I like to pay attention to the smaller details and that adds to what’s already a lot involved in planning a trip. It’s almost therapeutic for me and I actually have as much fun planning the trip as I do actually going on it!

I don’t just look at flights and accommodation and its amenities. I want to know what’s happening while I’m there, what the weather might be like, how busy certain places will be and even what I’ll do if my phone loses service!

Here are five helpful things I usually look up or do before a trip. Do you do any of these?

1. Check out local public holidays, festivals and celebrations

I often travel around holidays at home because it means I can use fewer vacation days for more days on vacation. But I also check the public holidays and major celebrations in the destination I’m visiting.

Knowing this ahead of time can save you from surprises like the #1 place you saved on social media was closed. Some activities may have special opening hours or be closed plus transport and accommodation costs could also be higher around major events.

I don’t only look for things that might affect my plans negatively though. I also want to know if there’s something happening that I’d want to experience. A local festival, cultural celebration or public holiday can completely change the experience of a destination in the best possible way.

2. Review the cruise ship schedule

The majority of my destinations are within the Caribbean, this is how I’d know who else might be flocking to the spots on my list and when.

If multiple cruise ships are scheduled to dock on the same day I’m planning to visit a popular attraction, I’d want to switch things around.

For example in Dominica, I saw there were 2 cruise ships on a particular day so I booked my whale-watching tour that day and saved the hot springs for the evening after the cruise ships left.

I don’t stay at the hotel and avoid cruise days, I just like knowing what I’m walking into because a little bit of planning is the difference between a relaxed experience and competing with hundreds of other people for the same photo.

3. Check the weather beyond just the temperature

There’s more to checking the weather than looking at the temperature and deciding what to pack. Look at rainfall, humidity (hairstyles), wind, sunrise & sunset times and historical weather patterns for the time of year you’re visiting.

I have sooo many stories about this – choppy waves in Barbuda, hurricane in Grenada, wind storms in Cape Town, 8pm sunsets in Cuba. I bought changeable tickets to Table Mountain just in case we were jetlagged, turns out we weren’t but there was a significant wind storm that closed Table Mountain for two days! It was a stark reminder for me to continue to check the weather & historical patterns.

I also like knowing when sunrise and sunset are happening becauseeee sometimes the plan is to get the photo.

4. Read the local news

It might sound random but hear me out. Local news sites tell you what’s happening currently on the ground.

It’s not to look for anything dramatic but as a woman who typically travels solo, it’s good for me to have a sense of what’s happening from a safety perspective and it makes for great conversation with locals!

It gives me a little more context about the place I’m visiting and can hint at anything that could impact my plans.

The connection is stronger when you travel somewhere and you take the time to understand what’s happening there beyond what’s on a travel blog or TikTok.

5. Prepare my navigation before I arrive

I’m not the type of person to land in a new destination and then figure everything out from scratch.

Before I travel, I’ll download offline maps, mark key locations and check out transportation options available.

I’d figure out the available rideshare and/or taxi service, public transportation if it’s practical and the approximate cost of getting around.

I’ll also make sure I save the locations of my accommodation, the airport, major attractions and any restaurants or activities I already know I want to visit.

Some people might think it’s overplanning but Google Maps offline is a lifesaver. Many times I forget to activate my roaming data plan before I leave the airport or the data doesn’t work properly. Having maps saved means I wasn’t dependent on having the data when I arrived…And I prefer to spend time in a new country doing the things I want to do rather than trying to figure out where I’m going.

The little details make a difference

You won’t see these on a typical “things to do before your trip” checklist but they’re little details that can make a world of difference.

For me, planning is about doing enough research beforehand that I can relax once I arrive…and that’s probably why I enjoy the planning almost as much as the trip itself.

What do you check or do before travelling?