaway abroad
(c) prague 2016

weekend getaway abroad
(c) Prague Castle 2016

Search for travel deals

If you’re flying I would recommend you use sites like skyscanner as they give you a load of options and give you an idea of cheaper flights available and sometimes what dates are best for traveling. I use their tools a lot to check which dates are the cheapest to travel and usually the beginning of the month for European destinations are cheaper. Don’t neglect the actual airlines that skyscanner recommends, I do this both for flights and hotels I check what Skyscanner + other travel sites are recommending then check with the airline or hotel directly and see if I can save anywhere or not. I am not one for packaged deals but if they offer flight+hotel at reasonable price like these Europe Tour packages then I am happy to use them but otherwise I book them separately and 8/10 this is the cheapest option for me.

Transportation at destination

Obviously you already know how you are going to get to the airport from home but another thing to think about is how are you going to travel from airport to hotel? I like to search for airport transfers or public transportation or private taxis. For my Ljubljana trip I used Go Opti airport transfer, a private taxis company that picks you up from airport and drops you at hotel and vice versa at such a reasonable price. Since local taxis like to charge foreigners extortionate amounts I always do a lot of research to make sure I get the best deal and if local taxis is charging same as airport transfer then I choose airport transfer for guarantee reasons. If the taxis decides not to show up, you could get stranded but with airport transfer they aim to get you to your destination and back to airport at reasonable times and you have a better chance of them booking you a replacement flight if they are late than taxis man.

weekend getaway abroad
(c) Prague Castle 2015

 

weekend getaway abroad
(c) Charles Bridge, Prague 2016

 

weekend getaway abroad

Research local attractions 

As a blogger I have a huge library of information at my fingertips aka fellow bloggers. I can guarantee you there is someone who has done what you want to do and has recommendations or someone recommended something to a family member etc and the story goes. Also bloggers like to read reviews and there countless posts out there about different destinations. Apart from fellow bloggers and family, I also check out sites like booking.com or trip advisor that have amazing recommendations and reviews.

These are my top tips for planning a weekend getaway abroad, what are some of yours?

Have you ever planned a weekend getaway abroad?

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Comments

  1. Kiwi says

    Great tips! I have been bit by the travel bug I am definitely going to do more traveling abroad. I love Skyskanner its very helpful for flight deals!

    Reply

  7. Rebecca Swenor says

    These are all great tips for planning a weekend getaway abroad. It looks like you had a lot of fun for sure. I have to admit that I have never gone on a weekend getaway abroad before. I would love to getaway to Europe. Thanks for the great tips.

    Reply

  9. Maureen says

    Awesome tips and that’s what I love about Europe! You can visit so many different countries on short visit (although you would want to explore more).
    Love your photos!

    Reply

  14. Mimi Green says

    Great tips, I’ve yet to travel abroad. I have a couple of spots in mind. I’m in the US, so I will have to do a lot more to plan but either way I want the biggest bang for my buck.

    Reply

  15. Franc Ramon says

    I think if you had a week to travel you can just focus on one area and explore as much attraction as possible. It’s also great if you can get a good deal on a cross country adventure.

    Reply

  16. Travel Blogger says

    Great tips! I think a lot of people think that traveling is out of their reach, but there are so many great tips to save money and take an incredible vacation. Thanks for the tips!

    Reply

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