Planning Weekend Trips

Planning weekend trips is exhilarating and sometimes challenging. Deciding where to go on your long weekends (puentes) or where to stay and how to budget yourself is obviously really important. Keeping an open mind throughout the process is crucial.

The best way to plan trips is to make a priority list of places you want to go and things you want to see. For me, my top three places are London, Ireland, and Amsterdam. So far I have two of those trips planned. But the best way to do it is plan out what the best attractions are in each city are. Because I didn’t do this for Granada, I wasn’t able to see the Alhambra because it was completely sold out. I even heard you have to buy the tickets over a month in advance.

Another important factor to traveling is realizing that finding a 70 euro hostel for the weekend isn’t always going to be a possibility (seriously, Gotic Guesthouse in Barcelona hooked it up). But spending 150 euros on a hostel in London is just a necessity if thats somewhere you really want to go. Don't rob yourself of an experience or a trip just because of a price a little higher than what you expected to pay. Go into each planning phase without expectations or numbers in your head because every city is different and that could lead to you missing out on oppurtunuties. 

London was challenging because it’s an expensive city. The flight was 150 euros on top of the hostel being 150 euros. PLUS going to Warner Bros Park to see the set, costumes, props, and special effects of Harry Potter put me out another 150 euros. Seriously, im obsessed.

Planning trips in “incognito” mode on your web browser makes a HUGE difference. By doing this, you avoid cookies being saved saying you want to go to London, and you’ll pay a lot to do so. The prices of flights and a place to stay will exponentially increase if this simple step isn’t taken.

As for Dublin, the Irish in me just HAD to plan this trip for St. Patricks Day. Luckily enough, I got three friends together who were ready to take on Ireland as well and we all booked an Airbnb collectively. This brought the price down to 60 dollars each. The flight was about 130 euros. So this trip definitely wasn’t too pricey (until I get there and have to spend a ridiculous amount of money on St. Patricks Day beer).

A must do trip is to Germany, Austria, or other countries where you can find Christmas markets. I have Vienna planned for the third weekend in December. These Christmas markets are a must-see attraction during the holidays and will probably be an incredibly memorable trip.

I highly recommend group trips. I went to Valencia with a company called Smart Insiders. This was a different organization because a lot of the people on the trip weren’t Americans, and its really nice to get out your comfort zone with that. I stayed with a Spanish girl and a Mexican girl in my hotel room and it forced me to speak Spanish, which doesn’t happen often since I spend time with so many Americans. For Morocco, I went with a company called CityLife Madrid. This company is probably one of the most popular for young Americans spending time abroad in Madrid. They’re a really helpful resource for meeting other people through intercambios (language exchanges), trips, dancing classes, and other events like club nights or bowling. In my experience, the best way to discover opportunities and events through these programs is Facebook.

Once you find your travel buddies it becomes a lot easier to take on traveling. Although, I am definitely interested in doing at least one solo trip during my time in Europe, I hear its a really rewarding experience.