Hiii,
Adventures Across Asia Series Part 1: Unraveling the Secrets of How I Made Our 26-Day Itinerary!
Eeek! As this goes live, I am currently in Singapore, on day 3 of our Adventures Across Asia travels!
This blog post is exactly how I crafted our 26-day itinerary. I’m sharing all the good, bad and ugly details – including how not to get scammed… like I did. Planning this adventure was no joke, but I’ve put together all my tips, to help you navigate planning your itinerary to explore Asia.
Stay tuned for the upcoming blog post, where we’ll dig into the first leg of our journey, exploring Singapore and all the wonders it holds!
P.s. Don’t forget to follow my Instagram and TikTok to follow along on the daily Adventures Across Asia series!
Choosing Your Destination
Traveling to Asia for the first time can be both exciting and overwhelming. With so many incredible destinations to choose from, it can be challenging to decide where to begin. In our case, it took hours of TikTok binge-watching, endless scrolling through Instagram, and countless conversations with friends who had explored Asia to compile our ultimate list of must-visit places.
3 key factors we used to decide where we would be visiting on our first trip:
- Budget
- Interests
- Weather
Considering these factors, we came to the conclusion that Singapore would be our opening destination (the least budget-friendly), Kuala Lumpur as our closing destination (mid-range budget), and exploring Thailand in the middle (the most budget-friendly). Singapore, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur are fulfilling our love for city exploring. Chiang Mai, Pai, and Phuket Old Town are packed with activities and viewpoints to keep us busy sightseeing. Lastly, Krabi, Kamala, and Patong are going to give us 7 days at the end of our Thailand portion, to chill out by the beaches and reset before ending the holiday!
The Booking Process
With our destinations in mind, the next step was pricing and planning our flights. Searching for the best flight options, means trying out different travel dates, and even adding layovers to ensure we secured the most convenient and cost-effective routes.
You’ve got a good deal on flights, before booking check accommodation! I do my pro Booking.com search to match our flight dates with accommodation options to find the perfect balance between affordable flights and well-located accommodations. It’s no quick task, but here’s a simplified list of how to do it yourself!
Specific filters I use on Booking.com when choosing accommodation anywhere:
- Guests Favourite Area
- Free Wifi
- 24 Hour Check-In
These are key filters. Always consider flexible check-in times, you don’t want to be getting off a flight at 1am and no hotel to check into. Then I always compare prices, across other hotel websites. Once everything is sorted, it’s time to book flights and accommodation.
If you want to be super savvy while searching for flights and accommodation, clear your browser cookies and switch on incognito mode!
Google Maps/ Apple Maps
You’ve already done your TikTok and Instagram scope to decide where you’re going… all these places and activities that you’ve seen to choose your destination, add them to a folder on your Maps app!
As a dedicated Apple user from the ripe age of 13, I personally use Apple Maps, which is the example you will see below.
Any activity, viewpoint, cafe, hotel, beach, basically anything I see that I want to do, I add to this folder. This is incredibly handy when deciding on your accommodation location! When you open the folder on Maps, it shows little dots of all your locations that you’ve saved. If you’re like me and have been caught out one too many times, staying in a hotel miles away from everything you want to do, this will be your saving grace tip!
This method also helps me not over plan! I am a holiday spreadsheet, folder gal. I wanted this trip to be different. Everyone we spoke with had the same advice ‘Go with the flow’. By adding everything to the folders, it’s loosely planned! Nothing specific or booked, but when we get there we will know what to do in the area!
Save This Prep List
I hope these tips help you plan your travels around Asia!
Meanwhile, it would make me even happier if you joined our Adventures Across Asia journeys on Instagram and TikTok! You can expect daily updates on our accommodations, flights, activities, and Instagram vs. reality moments. If those social’s ain’t your thing, no worries – there will be weekly blog posts to make some amazing memories on here too!
Thank you for being here <3
CYA xx
Leave a Comment