How to Plan a Dream Vacation without a Travel Agent

We get asked every time we travel if we used a travel agent, and the answer is always the same: no. Can you plan a dream vacation without a travel agent? Of course, but there are pros and cons. Let’s talk about the top reasons we don’t use a travel agent when we plan a trip and our tip tops for trip planning to keep it stress-free…or mostly at least!

First, let’s talk about the cost of travel agents. Unless you are planning a luxury vacation with some unusual or specific requests, you won’t pay anything extra. Typically, commission is already built into the cost of your travel components. The agent will get the commission instead of the hotel and they will get the commission via any arrangements the airlines have. (I am not a travel agent, so I’ll leave the details to an agent to explain more adequately.)

So why wouldn’t we use a travel agent if it doesn’t cost us more? Agents can save you time by doing the work for you, and they may even save you money, because they have access to special discounts or deals normal consumers do not. But, planning a trip by yourself is not only fun, but it gives you the opportunity to take full control of every step of your trip without compromise. No shade at all on agents, but if you don’t already have a good one, finding one you can trust is just one more step you have to take.

Planning a vacation by yourself means you’ll have to do some research on your destination. You’re going to see options for excursions, accommodations, and stops that you won’t know if your agent doesn’t tell you about. In other words, you’ll get a very top level overview of the possibilities. Dream big!

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Here are our top tips for planning a dream vacation on your own without using a travel agent!

• Create a spreadsheet in Google docs or Excel. Start by plugging in the dates you wish to travel. Use a column for arrival and departure info, and using a row for each date, add links to your accommodations and preferred excursions. This will be your trip basecamp, and can easily be edited as you complete your reservations. You can download my free printable here. Click “make copy” to save your own version and add your own trip destination, dates, and more. It’s not fancy, but it gives you a framework to visualize your trip. Once everything is finalized, you can add a column for contact information and any other details you may need.
• Run your dates through your favorite airline flight aggregator site. Alternatively, pick your favorite airline. (If you have a favorite airline, be sure you’ve joined their free miles program to begin accruing miles so you can access lounges, upgrades, and special discounts.) Review your most preferred times, considering the commute you’ll have to and from the airport, how much time you’ll need to park, and if you’ll need to arrange transportation. Make notes of the times and move on to the next step.

• Now that you know your options and approximate costs, research your accommodations. If there is a specific place you need to stay, be sure your dates are available; if not, you will either need to change your accommodations or your flight timing. If the dates are available and there is a refund policy that works for you (such as cancellation available up until 14 days in advance), you can reserve the rooms IF you think there’s a chance they will sell out while you finish your flight arrangements.
• If you’re not sure where you want to stay, start asking around. Join Facebook groups for your destination and get recommendations. Reddit can also be helpful. Use Google Maps on satellite mode to see visuals. Determine if you’re better off at a resort that includes restaurants and activities, or a boutique or small hotel or even an AirBnB. There are pros and cons to each, but when we travel to a new country, we prefer to immerse ourselves, so we don’t select all-inclusive resorts; if we choose a resort, we make sure it’s close enough to tour the actual city and to experience food from the local restaurants. (We travel to try new things.)

• Research all the recommendations you receive; check drive time to and from the airport to your accommodations. Look at pictures, see if it’s convenient for transportation, walking distance from a beach or other highlights, and if you can easily access food and/or markets. A place that comes highly recommended may cost you $40 every time you want to go into town or you may find negative reviews that concern you, so spend a little time vetting those that initially look good. If a pool, spa, hot tub, or an adults-only area are important, factor those into your research. Be honest about what you’re looking for. Chances are, you’ll spend at least a few thousand for two of you travel, so don’t settle if there’s something specific you want or need. Going to a very hot area? Not all hotels have air-conditioning, which could be a deal breaker for you. Want to store some beverages or be able to take leftovers to your room? Be sure you have a mini-fridge.
• Book your flights. Travel insurance may be helpful, but many times, it doesn’t cover the things that may prevent you from traveling, so take that into consideration. Check the cancellation and/or change policies of the airline.

• Book your accommodations. Some will require payment when you book; others will require it when you check-out. Know it in advance and learn the cancellation policies. If paying for it later is what fits in your budget, inquire when you book; most hotel booking sites will state this up-front, and some will offer you ‘pay later’ if you agree to a nominal extra fee. This can make planning a trip more feasible, if you don’t have all the money up front.
• Next comes the fun part: excursions! What types of activities do you want to do? Do you want to be adventurous, or are you a lay on the beach kind of traveler? This is another thing you can do in destination Facebook groups or even internet research. I use GetYourGuide.com to see what’s available, and often, hotel websites have recommendations as well. There may be some amazing tours or activities available that you’ve never heard of. You can often book them when you’ve arrived, as many concierge teams will help you, but sometimes you risk missing out on something popular, and you may pay a little more for the convenience. (Upside, many of them will help arrange transportation from the hotel and back.) Again, look at pay now or pay later options, and their cancellation policies.

• Do not overbook yourself! Planning an long day of activities the morning after you arrive can be exhausting, so be sure you leave yourself time to rest from the trip and to enjoy your accommodations. Combo tours that offer 2-3 popular places in one trip can be a fun way to get several things done in one day, and many include meals. (For example, if you book two places in the same day, but they’re not with the same tour guide/company, consider the travel time in between the events, make sure you have time to eat, and time to gather any gear you may need, including a change of clothing.) Rushing from one activity to another can drain you and take away from the experience. We recommend one big excursion per day, and smaller walkaround opportunities later that evening, or even just time exploring hot springs or a local restaurant.
• Be flexible IF you can. You may need to shift your flight a day or three in one direction in order to keep costs down or for your preferred accommodations to be available. Be sure you’re not arriving on a high holiday or special event that will hinder your traffic. (We were in Paris during the no confidence vote for Macron, and the conference was held at our hotel. We had a hard time finding seats for breakfast and dinner, and we were so disappointed as we loved the food, and the buffet was included in our rates. We learned after that to ask if the hotel was hosting anything during our stay, or if there were local celebrations occurring. Christmas in Costa Rica is a huge thing, as is holy week, and some places close early.)

• Plan your transportation; we do this after we make the big arrangements, because we know we usually have several options, depending on the area. When we’re in Costa Rica, we use the same driving service year after year. They are friendly, safe, affordable, very convenient, and they serve as tour guides, pointing out safe restrooms, stopping to eat or even taking small detours to show us incredible sites. We pay less for this option than a rental car, and we don’t have to worry about parking, inclement weather, or traffic affecting the drive. If you choose to rent, be sure your accommodations offer parking. It may still be preferable to have tours pick you up to maximize convenience.
• If you’re celebrating a special day, let your hotel know. Many offer special packages or perks for anniversaries or birthdays. You may even get a room upgrade.
• You may have heard about a spectacular restaurant, so book your reservation as soon as the location allows. You can often request the table with the best view, or the sunset view, or whatever you prefer, if you do it enough in advance. Consider appropriate attire; if you’re doing everything in a carry-on, you may not want to pack a fancier dress. You may even want to plan your excursions around special restaurants, if they are important enough to you. (This sunset view is from El Avion Restaurant at Hotel Costa Verde in Manuel Antonio.)

• Get an international credit card! I can’t recommend this enough. It helps you minimize the amount of cash you’ll have to carry around, and most do not charge fees for international use; regular cards usually do charge fees for use out of your country of origin. Ours via Bank of America is free. Check out tipping rates and how many things will require only cash. We don’t get large amounts of US dollars converted into local currency in advance, if at all. Our hotels typically will exchange enough for use on local buses or anywhere that won’t take US dollars. (For example, Costa Rica takes USD all the time and we only use cash if it’s a large purchase, such as paying our driver at the end of the trip, where we get a discount for paying in cash. This is common in Costa Rica.)
• Build in relax time — this one is critical. You may have so many things you want to do, but you can only do so much, and none of it will be fun if you’re exhausted. When we were in Paris, we were on the go every single minute. By day five, I started developing signs of a sinus infection. I didn’t have time to rest and let any medicine do its thing, and the last two days had me dragging. I was so beat, I couldn’t enjoy everything as much. When we were in Maui the last time, we stayed at Napili Kai, where there was a private cove for swimming. We spent a few hours one day on the beach, swimming in the ocean, and we took dinner to our balcony with a bottle of wine. I pulled out my tablet and read a book, and we had zero regrets. It was SO needed. Vacations don’t need to be so jam packed that you aren’t relaxing; vacations are to recharge and rejuvenate as much as they are to explore, so allow yourself time to get rest and truly enjoy your surroundings. Our hours staring at the Pacific Ocean from the sand and our balcony were worth every second of downtime.

I could share a lot more, but the last thing I want to do is make planning your dream vacation seem overwhelming. It sounds like a lot, and at times, it can be, but it’s entirely doable. You’ll be able to make all the decisions you want, selecting times and locations you want, and you’ll know everything about the trip, making it easier to manage once you’ve hit the road.

We want to go to Scotland and Ireland next, and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to that one feeling a bit overwhelming. We’ll be landing in Dublin, spending 3-4 days in and around the city, then flying to Edinburgh, where we’ve got a few things to see, but then we’ll need to rent a car to drive across the beautiful countryside to Inverness, with a few stops along the way. We can’t do a tour group, and we want to spend one night in a castle in Inverness, so all the specifics, including heading home to LAX from Edinburgh, are a lot of details. Will I use a travel agent for this? I may, but I also know what type of hotels I want to stay in, how much time I want to spend at Loch Ness and of course, what Outlander scenes I want to visit, including the Culloden Battlefield. With Scottish heritage, that’s an important site for me to experience. This means I probably will plan it myself…and probably with a glass of bourbon in hand.

Documentation is everything. Having a spreadsheet full of notes and ideas, one you can access from your phone, tablet, and/or computer, helps you make changes on the fly. I put links in to the hotel booking page, the airline website, and who is picking us up where and when. I don’t solidify the plans on the sheet until bookings are done, but it makes it so easy to walk through it all so you can make sure you’re not missing anything. If you use a project management app such as Monday, ClickUp, AirTable, Asana, or Trello, there are also trip planning templates. I use the Google Suite and have access to all of it on my phone, so I make notes about special excursion gear, my packing list, or more, in another tab of the spreadsheet or a separate document.

The end goal is a successful trip, so organization is key. Soon I’ll have a packing list post here, along with a packing list printable to download for free, in addition to the trip planning spreadsheet. Packing can take advance preparation, especially if you don’t already have the necessary attire, but once you buy the basic gear, such as a quality suitcase, travel pillow, plug adapters, fluid containers, etc., you’ll be all set for many trips. You’ll be a pro in no time!