If you had unlimited resources, what is the one thing you would want to do?!

Well, according to the radio show I listen to … “Travel around the world!” was the no. 1 answer, and why not when many enjoy visiting famous monuments and museums, experiencing different cultures and making new friendships. But planning a trip can be a real pain if you don’t know where to start!

So, let’s give you a head start:

1) Decide where you want to go and what you want to do once you are there!
It’s a big world out there and there is something for everyone. So wither you want to go site seeing, ice skiing, shopping, or just relaxing and chilling on the beach … you will find a place that is perfect for you. All you need to do is look, and a great place to that is http://www.lonelyplanet.com .
The site has a rich description for every country and its major cities. You can also find info about the weather and when it’s best to go there, transportation, entertainment, the best sights, and the different activities you can do. So do your homework and read!

2) Find and book a hotel
A good hotel doesn’t necessarily mean a “five starts” one. There are a lot of other points to conceder:

• Internet accesses: Wither or not it’s available inside the rooms and how much it costs?
• Transportation: Is there any buses, trains or underground stations nearby?
• Airport transportation: Does the hotel offer transfers to and from the airport?
• Your points of interests: How far is the hotel from the places you wish to visit?
• Tourist disks and currency exchange: It will make your life so much easier if your hotel offers these two services.
• Accepted credit cards: Is your credit card accepted by this hotel?
• Users’ rating: Read other people reviews and comments about the hotel and how they rate it.

There are a lot of websites where you can find such info and make your reservation, but my personal favorite is http://ebooking.com/. The best thing about it is you don’t need to pay a deposit at booking. So if you need to change the dates later or cancel the reservation all together, you won’t lose your money!

3) Book a plane ticket
Plane tickets prices go up and down like stocks in a stock market! In general, the rule is “the earlier you book the better”, so try your best to book early and since you are still planning your trip try the “My dates are flexible” option, it can save you a lot of money!

Unless you have a personal preference for a certain airline I recommend using one of the following search engines to compare ticket prices:

• http://www.kayak.com/
• http://www.expedia.com/

Once you’ve found a price that’s OK with you, proceed to the airline’s site to book your e-ticket and you’re set!

4) Get a travel insurance
You may think you don’t need travel insurance, but trust me … YOU DO!
You will find dozens of reasons on the web to why you should always have one. So the real question is where to get it?
Well, lots of places offer travel insurance with different benefits … For me I like to go with http://www.worldnomads.com/. The best thing about it is you can buy, extend and claim online and it covers overseas medical, evacuation and baggage. So now you can rest assure and enjoy your long planned trip!