Prepping for the Next Trip

After a short haitus I've returned with details for my next big international trip. Instead of visiting new locations, my wife and I have decided to take our 12 year old daughter to revisit some of the places we've enjoyed, but this time in the winter. We plan on spending Christmas in London, post-Christmas in Belgium, New Years in Paris, and post-New Years in the English countryside over a 15 day period.

To kick of the process, I've begun my budgeting process including:
1) Lodging - Locating and pricing out lodging options for each of the itinerary stops (London, Brussels, Paris, Bath Spa, and Gatwick Airport).

2) Siteseeing - Identifying activities, sites, tours we want to do in each itinerary stop and locating alternate pricing options. In other words, I like to find a common USD price from a third-party reseller like Viator, which frequently offers coupons and discount offers. I also locate a seller or option in country using native currency (i.e., price in GBP for UK, EUR for Europe, etc.). Then when it comes time to purchase, I go with whichever is lower at the time.

3) Travel - Determining travel methods between itinerary stops, pricing, and locating alternatives. I continue my alternative pricing methodology by exploring pricing through typically more expensive third-party USD resellers like Rail Europe and directly from in country options such as Thalys, Eurostar, or National Rail. Usually the best fares are available three to four months in advance of travel.

4) Meals - Exploring the different restaurant and meal options available for each itinerary stop, including street food, cafes, and high-end dining. Being that we will be travelling during the holidays, it will be critical to determine if restaurants are open and make reservations when possible. To estimate costs, I'm using historically pricing from our recent trips and by estimating the high-end of menu selectiosn when they are available. This creates a best case scenario, when we do not overspend or a buffer in case we spend what I have allotted.

Now that I have the majority of our itinerary identified, with alternatives and options we wait until the purchase windows for specific items opens. For example, I cannot yet buy airfare so I will wait until it becomes available and then watch it for a short time to see if it fluctuates significantly. If it is stable, I will probably purchase in April otherwise I will wait as necessary. Once I have the airfare purchased I will have to purchase trip insurance, which tends to have a purchase window. The next thing to do will be to reserve the lodgings.  The final thing to purchase during this window, will be any applicable prepaid tours, tickets, or costs. Then we will wait for the next purchase window, train tickets (four to three months before departure).