Are you curious about how to book a DIY trip without guidebooks or a travel agent? I’m about to share the quick version of the little tips and tricks we use to book trips ourselves and keep them running smoothly!
I Spy with My Little Eye
Let’s use an example: I’m scrolling through Instagram one evening and come upon a photo of a cobbled street with particularly colorful buildings. At this point in my life, I know what it is, but for this example, let’s suppose I didn’t. If there is no information in the description about what this place is or where to find it, I take a screenshot and do a Google image search. Boom! It’s Victoria Street in Edinburgh. Perfect. The inspiration for my DIY trip is born!
So we know what it is, but where is Victoria Street in Edinburgh and what is there to do nearby? For us, I do a regular Google search for Victoria Street businesses. That should be an instant burst of ideas from restaurants to shops and other points of interest.
Once I’m armed with things to do on Victoria Street, I use a similar search to branch out from the area. Or, I head straight to Google Maps to see what it can tell me about the area. Sometimes I even end up back on Instagram and search Victoria Street to see what other Insta-worthy things pop up. People can be very creative on that app and I love it!
A Retreat from the Ordinary
How do we find all these nifty out-of-the-way hotels? Here’s my biggest secret: I don’t use a third-party hotel search engine to book. What!? Most travel bloggers will tell you to use something like booking-dot-com or hotels-dot-com to book your hotels, mostly because they get a kickback for their recommendation. After befriending so many hotel owners over the years, it’s hard for us to share this perspective. The fees the hotels have to pay to be on those sites is something like 20% of their booking. As a small business owner, I find this criminal.
To avoid this fee, many independent hotels will often tell you they will match any price you find on a search engine by booking directly with them. Even by lowering their price, they are keeping money in their pocket by avoiding the search engine fee. This benefits you even more in the end because the hotel will most likely include more personal services, like champagne on arrival, or include a meal in your reservation by booking directly. To me, this feels like a little pat on the back for booking your own DIY trip and making those important people connections.
I’ll often use Trip Advisor, Google Hotels, or even Instagram to get an idea of what is in the area. The first two have great panning map features on their websites that help you see an area in detail. Instagram often has off-the-wall suggestions that you won’t find in a search engine, but you’ll still need to plug them into a map to make sure they line up with your plan. However, I never book through those sites. Not only for the reasons I listed above but also because there is no guarantee with the hotel when you use a third-party booking system. If that third party doesn’t properly communicate with the hotel and they don’t have a reservation for you when you arrive and the hotel is full, there’s nothing they can do. If you book directly, you always have direct contact with the hotel for confirmation and updates before check-in. I like to drop the hotel a little email a week or two before our arrival to make sure everything is squared away. That little email often gets you recognition and a nice reception upon arrival.
Adventure Awaits
With tours and activities, I use a very similar approach to hotels and image searches. I’ve found some of the most unique tours on Instagram completely by accident. Actually, we’ve had tour operators contact us via Instagram when we’ve tagged ourselves in the area (yes this can seem a little sketchy, so do lots of review research before you agree to join them). Another great resource for unique tours is Viator, another third-party search engine you can book through. If I can find the tour on the operator’s website, I book directly through them, for the same reasons as booking hotels directly. Make those connections!
Google Maps is also a great place to look for tours and activities and read reviews. Sometimes the strangest little things will pop up and lead you directly to an operator’s website to book.
Planes, Trains & Automobiles
That I saved this to talk about last is a bit strange because this is always the FIRST thing I book when I’m planning a trip. If we need to fly, I start with plane tickets. If our dates are a bit flexible we can often save quite a bit of money by moving our dates around based on the lowest price of the tickets. I always use Google Flights to hunt down flights and then jump over to the airline to book directly when I find what I want. If we’re flying on points, I’ll often transfer credit card points to airline partners. This allows us to book directly with the airline instead of using the third-party portal through our credit card. We’ve booked through our credit card portal before, but I’ve heard too many horror stories about that going wrong to feel overly comfortable with it.
We LOVE to take the train! It removes so many logistical headaches from our trips like parking a car, parking fees, and transporting luggage. We often stay near the train stations so we can walk to/from our hotel and not worry about lining up more transportation. I’ve been using RailEurope lately to search for routes if I don’t know the name of the country’s rail lines. Once I learn what the rail lines are called and where the stations are located, I will typically book directly through the rail line. We have booked through RailEurope before when traveling on multiple rail lines for a single day trip and it was perfectly fine, but again, it’s a third party, so there’s no guarantee.
And cars. I always recommend booking cars out of the airport in the city you are visiting if possible. Airports are typically located outside of the cities, giving you more space to get used to the car and the road system before being thrown into heavy traffic. Car rental desks at airports also usually have longer open hours during the day. This often means catching a taxi or an Uber to get to the airport to pick up a car, but if that saves from driving an unfamiliar car, in an unfamiliar system, in the city center, it’s worth it. If you are comfortable driving in the city center wherever you are, look for car rental locations near the train station for less logistical nonsense. Google Maps is a good tool for finding the location of rental agencies. I’ve also used Kayak-dot-com to quickly compare prices and then head directly to a rental agency’s website to book. Also, if you frequently (or not) book cars, sign up for their rewards program. It’s free and it makes the rental process so much faster.
Those are the most important quick tips I can give you about planning and booking your own DIY trip. Remember to write out a rough itinerary and then create a logistical plan based on what you want to see/do and where you want to stay. It would be a major bummer to book a fabulous hotel in the mountains and then have no idea how to get there when you arrive! Think through your whole trip, create a spreadsheet if that’s your jam, and get to booking your DIY trip!
See you out there!
