Welcome back to the How to Plan a Trip for Beginners series! In today’s installment, we’re going to go over finding trip inspiration. Before building an itinerary, I first like to research and collect all the points of interest that I might want to visit during my trip.
This is probably my favorite part of travel planning, because it’s where you get to get a taste of a place before visiting. I use the below methods to find inspo, and make note of the things I’d like to incorporate during my trip in a Google Doc.
How to Plan a Trip for Beginners Pt. 2 – Finding Trip Inspiration
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The First Place to look for Trip Inspiration – Google
Google is the ultimate travel resource. Search “points of interest in x destination” and Google will give you all the top things to do in that place. You can also access this by using the Google Travel Things to Do Feature. This is a good first place to look to get the must-dos in a city or country you’re visiting.
If you’re looking for some more ideas, try searching “unique things to do in x destination” or “adventurous things to do in x destination.”
Where to Find Food and Photo Inspo – Instagram
Instagram is another great place to find travel inspo. I’m a visual person, so I like to search hashtags like #bcneats or #parisbrunch to find places to eat. Not everyone uses hashtags, but those who do are typically local foodies, food bloggers, or other travelers. Who better to get food recommendations from!
If you’re into taking nice travel pics, Instagram is good for finding photo spots and photo ideas. For this, search for a monument (i.e. Eiffel Tower) or a destination (Paris, France). The search results will be the top posts of that inquiry.
As you peruse the posts, keep an eye out for geotags to find specific locations.
To keep all your ideas organized, create a destination collection. If you’re headed to multiple places on one trip like Madrid, Barcelona, and Seville, create collections for each of them to know what’s where.
Visual Trip Inspiration – Pinterest
Another search engine to use for inspo is Pinterest. What’s nice about Pinterest is the visual element. You can simply search “Barcelona, Spain” and gravitate towards the pins that draw you in. As someone who’s all about aesthetics, I tend to select pins that look like my ideal trip or give off a certain vibe.
After taking a look at the post attached to the pin, I will save the pin to a private board for that destination to reference later. It’s frustrating slightly remembering something you read, and not having the resources to double check that info. So, always pin or bookmark sites you find good info on.
For Quick and Easy Inspo & Info – Tiktok
Surprisingly, TikTok is a great place for finding trip inspiration. You can find food recommendations, unique things to do, itineraries, budget guides and more! With TikToks being easy to consume, you can quickly get a bunch of ideas for your next trip.
More places to find Inspiration – Travel Blogs, Magazines, and Books
Another way of finding trip inspo is checking out travel blogs and magazines. Magazines like Conde Nast Traveller and Travel + Leisure have tons of posts to browse for inspiration. The magazine writing and recommendations are more formal, so to get more “personal” inspiration check out some travel blogs. Browse my posts and check out some of my personal favorites: In Between Pictures, Bon Traveler, and Find Us Lost. While browsing these site, also keep an eye out for any day trips or secondary locations you may want to include in your trip.
Also, most destinations have books written about them. It’s a little old school, but if you enjoy reading take a look at some guide books. And for even for trip inspiration check out books like 1,000 Places to See Before You Die.
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