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How To Plan A Trip: Easy 15 Step Travel + Vacation Planner

by Mark and Kristen Morgan

Published: July 17, 2019

This ultimate how to plan a trip guide will transform your destination daydreams into travel reality within just 15 easy-to-follow steps.

Adventure is calling! But where should you go? How do you get there? And what do you need to organize before you leave home?

This one-stop travel planning resource covers all you need to know about preparing for any trip.

But how can you trust us to cover all of the important travel planning aspects?

The goal is to walk you through 15 simple and stress free steps, from ideas to bookings and from packing to walking out the door. We’ll take you on a journey from idea to reality.

Personally, when we plan a trip, we know that breaking the process up into sections works best. We feel less overwhelmed when we plan in manageable pieces.

Follow the steps in this guide and you’ll see just how easy planning a trip can be. Let’s travel plan!

The Travel Planning Rollercoaster

Planning any vacation is like being on a rollercoaster called the Emotion Overload. In the beginning the rollercoaster climbs slowly, building your excitement before plummeting into overwhelmed anxiety.

The second climb is determination and hard work, followed by a loop de loop as information spins around your brain in circles.

And just when it seems the ride will never end, the carriage comes to an abrupt halt: your plans are finally ready.

Break Up Planning A Trip Into 3 Sections

We are all different. Genetics, personality traits, habits and attitudes make us all unique. But although we are all unique, common patterns emerge among travelers.

Most long term travelers tend to book the first week or month in detail. Once comfortable with the whole idea of backpacker life, they tend to plan just a few days in advance each time they move.

Because who knows what might come up? Those taking shorter trips, such as a 2 week vacation, typically plan almost all specific details in advance.

Because who wants to lose valuable time planning what to do that day with just 2 weeks away from work

No matter how you prefer to travel or how long you intend to travel, the planning process can always be broken down into 3 manageable sections. You will make life easier and less like your brain might explode.

Plan, Book And Pack

These 3 travel planning sections encompass the same repetitive processes we all follow, every time we travel. When we repeat them enough times, they become autonomous.

You plan your travel goals, you book the essentials, you pack your bags and you go.

But even when taken back to basics, each travel planning section can be time consuming, frustrating and overwhelming. We know from first hand experience when planning multiple long term travel routes.

The key is to break down each travel planning section into smaller, easier to accomplish steps. That way you will eliminate stress and feel the positive reinforcement each time you complete a step.

Follow the easily achievable steps listed below within each travel planning section. Begin to plan your trip in advance, take each step one at a time and we guarantee you will avoid feeling overwhelmed.

All you need to do then is watch your dream trip create itself before your eyes.

Need help with packing? You might like to use our ultimate travel packing resource .

Section 1: Establish Your Travel Goals

Let’s start at the beginning, the daydream stage.

You know it’s time for a vacation or a long term trip but right now you’re just floating ideas around.

Ask yourself these important travel planning questions (H and 5 W’s):

• How much time will you spend traveling?
• When do you want to leave?
• Who will you travel with?
• What shape are your finances in?
• Where in the world do you want to go?
• Why is it so difficult to save up for your trip?

This is one of our favorite parts of planning a trip because everything sounds wonderful! But before you can book or pack for your potential trip, you need to figure out the basics.

Research Is Key To Planning Effectively

The fundamentals of how to plan a trip begin and end with research.

Every aspect of your plans will require research, from booking flights to buying travel insurance and from packing your bags to visa requirements.

But research starts all the way back at the beginning, before e-tickets arrive in your iPhone wallet and you’re debating between packing your tan vs black shoes.

Research begins with deciding on the most basic of travel planning principles. But don’t confuse basic with a lack of importance. The goals you set at this stage will consequently shape your entire trip.

You will spend a lot of time on google, the same as we do before every trip. If you embrace the research you will do just fine.

By reading this post you are already well into establishing your travel goals and researching travel planning techniques.

That gives you a hand up over other travelers.

You will be more prepared and ultimately have a better trip. The first section of travel planning is designed for you to turn daydreams into actionable reality.

By the end of this section, you will know everything you need to know about the trip you’re going to take. Then, you can start booking!

Consider Your Travel Limitations

We don’t want to rain on your parade but it is critical at this point to manage your expectations and be aware of your travel limitations.

Every one of us is guilty of getting carried away in life, but when it comes to travel planning, be very careful not to take on more than you can chew. Or afford.

Our advice at this stage is to be honest and realistic about what you think is achievable.

• Can you realistically finance a trip to country X and city Y with your budget?
• Is it safe to go to hiking in National Park Z in Winter?
• Do you really want to travel solo or would you prefer company?
• Can you quit your job sooner and still afford your year around the world?
• Are you able to squeeze and extra few holiday days out of your job?

1. How Much Time Do You Spend Traveling?

The thrill of choosing where you want to go on vacation or long term travel is by far the most exciting part of planning a trip. There’s no question about that.

However, before you conjure up your dream Vietnam itinerary or US road trip route , the first piece of the planning puzzle is determining how much time you have on your side.

Time is one aspect of life no amount of money can control.

• On a short beach or hiking vacation from work, will you travel for 7 days, 10 days or 14 days?
• Are you able to take a 3 month sabbatical to backpack South East Asia?
• Or maybe you’ve been thinking about quitting your job to travel without an end date in mind?
• Are your dates flexible or do you have to stick to specific timeframes?
• Do you work remotely or at a physical location?
• Are the kids back in school on Monday morning?

Carefully consider the time you have available and remember there are implications to consider with the amount of time you allocate for your trip.

Example : You will need more money to finance a 4 month trip when compared to 2 months. It sounds obvious, but the point is to ensure you get the balance right between time and travel funds.

Once you establish the amount of time and any specific dates you have to play with, move onto the next planning steps.

2. When Do You Plan To Leave On Your Trip?

The date you are aiming to leave on your trip is vitally important to your personal travel planning process.

Are you planning a trip way in advance? Or are you last minute planning? The subsequent steps will change focus depending on the answer to those questions.

For those planning a last minute spontaneous trip, you will need to double down and get to work.

Conversely, if you are planning a summer vacation that’s 6 months out, you can relax and take each of the plan a trip step slowly.

It is important to remember that people work more efficiently in different ways.

For us, Kristen works more efficiently when planning early and taking things at a gentle pace, whereas Mark works best under pressure with the clock ticking.

Timing Is Crucial

Consider the timing of your proposed trip.

You will have to account for high, shoulder or low season as well as weather conditions for the time of year you visit and finances will be impacted by how well you plan your leaving date.

Example : Your trip is shaping up to be a 3 week European adventure in Summer. You better believe it is going to cost you! Would you be better off planning to leave in Spring or Fall to suit your budget more appropriately?

If you plan to quit your job in 6 months and travel the world for a year, now is the time to get stuck into planning. A year is a long time and the world is a big place.

Leaving a trip like this until the last minute means you could risk missing out on once in a lifetime opportunities.

Working out the most effective time leave on your adventure gives you the framework to set achievable planning and financial  goals . 

Remind yourself of the 7 P’s of planning: Piss Poor Planning Promotes Piss Poor Performance.

3. Who Do You Plan To Travel With?

Chances are high you already know exactly who you will travel with before you begin to plan a trip. Maybe you’re going on a family holiday or a romantic couples weekend getaway ?

In which case, your travel partners are nailed on. The same applies for us. We always travel as a couple which makes Step 3 obsolete when we plan a trip. 

However, many travelers planning trips are undecided between exploring solo or with a friend.

Our world adventures have enabled us to meet hundreds of others traveling. Solo travelers and those traveling as couples or larger groups.

There are pros and cons to all types of travel, just like most things in life.

The important thing to understand for first time travelers who feel anxious about traveling solo is that you will meet people along the way. Even as a couple, you will meet dozens of other couples on longer trips, particularly in Asia and South America.

So, don’t be afraid to plan your dream trip if you don’t have anyone to travel with initially, you will make a ton of friends on the road.

4. What Shape Are Your Finances In?

Working out a rough travel budget is arguably the most important aspect of planning any trip. That remains true if you are leaving tomorrow or in a year.

Take a cautious approach rather than an overly optimistic approach. You will spend more money than you think, trust us on that one.

It’s better to have money left over than run out of cash a long way from home. We’ve seen it happen.

• How much money do you currently have saved up for your trip?
• How much money can you save between now and the date you plan to leave?
• Do you need to get a second job or a second income to bulk your budget out?
• Do you have any cash in reserve in case of emergency?

Before you start dreaming of your 2 week luxury beach vacation to the Maldives or 3 months backpacking through Australia and New Zealand, you need to be realistic about your budget.

Travel Smarter, Not Harder

A good rule of thumb is to consider yours destinations around your budget.

Instead, consider your budget and travel to a place where that same amount of money will allow you to have a much better experience.

See how much we spent in 1 month in Vietnam to use as a reference for travel costs.

If you are planning a short vacation, you will have much more control over finances. You know you’re going to get paid from your job again, so a splurge isn’t out of the question.

In contrast, long term travelers will constantly be checking finances. Once they leave for their trip – that digital bank balance value will decrease every single day until the end.

Travel Tip : When planning a trip around your budget, always always always leave some room for buffer in case of emergency. We’re all used to living to our means and it’s easy to plan down to the last penny but trust us, you never know when you might need a spare US$ 100.

5. Where Do You Plan To Travel?

Now and only now, despite wanting nothing else but to start planning your travel itinerary. It is time to plan your travel destination and route.

You will thank us for leaving you hanging this long because now you have a firm grasp on your travel budget, whether you will be traveling alone or with a group, how long you can travel for and when you want to leave.

Here are some of our top travel inspiration suggestions :

• Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks in Wyoming, USA.
• Budapest is a wonderful European city break.
• New York State Parks like Letchworth and Buttermilk Falls are perfect day trips.
• The Atacama Desert in Chile is mind blowing.
• Los Angeles , San Francisco and San Diego are awesome cities to discover.
• Andalusia in Spain is a stunning region to explore.
• Pacific Coast Highway , Utah and South Dakota  are epic road trips.

The beauty of leaving this step until you know your budget is having the ability to plan your vacation or itinerary with a clear understanding of which places are feasible and which places you will have to exclude based on price, distance, safety and so on.

Planning travel itineraries takes a lot of work. We find it to be our favorite and least favorite part of traveling – in equal measure! Excitement and frustration.

It is vital you consider public transport routes, airports, safety, hotel availability, time of year, activities on offer, food and so much more.

Choosing A Travel Route

A question we often get asked is: “How do you know where you want to go?”

We do something our ancestors have been doing for over 2000 years: Look at a map!

Seriously, buy a huge map and stick it on your wall. Study each continent and indicate places you would love to visit using pins or colored sticky notes.

If looking at maps doesn’t help, here are some excellent alternatives to find travel inspiration:

• Read the wide range of destinations we write about on our travel blog !
• Read other blogs too. There are hundreds of fantastic first hand resources on the internet written by people who have been to the places you want to visit.
• Change up your google searches to ‘the best place to travel in X year’ or ‘the most obscure travel destinations’.
• Be creative, look for specific events, festivals or concerts around the world.

Once you have a shortlist of dream destinations, fire up google maps and prepare to lose yourself for hours. Design mock travel itineraries lasting 10 days, 2 weeks, a month, 3 months or however long you plan to travel.

6. Why Is It So Hard To Save For Your Trip?

You’ve meticulously planned your next adventure. Now, you need to stump up the cash to pay for it.

Whether you are going on a one week trekking holiday, a one month live aboard scuba diving course or traveling through Africa and the Middle East for six months, you will need to save up enough money to pay for the pleasure.

You already worked out your finances and travel plans in steps 4 and 5, so you have an actionable target to reach. Is your departure date 3 months away? 6 months? A year?

However far ahead you plan to leave, you might need to put a savings process in place to make up the difference.

Saving for vacations or long term travel is HARD. Your excitement is at fever pitch but time seems to stand still. Days at work start to drag more and more the closer you get to the big day.

Be Disciplined

The key to financial success can be found in one simple word, Discipline .

It’s easy to start well with the best intentions but it’s equally as easy to lose focus. Put yourself on a strict no-spending regime if you don’t have the money in savings to pay for travel costs in advance.

Make judgement calls on every single expenditure – is it want or need? Do you want that thing or do you genuinely need it?

If it’s a want, don’t spend the money, save it. Be disciplined .

Once your bank account begins to swell, fight the temptation to ‘treat yourself’. If you think you won’t be tempted, think again. 

That 80″ TV you wanted is only US$ 1,000 and you now have 10 of those saved for your trip – can you get by on US$ 9,000?

No you can’t! Put the TV back! Be disciplined .

Plan A Trip Section 1 Complete: Your Tentative Travel Plans Are In Place

You are officially one third of the way towards being travel ready.

There are more challenges to come but you’ve nailed down the hardest part of travel planning.

Narrowing down where to visit and formulating the perfect itinerary is by far the most difficult part of planning a trip for us.

The word perfect was used for a reason, we both have FOMO (fear of missing out) so it takes us an age to finalize our trips.

With the whole world as your travel option, deciding where to go and where not to go can be overwhelming.

Personally, we just take it one step at a time based on our budget and places on our travel bucket list. We systematically include and exclude places, activities and routes until we agree on a winning formula.

Do not feel disheartened when you think you’ve cracked your route and budget but for whatever reason it just doesn’t work out. Go back to the drawing board and start again fresh. You will end up with an even better itinerary.

Section 2: Take Action + Book

We can all daydream about vacations or backpacking the world for a year. Or imagine ourselves lounging on a beautiful powdery white sand beach in Thailand  and hiking into the Grand Canyon .

But until you bite the bullet, until you commit by clicking the buy now button on flights and hotels, a dream is all it will be.

Once you take that giant leap, it becomes tangible.

How many times have you planned a travel route mentally and thought about how amazing it would be and all the things you would do on your trip only to snap back to reality in the office?

Be brave and courageous. Take the plunge and book the important elements of your travel plan. Does this sound like a good story?

“Well, I was going to book a life changing 3 month backpacking trip through South America, but didn’t bother in the end.” That sounds like missed opportunity to us!

Myths About Booking In Advance

Like many other things in life, travel planning gets easier with experience. You learn which aspects of the way you planned and booked your trip worked and which aspects caused problems or lost you money.

However, one thing even the most savvy or accomplished traveler doesn’t always get right is how much of the trip to book in advance.

Here’s the problem travelers face on every trip:

If you book in advance, you plan ahead, book all hotels, buses, trains, activities and flights on your trip.

But what happens? You have no flexibility. If you love a place, you can’t stay longer. If you hate a place, you can’t leave immediately.

And if you don’t book in advance, you plan nothing and have complete flexibility. But you spend all of your travel days booking the next place to stay that night or your flight the next day.

Last minute flights and hotels will have far fewer options and may have seriously inflated prices.

How To Successfully Book A Trip

Here are a few tips to help you book your next trip:

• Find the perfect balance between being organized and flexible.
• Book all of your major trans-continental long haul flights before you leave home.
• Book any hotel splurges you have identified.
• Book any bucket list activities (such as W Trek in Chile) in advance.
• Leave the rest of your trip open ended.

We meet travelers with binders full of confirmation documents who prefer to plan the entire trip down to the ground, even dinner reservations.

Then there are those who prefer to book nothing more than a one way flight and decide everything on the fly (pun intended).

There is no one size fits all best practice or answer to this relentless travel quandary. It depends entirely on your own preferred travel style.

7. Book Your Major Flights To Seal The Deal

Now the real work can begin.

Booking your first flight is the single most exciting and nerve racking moment of travel planning. In one single moment of commitment, you turn your daydream into a reality.

There are numerous flight searching platforms and you can use any you prefer. We personally use – every time we fly and recommend to our friends and family:  Skyscanner .

We’ve used each of the major flight search engines and we find Skyscanner to offer the easiest user experience, have the most flight options and consistently lowest prices.

But our favorite aspects of Skyscanner are having the ability (and flexibility) to search for flights by whole month and whole country.

Example: Let’s say you want to fly New York to London.

Instead of selecting an exact date with +/- 3 days (which is what most flight searches offer) you can select by whole month of May for example.

A flight calendar will show the prices of flights on every day that month and between all airports in New York / London.

Check flights with Skyscanner here and start searching for your next flight.

Avoid Flight Price Myths

Booking flights can go one of two ways:

• You prefer to search for a flight, find one at a price you feel is fair and book it. 
• You are the type who prefers flight price roulette, playing the algorithm game.

But the thing is you can save money on flights if you put in some research and effort. That being said, there are a lot of myths and legends about booking flights.

Booking International flights on a Tuesday or domestic flights on a Sunday will save big money. Not necessarily true. Prices fluctuate many times a day, week and month.

Clearing cookies and searching incognito will save money. Unfortunately not, no evidence to support that.

Quick Tips On Booking Flights

Our number one tip for booking flights is to be flexible. That’s the way you will save big money.

Look at prices around the dates you want to fly using Skyscanner, you will see how drastically different they can be.

Book your long haul flights as far in advance as possible. The last thing you want is a mammoth cost on your flight home.

Keep an eye on prices 9 months in advance, 6 months 3 months in advance, 1 month in advance and last minute. Watch how much they fluctuate over time.

Research thoroughly, search regularly and build up patterns of prices.

Put flight alerts on specific flights of interest to you. You will receive notifications of changes.

If you see a flight you want and it’s cheap, book it! Don’t wait for it drop by US$ 5 because you’ll find it will go up by US$ 50 instead. Know the right time to pull the trigger.

Flight booking search engines are built on algorithms like everything else online. The key is not to outsmart them, just work them to your advantage.

READ MORE : How to book cheap flight when you travel

8. Book Ground Transport

Booking ground transport in advance depends on where in the world you are traveling, the timing of your trip, the length of your trip and how rigid and flexible you plan to travel.

Example : When we traveled 3 months in South America, we booked a 24 hour bus from Bariloche to El Chalten in Argentina before we left the UK. But we did not book any sleeper buses or trains in Vietnam in advance.

We visited Argentina in January, during Peak Season. Flights from Bariloche to El Calafate were expensive (and a bus to El Chalten is required) so we took the much cheaper bus.

The bus books up in advance and we wanted to guarantee seats so we booked in advance.

Conversely, we visited Northern and Central Vietnam in October and knew we would be able to jump on any bus or train we wanted. No need to sacrifice flexibility.

Most Cost Effective Transport Methods By Region

• Europe – Cheap budget flights with Ryanair, EasyJet etc between countries / Trains within countries.
• SE Asia – Cheap flights with Jetstar, VietJet, AirAsia, Scoot, LionAir, TigerAir etc between countries / Sleeper Trains & Buses within countries.
• South America – Flights hit and miss for price. We found Chile and Peru had cheaper flights than Argentina. Best way to get around is by Bus but be aware, some of them are LONG!
• North America – Road trip is the best way to explore. Buy a cheap second hand car or hire a car drive point A to B. Trains and domestic flights are expensive. Traveling by bus is a cheap option but not a great one.

The take home is to understand the region you plan to travel through.

How are public transport prices impacted by season? Variations in prices if booking in advance vs last minute?

Example : Let’s say you’re traveling Europe by train but not Interrailing. Booking trains in advance WILL save you money. Do not leave European train bookings until the last minute.

By researching and understanding these things, you can quite literally rescue your travel budget from total annihilation.

If you prefer to drive yourself around a new place to taking public transport, always check prices for hire cars with Rental Cars for most options and best value.

9. Book Accommodation

Booking accommodation can be both extremely rewarding and extremely frustrating.

Some travelers embrace the best deals hunt, whereas others despise losing time trawling through endless lists of hotel prices.

As with all other aspects of travel planning, the key is to find the right balance between how much time you invest and how much money you can save.

There are a limited amount of flights you can choose between, right?

It’s the opposite for accommodation, there are SO many options for where you will sleep at night, no matter where you travel.

If you let it, this process will overwhelm you within seconds. How do you choose between 1000 hotels? When do you stop searching for an even better deal?

The scenario of your trip will affect the benefits of booking hotels in advance.

Example : Beach vacations and resort hotel complexes can go either way. Sometimes you can pick up big money saving last minute deals. It’s a risk but it can pay off.

However, if you’re on a tight budget and backpacking for a month through Thailand in low or shoulder season, it would be worth turning up in person to negotiate a better deal.

Use Hotel Booking Search Engines

Something we find fascinating when we meet travelers on the road is the diversity of platforms everyone uses to book accommodation.

Some swear by Airbnb, others use Agoda or Hostelworld and a high proportion use Booking.com. Personally, we use Booking.com to book our hotels.

We have been using Booking for years and still to this day we are staggered by how many hotel owners pull faces at us or make comments like ‘wow, you guys must have that booking genius thing, this is the lowest price I’ve seen.

We do have Booking Genius Level 3 and you can have it too by simply creating a free account and booking your hotels with Booking.com .

The same applies to Hotels.com, Agoda, Airbnb, Priceline and many others. Find a hotel booking service you like, create an account and reap the loyalty benefits.

That’s not to say hotel search engines have the best prices period.

We ask certain hotels for a price directly and if it’s more than what we can see on our Booking.com app, we simply book a room on our app right at the check in desk.

Quick Tips For Booking Hotels

Similarly to booking ground transport at the trip planning stages, we only book certain hotels in advance before we travel.

Typically, we will book hotels as we go to allow total flexibility. However, there are three scenarios when we book hotels in advance:

• If we plan to visit a big city like London, New York City , Hong Kong or Dubai in shoulder or high season.
• When planning itineraries including rural N ational Park s with limited hotel options.
• Big splurges on a luxury hotel so our travel budget doesn’t take a huge mid-trip pounding.

When searching for hotels, always use filters and sorting to cut through the crap and display exactly what you are interested in.

Search engines by default will display hotels based on featured. So what is featured?

It is hotel search engines listing hotels in their own order, but we like to sort by user rating and review count.

If a hotel has 2,500 reviews and a guest review score of 8.7, we would add it to our shortlist.

Once we have enough hotels in a shortlist we look at their locations, nearby amenities, nearby major attractions and transport hubs etc.

READ MORE : How to book cheap hotels for travel

10. Book Bucket List Experiences

Your final bookings at this stage of planning your trip are reserved for any bucket list experiences.

You’ve planned a route through a country or continent, so you should know all of the bucket list places you will be visiting. However, unless you research thoroughly, there’s a small chance you might miss something.

Life is about learning from mistakes.

One of ours when traveling Europe was when we visited Interlaken and Grindelwald in Switzerland but we hadn’t researched things to do before hand.

So we didn’t know about the Jungfrau rack railway line through the Eiger to the top of Europe at 3,454m. Once we discovered it, we’d already spent our allocated budget which isn’t difficult in Switzerland.

Plan major activities ahead. Make a spreadsheet or a checklist, even book some ahead of time if you have to or prefer to plan your whole trip in advance.

The more planning you do in advance, the less you will miss on the road. There are times when you will have no choice but to plan months ahead.

A few examples are the W trek in Torres del Paine (Chile), Half Dome hike at Yosemite National Park (California) and hiking down the Narrows at Zion National Park (Utah).

Not planning ahead will result in missing something epic. If you don’t typically plan things like this in advance, now is the time to learn some new core skills.

Section 2 Complete: Major Bookings Are Made

You’re almost over the hill and it’s plain sailing from here. The hard work has paid off, now all that’s left is preparing and packing for the adventure that awaits you.

Booking flights, transport, hotels and activities is part of the travel planning experience.

Try to enjoy the process. If you feel overwhelmed at any point, step away for a few hours or days. That is a tried and tested method of successfully planning a trip.

There have been times where we’ve had to walk away from planning for a day or two.

Remember, you can book hotels anywhere at any time, you don’t always have to book your entire trip before you leave. 

If there’s one particular leg of your journey where you can’t quite make transport work or there are no cheap hotels available, just go back a few steps and alter your route accordingly.

This is a common travel planning stumbling block. 

It can be infuriating to have a route perfected, only for something not to work and find yourself back at the drawing board.

But consider this, would you rather be at home with this problem? Or in a foreign city with no idea where to go next, how to get there or where to sleep that night?

Section 3: Prepare And Pack

You’re on the home stretch. There are just a few important admin tasks to complete before you can finally say you are ready to leave on your trip.

Get stuck into these last few steps as soon as possible, tick the boxes, put your feet up and enjoy a nice cup of Yorkshire tea.

Section 3 of travel planning is about giving yourself the best return on your expenses, travel safety, insuring your property and packing the right gear for your trip. 

It would be easy to switch off once you’ve secured your important bookings but you would be shooting yourself in the foot.

Instead, keep the ball rolling into this final section. Use the momentum to make the best choices possible as you complete your travel planning process.

11. Travel Rewards Credit Cards

You might be from a country where paying with debit and credit cards is the norm. Heck, you probably even pay for things with your phone these days.

However, when you travel through certain regions, such as parts of South East Asia, you won’t always be able to pay for goods and services with your cards.

Cash is often king in developing countries or countries with few tourists.

Example : We spent a month traveling North/Central Vietnam and can count on 1 hand the amount of times we paid for anything using a credit card. In order to withdraw cash from ATM’s without incurring a fee, we used our travel rewards credit card.

So, aside from always carrying a handful of US dollars in cash as a safety net, here’s the best money saving advice for any trip you ever take abroad, limit the amount you use your debit card.

If you use your debit account, you can kiss goodbye to your travel budget. The local bank will charge you a fee and your bank at home will charge you a hefty fee. Double whammy. Not fun.

What To Do Before Your Trip

Sign up for a no foreign transaction fee on all withdrawals and purchases travel rewards credit card.

On longer trips you will be taking money out of ATM’s regularly. Local ATM withdrawals will yield better exchange rates than airport exchanges.

Always choose local currency when withdrawing money, not your home country currency.

Research the best travel rewards card before you leave on your trip. Residents of the US are fortunate because competition is fierce, which drives fantastic offers on travel credit cards.

At a minimum, you should be able to pick up a travel rewards credit card giving you 1.5% cash back on all purchases and withdrawals.

Some offer points instead of cash back, which can be saved and used to pay for a flight later in your trip. Look for any special points and bonuses for spending X amount of money in Y amount of time.

Choose the card that offers the best perks for your travel style.

Example : Bank A will give you 1,500 points bonus if you spend US$ 3,000 within 90 days. Those bonus points equal US$ 150 that you can put towards a flight.

12. Tell The Bank About Your Travel Plans

It would blow your mind if we told you the amount of people we meet traveling the world who have experienced blocked credit cards.

Blocked cards in turn lead to no money and expensive phone calls back home to unblock said cards.

The banks are doing it for your protection but when you’re stuck in the back of beyond and can’t pay for anything or withdraw money, you will be in trouble.

Example : You have a Bank of America checking account, a Capital One Venture travel rewards card and an American Express travel card, you need to tell every one of those banks what your rough travel plans are.

It doesn’t hurt to keep them updated as you travel because plans can change.

We will contact our banks each time we move to a new continent and give them a rough idea of the countries we intend to visit, plus an estimated duration. Remember the 7 P’s of planning.

13. Get Travel Insurance

We’re not going to frighten you into buying travel insurance with gruesome tales. We’re simply going to say it is not worth the risk to travel without insurance.

You may be debating running the risk because insurance can be expensive.

We understand, it’s a bit of a blow when you think all your costs are nailed on the head and you see how much travel insurance is going to set you back.

But believe us, skipping it is not the smart move. Especially if you are backpacking for longer periods. Knock on wood, nothing serious has happened to us yet on the road.

No lost backpacks, no serious injuries, no muggings. But that could change at any moment, all it takes is being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Travel Insurance Is Worth The Peace Of Mind

Could you imagine the cost involved in being repatriated to America with a serious illness or injury sustained on the other side of the planet? No insurance would leave you in financial despair for years.

Example : You’ve just bought a brand new Sony A7R IV mirrorless camera for US$ 3,000 for your trip and you lose it or have it stolen on your first day traveling. You don’t have insurance. Imagine the pain!

There are plenty of travel insurance providers, such as Allianz, AIG and Travelex but right now we use and highly recommend World Nomads.

The company was created by travelers for travelers and they will tailor an insurance plan to suit your trip. You can get a free quote and choose between Standard or Explorer plans.

Be sure to do your own research but use World Nomads as your reference. See if you can get better coverage.

14. Check For Last Minute Travel Bargains

This is where we hope you don’t find an amazing last minute deal that’s US$ 200 cheaper than what you booked back in section 2.

Last minute deals are a gamble. Sometimes they pay off but mostly, they don’t. Never leave any of your major flight routes or bucket list activities until the last minute.

It’s always worth keeping an eye on hotel and flight prices, even for things you already booked that may include free cancellations or free changes to the booking.

If you can pick up the odd money saving last minute bargain, great. But don’t leave your entire trip to chance.

In the days leading up to your departure, check prices on (non-major) flights, trains, hotels and tours that you are interested in taking.

There are always flash sales on things, it’s often a case of being fortunate enough to stumble across them at the right time.

Here’s something important to remember if you started planning your trip months ago. High season might have moved into shoulder season or low season in a place you want to go.

But be aware that the opposite may also occur.

You could have planned on last minute deals because when you were researching the prices looked amazing, only to have unwittingly transitioned into peak season for the place you are visiting.

Last minute deals are going to cost you and your options will be greatly diminished in peak season.

15. Pack Yours Bags It’s Time To Leave

Your travel plans are in place, you’ve booked the important things and prepared efficiently. All you need to do now is pick the perfect backpack and fill it with the right gear for your destination.

If you think you can handle traveling with just 40L of space which means you can carry on to flights, don’t miss this review of our top rated travel backpack, Osprey Farpoint 40 .

For those who will carry a larger main pack and need a second smaller backpack to carry on, read our review of the innovative and versatile backpack perfect for travel photographers:  Peak Design Everyday Backpack .

We won’t go into a huge amount of detail with this planning step. Instead, you can find all you need to know about packing for your trips in our detailed  Travel Packing resource.

Here are a few addition packing tips for your trip:

• Be sure to pack according to where you’re going. If there are varying climates on your itinerary, pack for warm and cold weather conditions, even if that means taking a bigger backpack.
• Pack carefully, make sure every single item is fit for multi-purpose use. Do not pack fancy shirts and jeans if you will only use them once, you will end up throwing them out half way through your trip.
• We all have our own dress styles and preferences but our best advice for packing is to take plenty of comfortable gear.

Just remember, the most successful travel planners are the ones who can accept when they need to take a few steps back in order to take many steps forward.

More Travel Resources

• E-Books – Shop our travel guidebooks
• Packing List – The ultimate travel packing list
• Gifts – The best gifts for a traveler

Want more travel content?  Head to our  Travel Blog to discover new destinations around the world.

We hope these 15 steps help you plan the perfect trip!

Please let us know if you have any questions about this trip planning guide in the comments below.

Happy Travels ,

Mark and Kristen

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Note : This article contains affiliate links. When you make a purchase using one of these affiliate links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

All Rights Reserved © Where Are Those Morgans, LLC. Republishing this article and/or any of its contents (text, photography, maps, graphics, etc.) in whole or in part is strictly prohibited.

Mark and Kristen Morgan are travel, hiking and photography experts. Over the last 6 years traveling full time, they have explored more than 40 countries and 30 US states.

Where Are Those Morgans has been featured in USA Today, Gestalten, Get Your Guide, CityPASS and Condé Nast Traveler along with various other publications. Read more about us .

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Let's Get Away from It All

Frank sinatra.

About Let's Get Away from It All

"Let's Get Away from It All" is a popular song with music by Matt Dennis and lyrics by Tom Adair, published in 1941. The song is most commonly associated with Frank Sinatra (who had a hit with it as a member of The Pied Pipers while he was a part of Tommy Dorsey's orchestra and later for his Come Fly with Me album), but many others have recorded it and it is considered a standard of traditional pop music.

 Become A Better Singer In Only 30 Days , With Easy Video Lessons!

Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra, /sɨˈnɑːtrə/, (December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and film actor of Italian origin. more »

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Written by: THOMAS MONTGOMERY ADAIR, MATT DENNIS

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• #1 How About You
• #2 Come Fly With Me
• #3 All the Way
• #4 High Hopes
• #5 Love and Marriage
• #6 Nice 'n' Easy
• #7 Witchcraft
• #9 Lets Fall in Love
• #10 Young At Heart
• #11 The Coffee Song
• #12 Chicago
• #13 I’ve Got You Under My Skin
• #14 Lets Face the Music and Dance
• #15 I Get a Kick Out of You
• #16 You Make Me Feel So Young
• #17 The Song Is You
• #19 Come Dance With Me
• #20 It's Nice to Go Trav'ling
• #21 Three Coins in the Fountain
• #22 Someone to Watch Over Me
• #23 A Fine Romance
• #24 Cheek to Cheek
• #25 All of Me
• #26 White Christmas
• #27 You, My Love
• #28 In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning
• #29 French Foreign Legion
• #30 Love Is the Tender Trap
• #31 Learnin’ the Blues
• #32 Well Did You Evah (with Bing Crosby)
• #33 Hey, Jealous Lover
• #36 Not As a Stranger
• #37 Melody of Love
• #38 Same Old Saturday Night
• #39 Around the World
• #40 Isle of Capri
• #41 Moonlight in Vermont
• #42 Autumn in New York
• #43 Fools Rush In
• #44 A Foggy Day
• #45 Ain'tcha Ever Comin' Back
• #46 Mr Success
• #47 Let's Get Away from It All
• #48 April in Paris
• #49 Try a Little Tenderness
• #50 London By Night
• #52 Blue Hawaii
• #53 South of the Border
• #54 The Gal That Got Away
• #55 My One and Only Love
• #56 Don’t Worry ‘bout Me
• #57 I’m Walking Behind You
• #58 You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me
• #60 I’ve Got the World On a String
• #61 You’re Getting to Be a Habit With Me
• #62 My Funny Valentine
• #63 Put Your Dreams Away (for Another Day)
• #64 That Old Feeling
• #65 How Deep Is the Ocean?
• #66 I've Got a Crush On You
• #67 You Go to My Head
• #68 Nevertheless (i'm in Love With You)
• #69 She's Funny That Way
• #70 Embraceable You
• #71 I’m Gonna Sit Right Down (and Write Myself a Letter)
• #72 From Here to Eternity
• #73 It Happened in Monterey
• #74 They Can’t Take That Away from Me
• #75 Get Happy
• #76 Mood Indigo
• #77 When Your Lover Has Gone
• #78 Too Marvellous for Words
• #79 Anything Goes
• #80 Something's Gotta Give
• #81 Just in Time
• #82 Dancing in the Dark
• #83 Too Close for Comfort
• #84 I Could Have Danced All Night
• #85 Saturday Night
• #86 Day In, Day Out
• #87 Baubles, Bangles and Beads
• #88 The Last Dance
• #89 Be Careful , It's My Heart
• #90 In the Still of the Night
• #91 When I Take My Sugar to Tea
• #92 You'd Be So Easy to Love
• #93 You and the Night and the Music
• #94 I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm
• #95 I Dream of You (more Than You Dream I Do)
• #96 I Have But One Heart
• #97 The Girl That I Marry
• #98 The Things we Did Last Summer
• #99 Lost in the Stars

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17 Fun Trips to Take With Friends

Traveling with friends can be a life-changing experience. Check out this list of fun trips to take with friends and create a lifetime of memories!

From weekend getaways to New York City to long-haul adventures across Southeast Asia, traveling with friends can be an unforgettable experience. You not only learn a lot about each other but also about yourself. You also create great new memories that are sure to last a lifetime! It’s a time when you can focus on self-care and reflection and think about how lucky you are to have so many great people in your life.

We know how important and meaningful traveling with friends can be. So, we’ve put together a list of fun trips to take with friends. These adventures around the world can be done with just your bestie or with a whole heap of friends!

Enjoying Precious Time With Let’s Roam

If you’re interested in fun trips to take with friends, bonding must be on the brain! Let’s Roam is dedicated to helping you enjoy every precious moment of time you have with friends and family. It doesn’t matter if you’re hanging out at home or exploring the world! With hundreds of great scavenger hunts in cities across the globe, expertly designed scratch-off adventure books full of fun activities, and virtual games that are perfect for both kids and adults, Let’s Roam gives you plenty of great ways to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary!

Great Travel Experiences to Enjoy With Friends

Below, you will find a long list of travel ideas you can do with friends. Since we know some of these places may be a bit far to travel to from North America, we’ve included some additional adventures. You can include these in your trip to make the most of your travel time! We’ve also included some useful travel tips for traveling with friends based on our own decades of travel experience. 

1. Go snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef.

Roughly the size of 70 million football fields, the Great Barrier Reef off of the eastern coast of Australia is big. Like, really, really big. It’s the world’s largest coral reef system and is home to millions of colorful fish, turtles, sharks, sea snakes, dolphins, seabirds, eels, mollusks, sponges, and, of course, coral. Thanks to this incredible biodiversity and how easily accessible it is from cities like Sydney and Melbourne, it’s high on the bucket lists of many travelers. So, why not take a trip with a great group of friends?

You can choose to visit the Great Barrier Reef on a day trip from Cairns. These boats tend to be big and crowded. It can be difficult to explore the reefs without having a lot of other people around. Alternatively, you can book a spot on one of the liveaboard diving boats that go out for a few days at a time. This is a great option if you have the time and the budget. It allows you to experience the reef with significantly fewer people, and it gives you the chance to spend the night floating above this breathtaking natural landscape.

Expert tip: While you’re underwater, you’re very likely to hear a chomping sound, like someone or something is taking a big bite of something crunchy. That’s actually the colorful parrotfish eating algae off the coral. They’re an important part of the reef’s ecosystem. It’s one of my favorite parts of snorkeling, and I love watching the fish happily chomp away on the coral. 

Additional Adventures in Australia

After you’ve snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef, you can continue your Australian adventure by heading up through northern Queensland to the Daintree Rainforest. This is the oldest rainforest in the world at a whopping 135 million years old. You can visit as a day trip from Cairns or spend the night in one of the many lodges located nearby. There are many different hiking trails within the rainforest that let you get a closer look at the unique flora and fauna there. 

2. Spend a weekend visiting the historic bars of New York City.

New York is a fascinating city, and many tourists barely even scratch the surface of what it has to offer. For many people, their first visit to the Big Apple includes highlights like Times Square and Broadway, Central Park, and the World Trade Center. However, if you want to see how New Yorkers really spend their time and learn more about the cultural fabric of the city, why not spend a weekend bar hopping through some of the city’s historic dive bars? 

The many dive bars scattered across the island of Manhattan are a treasure trove for history buffs looking to get a peek at old NYC. Some of the most popular historic bars, like McSorley’s, Rudy’s, and Jeremy’s Ale House, still have much of their original decor. If you look closely, you can often see the ornate woodwork, colorful flooring, and vaulted ceilings of yesteryears. To make it even better, the drinks are often much, much cheaper than what you would pay at some of the trendy bars of the Meatpacking District or Midtown. 

To help break up your day of drinking a bit, we suggest taking the time to see some of the many attractions located near the bars, especially ones off the beaten tourist path, such as the many tiny parks hidden amongst apartment buildings and niche museums that you had no idea even existed. 

While you’re there, don’t forget to check out one of the Let’s Roam New York scavenger hunts ! These hunts are expertly designed to help you get off the normal tourist trail and see some of the lesser-known sights. From the public art of Chelsea to the ghost of Greenwich , there’s something to fit the unique tastes of every traveler!

3. Check out the nightlife of Hong Kong.

With buildings that reach high into the sky, sparkling seas, and emerald-green hills, Hong Kong is one of the world’s most photogenic mega-cities. It’s also one of the most vibrant. While New York is often considered the city that never sleeps, Hong Kong can easily be considered the Big Apple’s sister from another mister. 

Additional Adventures in Hong Kong

If you don’t have a Chinese visa but still want to combine your trip to Hong Kong with another nearby destination, we highly recommend taking the ferry to Macau. Once a Portuguese colony, Macau is now the Las Vegas of Asia with tons of casinos, grandiose hotels, entertainment venues, and bars. You can still see vestiges of its colonial days in the downtown area as well as some of the original Chinese casinos built there. This creates a fascinating juxtaposition that you can’t find anywhere else and makes it well worth the trip.

4. Take a road trip across Patagonia.

With wide open spaces, rugged mountains, crystal-clear lakes, and charming mountain towns, Patagonia is the ultimate destination for a road trip. You can begin your journey in Santiago and head south, crisscrossing the border of Chile and Argentina. Or, head straight down to Ushuaia, the end of the world, and work your way north from there. 

When you’re planning your journey, make sure to leave plenty of time for hiking. This region is home to some of the world’s most magnificent hikes, including the incomparable W Trek in Torres del Paine National Park. This five-day trek takes you high into the Andes Mountains, offering breathtaking views and breathtaking ascents along the way! 

Additional Adventures in Chile and Argentina 

The lands of Patagonia take a surprisingly long time to get to from the United States, so if you have the time, we definitely recommend staying a bit longer to see other great destinations. Check out the enigmatic Easter Island, the beautiful city of Buenos Aires, or Iguassu Falls, one of the world’s biggest waterfalls. Domestic flights are relatively inexpensive, which makes it easy to travel around. There’s so much to see that you may find yourself wishing you had many months to spend there!

5. Say hello to Lady Luck in Las Vegas.

Will luck be a lady tonight? This is something you can only find out by organizing a fun getaway to Las Vegas ! Las Vegas, Nevada, has come a long way from its days as the original Sin City. Besides what feels like an endless line of slot machines and over-the-top casinos that make you feel like you’re in some weird version of Disneyland, Las Vegas offers some of the world’s best hotels, entertainment venues, bars, and restaurants just waiting to show you a good time (and to take some of that hard-earned money off your hands!). It’s even the temporary home to some of the country’s most famous musical artists who have long-running residencies there. 

This fun combination of activities makes it the perfect spot for weekend getaways for anyone wanting to spend the day lounging by the pool with a colorful cocktail in hand, trying their luck on the slot machines, and watching their favorite musicians sing their hearts out.

6. Hit up the all-inclusive resorts of the Yucatan Peninsula.

While it’s fun to DIY your own trip, sometimes nothing beats a week at an all-inclusive resort with your best friends. Gone is the stress of having to pick a restaurant, call a taxi, or find a bar to go to. Instead, you have everything you need all under one roof! All-inclusive resorts range from intimate affairs with a handful of restaurants and idyllic poolsides to full-blown resorts with tons of restaurants, pools, and activities to choose from. These ones are usually a bit better suited for groups of friends, but to each their own, right? The beauty of going to an all-inclusive resort lies in the lack of planning you need to put into it. You can simply show up and be you!

While you can find all-inclusive resorts scattered across the Caribbean and Southeast Asia, we love going to the ones in the Yucatan simply because there is so much to do around them! Not only is the peninsula blessed with gorgeous white sand beaches and marvelous weather most of the year, but it’s also dotted with ancient Mayan ruins, fascinating sinkholes that are perfect for swimming in, and colorful colonial towns. This gives you the chance to easily learn more about the history, culture, and geography of this amazing country! 

Some of the most popular areas to stay in include Cancun, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum, but you can find high-end resorts dotted all along the coastline. 

7. Swim with whale sharks in Mexico.

Mexico is famous for having good food, beautiful scenery, great weather, and friendly people. However, if you still need another reason to visit this amazing country, we have one more for you. Mexico is also one of the few places in the world where you can swim with whale sharks.

Whale sharks are the biggest fish on the planet, measuring more than 40 feet in length and weighing as much as 47,000 pounds. Their mouths alone can stretch up to five feet wide with 300 tiny teeth. Although they’re considered sharks, they’re not dangerous to humans. In fact, these gentle giants eat only plankton. Swimming with whale sharks is an incredible experience. Although you get just a few minutes in the water with them due to strict conservation rules, it feels like a lifetime as you watch their muscular bodies glide gracefully below you.

The best place to join a whale shark tour is in Isla de Mujeres, just a short boat ride from Cancun. This tourist-friendly island has a downtown area lined with budget-friendly accommodation options, souvenir shops, and restaurants. It’s a nice, laid-back spot to spend a few days before or after your trip, and it gives you a little taste of Mexico without having to deal with all the craziness of Cancun. 

8. Explore the Tuscan wine country in Italy.

While Napa Valley is considered one of the best wine regions in the US, why not think a bit bigger when it comes to having an awesome and memorable vacation with your besties? Just imagine yourselves sitting with a glass of Chianti, overlooking rolling hills lined with vineyards and dotted with historic farmhouses. Taking a wine tour of Tuscany is a great way to try a whole new range of mouthwatering wines that you normally wouldn’t have access to and learn more about Italian culture and heritage. 

The wine region of Tuscany in Italy is relatively easy to get to from major tourist hotspots like Florence, Rome, and Milan. Otherwise, you can base yourself in one of the smaller cities or towns nearby, like Sienna, San Gimignano, and Pisa. Here, you will find a wide range of accommodation options, including boutique hotels, charming B&Bs, and vacation rentals. There are also tons of different wine tours that you can choose from. Otherwise, you can create your own DIY wine tour and make your way to the wineries by train, car, or bike. Or go on foot for tours of the wineries and wine tastings. 

Additional Adventures in Italy

After you’ve tasted the nectar of the gods in Tuscany, why not visit the ancient delights of Rome or Pompeii? Check out the Renaissance masterpieces in Florence or pretend like you’re holding up a certain tower in Pisa. The comprehensive and budget-friendly train network makes it easy to get around!

9. Take the train across Canada.

All aboard! Epic train rides like the Orient Express may seem like a thing of the past, but in fact, they’re thriving in many parts of the world! The Blue Train in South Africa and The Ghan in Australia are still Mesmerizing riders today. But if you want to try something a little closer to home, you may want to consider riding the long-distance rails of Canada!

Train rides in Canada can range from multi-day adventures to shorter hops between destinations. Some of the most popular routes include Halifax to Montreal and the much longer Rocky Mountaineer that goes from Vancouver all the way to Banff. This luxurious rail journey takes you along the Canadian Pacific Railway in custom-designed trains complete with panoramic glass roofs. The daytime views along the way are breathtaking. At night, you can stop in towns like Whistler, Jasper, Lake Louise, and Quesnel.

10. Visit the honky tonks of Nashville.

Nashville has been THE place to go in the US for live music for decades. From the stages of the Grand Ole Opry and Ryman Auditorium to the bustling honky tonks of the Broadway Historic District, it’s easy to see why it earned the nickname “Music City.” If you and your friends love spending a night out on the town shaking your groove thing, Nashville has plenty of fun in store for you! 

One of the best ways to get the night rolling is with our Nashville Bar Crawl Scavenger Hunt ! This hunt will take you to some of the best bars and watering holes in Nashville, giving you plenty of chances to make new memories as you complete one quirky challenge after another!

During the day, you can either explore the many different museums on offer in Music City or head out for a day trip to Mammoth Cave National Park or to the Jack Daniel Distillery, both of which are about an hour and a half drive away. You can also combine it with a mini road trip to Memphis!

11. Go for a hot air balloon ride in Cappadocia.

Famous for its fairy chimneys, Cappadocia looks like it’s straight out of a fairy tale. And there’s no better way to view these than from up above! There’s something quite magical about going on a hot air balloon ride. From feeling the heat of the fire to seeing the earth slowly melt away below you, hot air balloons have a special something that many other air activities don’t. It’s an even more memorable experience when you’re flying over something amazing!

Flights depart nearly every morning, weather permitting, and you only normally need to book a few days in advance. Make sure to wear plenty of warm clothes, as it can get pretty chilly up there, and have your cameras ready!

Additional Adventures in Turkey

Before or after visiting Cappadocia, make sure to spend some time exploring Istanbul. Straddling both Europe and Asia, this city truly is where east meets west. It’s a fascinating blend of cultures from all over the world. From there, you can head down to Izmir and begin a southwest Turkey road trip down toward Ephesus, one of the many ancient wonders left behind by the Romans. 

12. Island hop in the Aegean Sea.

Most of us have probably seen photos of the Greek Isles. The white-washed houses with their blue roofs surrounded by the sparkling Aegean Sea are the stuff that dreams are made of. This image has graced everything from mouse pads to coffee mugs. While islands like Santorini, Patmos, Mykonos, and Rhodes are incredibly beautiful, one of the best things about visiting them is just how accessible they are!

Although there are many cruises that roam the waters between the Greek islands, you can visit many of the islands simply by hopping onto one of the many ferries leaving Athens, Greece. While this does require a bit more planning than simply booking a cruise, this gives you the chance to spend as much time as you want on each of the islands. You can see what they’re like when the cruises leave. 

Additional Adventures in Greece

Once you’ve finished island-hopping, you may want to consider spending a few days exploring the ancient ruins of Athens or traveling up to see the sky-high monasteries of Meteora.

13. Unlock your inner mermaid at Miami Beach.

The beautiful shoreline and sunny weather of Florida have been attracting northerners for centuries, and Miami has long been at the top of the list of must-see destinations. From the white sand beach to the curvy Art Deco architecture, Miami Beach feels like a completely different city than the rest of Miami. By day, you can be lounging around in the sun or wandering up the cute residential streets. By night, you can go to some of the hottest clubs in the entire country. 

If you plan on spending the full day at the beach, there are places where you can grab beach chairs and umbrella rentals that allow you to get extra comfy, and don’t forget to bring plenty of sunscreen with you! Nothing ruins a great vacation faster than a painful sunburn. 

Travel tip: While you’re in Miami, don’t forget to visit Wyndood Walls. This collection of street art and murals spread across warehouses and shop exteriors resembles a long line of outdoor art galleries. The neighborhood is also home to a few microbreweries and pop-up restaurants, making it a great place for foodies and craft beer lovers who are in serious need of a break from the beach. 

14. Get weird in Austin, Texas. 

Located in the great state of Texas, Austin is unapologetically weird. Home to both the University of Texas’s main campus and the Texas State Capitol, the city has an interesting mix of government buildings and a fun, youthful energy. As you would expect from a city this diverse, there is a wide range of restaurants, bars, and cultural attractions to choose from. You can even do your very own pub crawl while you’re there! 

Austin isn’t just all culture-vulturing, though. There are plenty of unique activities to do here. During your stay, you can cool down at Barton Springs, a natural pool full of fresh water, watch millions of bats take flight at the Congress Avenue Bridge, take a stroll around Lady Bird Lake, or pick up your very own pair of authentic cowboy boots at Allen’s Boots, an Austin institution!

15. Enjoy a week of outdoor adventures in Iceland.

Iceland was once a bit of a hidden gem for outdoor adventure and other-worldly natural attractions. However, with the rise of low-cost airlines and a massive drop in their currency, Iceland became much more accessible as a vacation destination. Suddenly, it exploded onto seemingly every must-see list. While the excitement surrounding Iceland as a destination has abated a bit, this doesn’t mean that it is any less stunning than it was a few years ago. It simply means that you are likely to have many of the biggest sites all to yourself! 

Most people start their trip in the capital city of Reykjavik before venturing out for an epic road trip on Iceland’s famous Ring Road. Stretching 825 miles, this road takes you by some of the biggest natural attractions in the country, including Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss waterfalls, Dyrhólaey cliffs, and Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon. While the entire road can be driven in 24 hours, it is best to slow down and take your time so that you can truly enjoy all of the many waterfalls, glaciers, gorges, and hiking trails you see along the way. 

Before you leave, make sure to take some time to relax at the Blue Lagoon, which is conveniently located close to the airport. This will give you some time to reflect on your remarkable journey and all of the magnificent things you saw and did!

16. Get your jazz on in New Orleans.

Throughout the course of history, the city of New Orleans changed hands repeatedly. This wave of cultures left an undeniable mark on the city in terms of architecture, culture, cuisine, and, of course, music. New Orleans is the birthplace of jazz, so what better place could there be to spend a few evenings at a smoky jazz club listening to these lively melodies? Some of the most popular places to listen to jazz music include the historic Preservation Hall and the intimate The Spotted Cat, so one of these should be your first port of call regardless of whether you are a jazz aficionado or a new fan!

While New Orleans is famous for its nightlife, there is plenty to do during the day as well! You can explore the streets of the French Quarter, explore the wide boulevards lined with stately homes in the Garden District, or visit world-class museums, such as the National WWII Museum or the New Orleans Museum of Art.

Travel tip: If you plan on traveling to New Orleans during Mardi Gras, make sure to book your accommodation well in advance as places tend to sell out very quickly!

17. Explore the natural wonders of Costa Rica.

Thanks to the country’s focus on providing excellent ecotourism experiences, the country of Costa Rica has been a fantastic vacation destination for decades. With beautiful beaches, tranquil cloud forests, smoking volcanoes, and gushing waterfalls, Costa Rica provides the perfect backdrop for tons of great outdoor activities. During your trip, you can put some miles in on the hiking trails, go ziplining above the treeline, or spend your days relaxing on the beach, enjoying the sea breezes coming off the Caribbean.

Travel tip: Prices for hotels and activities have gone up substantially in Costa Rica over the past few decades, making it one of the most expensive travel destinations in Latin America. Make sure to double-check the prices of things before you book your hotels and flights to ensure you will be able to have the vacation you’re dreaming of without having to empty your bank account too much!

So, Ready to Roam?

We hope this list of fun trips to take with friends has given you plenty of inspiration! As always, we would love to hear your feedback, so please let us know if there are any great adventures you think should be added to this list!

If you would like to learn more about any of these destinations, make sure to check out the Let’s Roam Explorer blog , where you can find hundreds of travel guides, to-do lists, and blog posts about both domestic and international travel. You can also download the Let’s Roam app to find scavenger hunts near you as well as user-generated info on destinations around the world. 

Frequently Asked Questions

If you want to have a nice time, what about a weekend in New York or Las Vegas ? If you want to go further afield, Australia , Argentina , and Italy are great options for something unique and memorable!

To make a friends’ trip a bit more fun for everyone, why not try a fun-filled destination scavenger hunt ? With hundreds of hunts to choose from, there is sure to be one perfect for your group!

Mexico , Australia , and Costa Rica all have beautiful beaches and are easy to travel to with friends. Download the Let’s Roam app to see how the locals spend their time in these great spots!

If you want to ensure that you have a great trip with friends , try to schedule a mixture of unique activities like scavenger hunts with plenty of free time for people to explore on their own!

New York , Las Vegas , and Miami all have something unique to offer, making them great destinations for getaways with friends ! Get the Let’s Roam app to access travel tips for these locations and more!

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See more, plan less – try Google Trips

Sep 19, 2016

[[read-time]] min read

We wanted to reduce the hassle and help travelers enjoy their hard-earned vacations. So today, we’re introducing a new mobile app to help you instantly plan each day of your trip with just a few taps of your finger:  Google Trips .

Google Trips is a personalized tour guide in your pocket. Each trip contains key categories of information, including day plans, reservations, things to do, food & drink, and more, so you have everything you need at your fingertips. The entire app is available offline — simply tap the “Download” button under each trip to save it to your phone.

Choose your own adventure

For the top 200 cities in the world, Google Trips shows you a variety of day plans featuring the most popular daily itineraries. We’ve automatically assembled the most popular sights, attractions, and local gems into a full day’s tour — all based on historic visits by other travelers. Say you’re visiting Barcelona. You can choose from multiple day plans, like “Eixample District,” which maps out the can’t-miss buildings by Antoni Gaudi, the famous Spanish architect.

Plan each day of your trip like magic

Say your friends told you that you have to see the Sagrada Familia — and you’re looking for suggestions on things to do around that spot. Press the “+” button in the day plans tile to jump into a map view containing all the top attractions in your destination. If you’re time constrained, you can specify above the map whether you have just the morning or afternoon, versus a full day. Then simply tap and pin the Sagrada Familia to build your itinerary around it. Google Trips automatically fills in the day for you. If you want more options, tap the “magic wand” button for more nearby sights. You can pin any new spots you like, and if you want even more, each tap of the “magic wand” instantly gives you a new itinerary with updated nearby attractions like Palau Macaya or Parc del Guinardo, so you can build your own custom itinerary in minutes while munching on your morning churro.

All your travel info, all in one place

Keeping track of all your flight, hotel, car and restaurant reservations when you travel can be tough. With Google Trips, all your travel reservations are automatically gathered from Gmail and organized for you into individual trips, so you don’t have to search and dig up those emails. They’re waiting for you within the reservations tile, even without WiFi.

Vacations are a chance to recharge and experience new places and cultures. For your next trip, let us help you see all the sights you want to see, without all the work. Google Trips, available now on  Android  and  iOS , has you covered from departure to return.

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How to Say “Have a Safe Trip”: Formal and Informal Ways

When someone is about to embark on a journey, it’s always thoughtful to express your well wishes and hopes for their safety. Saying “have a safe trip” is a common phrase used to convey this sentiment. However, there are various ways to express this phrase, depending on the level of formality and the regional dialects. In this guide, we will explore the formal and informal ways to say “have a safe trip” while also providing tips, examples, and insights.

Formal Expressions for “Have a Safe Trip”

Formal expressions are commonly used in professional or polite settings. When wishing someone a safe journey in a formal manner, you can say:

“May you have a safe trip.”

This phrase is a kind wish that explicitly expresses your hope for their well-being during their travels. It is a polite and formal way to wish someone a safe journey.

Another formal way to say “have a safe trip” is:

“Wishing you a safe and pleasant journey.”

This phrase not only conveys your concern for their safety but also emphasizes your desire for them to have a pleasant experience while traveling.

Informal Expressions for “Have a Safe Trip”

Informal expressions are commonly used among friends, family, or in casual conversations. When you want to convey your well wishes in a more familiar way, you can use these informal phrases:

1. “Have a safe trip!”

This simple and straightforward phrase is commonly used to wish someone a safe and trouble-free journey. It’s often used among friends and family members.

2. “Take care and have a safe journey!”

This expression not only wishes the person a safe trip but also reminds them to take care of themselves throughout their journey. It shows your concern for their well-being.

3. “Stay safe and have a great trip!”

This phrase combines the wish for safety with a hope for an enjoyable trip. It conveys your genuine care for the person’s safety while encouraging them to have a wonderful time.

Tips for Expressing “Have a Safe Trip”

Here are some tips to keep in mind when expressing your wishes for a safe trip:

1. Consider the Recipient

Before selecting an expression, consider the relationship you have with the person and the context of the conversation. Choose a formal or informal expression accordingly.

2. Use Warm and Positive Language

When expressing your well wishes, use warm and positive language to convey your sincerity and genuine care for the person’s safety. This helps create a positive impact and leaves a lasting impression.

3. Personalize Your Message

Add a personal touch to your message by including the person’s name or specific details about their trip. This shows that you are genuinely interested in their well-being and are invested in their journey.

4. Offer Assistance If Appropriate

If you are close to the person and willing to help, offer assistance with tasks such as pet sitting, collecting mail, or any other support they may need during their absence. This shows your willingness to go the extra mile.

Examples for “Have a Safe Trip”

Now, let’s look at some examples of how to say “have a safe trip” using the different expressions discussed above:

Formal Examples:

• “May you have a safe trip, John. Take care and stay well.”
• “Wishing you a safe and pleasant journey to Paris, Sarah. Enjoy your time there!”

Informal Examples:

• “Have a safe trip, Mom. Drive carefully and call us when you arrive.”
• “Take care and have a safe journey, my friend! Let’s catch up when you’re back.”

Remember, the key is to convey your genuine concern for the person’s safety and well-being while tailoring your expressions to the appropriate level of formality.

In conclusion, there are various ways to say “have a safe trip” depending on the level of formality and the nature of your relationship with the person. Whether you choose a formal expression such as “May you have a safe trip” or an informal phrase like “Have a safe trip,” the most important thing is to convey your genuine care and concern for their safety. So next time someone you know is heading out on a journey, don’t forget to wish them a safe and pleasant trip!

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Guide: How to Say "Have a Safe Trip" - Formal and Informal Ways

When someone you care about is about to embark on a journey, expressing your wishes for their safety and well-being is essential. By saying "have a safe trip," you not only convey your concern but also offer them positive thoughts for their upcoming adventure. This guide will provide you with a variety of ways to express this sentiment, both formally and informally. So, whether you're bidding farewell to a close friend or a business associate, here are some tips and examples to help you convey your wishes effectively.

How to Say "Have a Safe Trip and Enjoy": A Comprehensive Guide

When someone dear to us sets off on a journey, it's only natural to wish them well. In expressing our heartfelt wishes, we often say, "Have a safe trip and enjoy". This simple phrase encapsulates our desire for their safety and enjoyment during their travels. However, depending on the occasion, relationship, and level of formality, there are various ways to convey this sentiment. In this guide, we'll explore both formal and informal ways to express this phrase, providing you with tips, examples, and even regional variations where necessary.

Guide on How to Say "Have a Safe Trip Back"

When bidding farewell to someone who is about to embark on a journey, it is customary to express well wishes and emphasize the importance of their safety. Saying "Have a safe trip back" is a common way to convey this sentiment. Depending on the situation and level of formality, there are various ways to express these wishes. This guide will provide you with both formal and informal ways to say "Have a safe trip back," along with tips, examples, and regional variations.

How to Say "Have a Safe Trip Back Home": A Guide with Tips and Examples

Saying "have a safe trip back home" is a thoughtful and caring way to bid farewell to someone who is traveling back to their residence. Whether you want to express your wishes formally or informally, this guide provides you with various phrases, tips, and examples to do so effectively. We'll explore both casual and formal expressions that can be used in different situations. So, let's dive in!

Guide: How to Say "Have a Safe Trip Home"

Giving well wishes for a safe journey is a thoughtful gesture that shows you care for someone's well-being. Regardless of whether you are bidding farewell to a friend, family member, or colleague, expressing your hope for their safe journey home is always appreciated. In this guide, we will explore various ways to convey this message, both formally and informally, while also providing tips, examples, and regional variations (if necessary). Let's dive in!

How to Say "Have a Safe Trip" in Arabic: A Comprehensive Guide

Traveling is an exciting and enriching experience, and it's essential to wish someone a safe journey before they embark on their adventure. If you are looking to express this sentiment in Arabic, you've come to the right place! In this guide, we'll explore various ways to say "have a safe trip" in Arabic, including both formal and informal expressions. While Arabic consists of numerous dialects, we will focus mainly on Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) while also mentioning regional variations when deemed necessary. Let's get started!

How to Say "Have a Safe Trip" in Armenian: A Comprehensive Guide

Armenian is a beautiful language spoken by millions of people around the world. If you're planning to wish someone a safe trip in Armenian, you've come to the right place. In this guide, we will provide you with formal and informal ways to convey this kind message. While there are no notable regional variations for this phrase, we'll focus on the standard Eastern Armenian dialect spoken in Armenia. Let's delve into the various ways to express "Have a safe trip" in Armenian with plenty of tips, examples, and linguistic insights!

How to Say "Have a Safe Trip" in Bengali: Formal and Informal Ways

If you're traveling to Bangladesh or have Bengali-speaking friends, it's always nice to be able to wish someone a safe journey in Bengali. In this guide, we'll explore different ways to say "Have a safe trip" in Bengali, providing formal and informal variations for different situations. We'll also include some regional variations, where necessary. So, let's begin!

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Sturniolo Triplets • Let’s Trip: The Versus Tour

AEG Presents STURNIOLO TRIPLETS Let’s Trip: The Versus Tour Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023 Doors: 6:30pm • Show: 7:30pm

Tickets are available online at: bit.ly/sturniolo1019

The RITZ Ybor 1503 E 7th Ave – Tampa, FL 33605 www.theritzybor.com

More Info: sturniolotriplets.com • aegpresents.com • sunsettampa.com

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New York-based Sunday-morning series in which youngsters accompanied host Sonny Fox on field trips to such places as the UN and the School of American Ballet, where George Balanchine choreographed 'Yankee Doodle Dandy' for the kids.

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Things to do at NU: May 8 to 14

• Student Experience

We hope you’re finding some time in the last few weeks of the quarter to get outside and get social (and maybe even take a trip downtown)! Here are a few chances to do just that.

Have an art party

Artica’s largest annual event, PARTica, offers free art activities, including tie-dying, canvas painting, paper flower making and more! Attendees are welcome to bring their own shirts to tie-dye, and bandanas will be available.

The event starts at 11 a.m. on Thursday, May 9, on the Norris South Lawn, 1999 Campus Drive, Evanston.

Northwestern at the Art Institute

Faculty, staff, students and their guests can enjoy free admission to the Art Institute of Chicago on Thursday. Visitors can present their Wildcard at the Northwestern welcome desk at the Michigan Avenue entrance to receive their tickets.

The event begins at 2 p.m. on Thursday, May 9, at the Art Institute of Chicago, 111 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago. No RSVP required. More information here .

Spring serenade

The Alice Millar Chapel Choir and Baroque Music Ensemble come together to perform two cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach for the Alice Millar Spring Festival Concert.

The concert is at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 11, in Alice Millar Chapel, 1870 Sheridan Road, Evanston. Admission is free.

Lake Show begins tournament play

Northwestern lacrosse has earned their second consecutive No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and will host the winner of Denver and Stanford in a second-round matchup Sunday, May 12, at Martin Stadium.

The second-round game is at 1 p.m. Get tickets now via NUsports.com .

The power of housing

Join the Northwestern Prison Education Program for a panel on how access to stable housing can break the cycle of recidivism, promote rehabilitation and empower individuals. Panel includes members of the Illinois Justice Project, Northwestern Prison Education Program Justice Fellow Javier Reyes and Northwestern professor Mary Pattillo.

The panel is at 6 p.m. on Monday, May 13, in Strawn Hall, 375 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago.

Share your story

One Book One Northwestern welcomes students, faculty and students, as well as members of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, to the annual intergenerational storytelling event, a unique opportunity for senior adults and young adults to share their stories.

The event starts at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 14, in Room 208, Deering Library, 1937 Sheridan Road, Evanston. Register here .

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Live updates, ‘free palastine’ ottawa protesters mocked over misspelled graffiti featured in macklemore’s anti-israel music video.

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So much for higher education.

Protesters at the University of Ottawa in Canada are being ridiculed online after graffiti on campus misspelling Palestine was featured in the new anti-Israel song by rapper Macklemore .

The steps of the school’s Tabaret Hall were spray painted with the misspelled message, “Free Palastine,” with the image shown off in the “Thrift Shop” rapper’s “Hind’s Hall” music video that has garnered more than 13.6 million views on social media.

“Dear Pro-Palestine Students, If you are going to support Palestine — at least learn how to spell it,” British influencer Oli London wrote on X.

Dear Pro-Palestine Students, If you are going to support Palestine- at least learn how to spell it. ‘Free Palastine.’ 📍 University of Ottawa pic.twitter.com/HqDmMKmyif — Oli London (@OliLondonTV) May 7, 2024

London was joined by hundreds who poked fun at the error, with many calling on the student protesters to be sent “back to high school for spelling.”

Others mocked the education students were receiving at the college despite paying tuition of more than $5,000-a-year on average, according to the University of Ottawa.

The graffiti is just one of several messages scribbled on Tabaret Hall as Canadian protesters set up their own encampment on campus in solidarity with the demonstrations that broke out at US colleges.

Although many in Gaza and the West Bank describe themselves as Palestinian, a self-governing state of Palestine is not recognized by the US or many other major world powers.

The University of Ottawa declined to comment on the graffiti, saying in a statement to The Post that the school is committed to ensuring student safety on campus during the protest.

“It includes maintaining an environment where no incitement to violence or incidents of harassment or hate, including Islamophobic or anti-Semitic acts, are tolerated,” a university spokesman said.

The image in Ottawa garnered worldwide attention when it showed up in the first ten seconds of Macklemore’s new music video, which slams the war in Gaza and puts the blame on President Biden’s support of Israel.

Macklemore, whose real name is Benjamin Hammond Haggerty, also voiced his support for the protests going on in college campuses in the US and across the world.

The song’s title itself is a reference to Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall, the building that a mob of masked protesters broke into last week and occupied until they were removed and arrested during a raid by NYPD officers. 

The demonstrators dubbed the building “Hind’s Hall” – in honor of Hind Rajab, a 6-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed in the Middle Eastern conflict.  

Macklemore claimed all proceeds from the new song will go toward the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which had a dozen employees accused of participating in the Oct. 7 terrorist attack.

The organization was also accused of having 1,200 staffers with ties to Hamas , who seized power in Gaza in 2007 and have since used terrorism and terror tactics to furter their aims, or the Palestinian Islamic Jihad extremists group.

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9 places to nosh on bagels in southern Maine

From old-school spots to foodie favorites, there's a 'hole' lot to try.

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Bread and bagels at The Works Cafe in downtown Portland. Photo by Aimsel Ponti

From New York-style boiled bagels to Montreal-inspired wood-fired ones, there’s lots of great bagels in southern Maine and several shops have the accolades to back that up.

In 2023, Bon Appetit named bagels from Rose Foods and Rover Bagel among the best in the country.

Two years before that,  Food & Wine Magazine put Rover, Forage and Scratch Baking Co. on its list of best bagels in the U.S.

Whether you like yours toasted with cream cheese or as the bread for your breakfast sandwich, you can find plenty of styles and flavors from Biddeford to Brunswick.

BEACH BAGELS

The offerings at Beach Bagels include a French toast and marble bagel, and the cream cheese menu comprises spreads like strawberry, olive and honey walnut. Along with breakfast sandwiches, Beach Bagels has hearty breakfast options like omelets and pancakes. Best of all, you’re steps away from a beach stroll. Just don’t let the seagulls steal your bagel. Advertisement

WHEN: 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily WHERE: 34 Old Orchard St., Old Orchard Beach. beachbagels.yolasite.com ______________

Dutchman’s opened in 2022 as a pop-up housed at Nomad pizza in Brunswick’s Fort Andross building. It’s since become a permanent fixture there and uses the pizzeria’s wood-fired ovens to bake its bagels. The hand-shaped, honey-boiled bagels come in plain, roasted garlic, poppy and a bagel-of-the-day flavor.

WHEN: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday to Sunday WHERE: Fort Andross, 14 Maine St., Brunswick. dutchmans.me ______________

FORAGE MARKET

Making bagels at Forage Market involves a two-day aging process. The bagels are naturally leavened with wild yeast starter and baked next to a hardwood fire. There are usually five flavors available, including sesame and garlic. Breakfast sandwiches (including vegan options) are available. Forage also has a location in Lewiston. Advertisement

WHEN: 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday WHERE: 123 Washington Ave., Portland. foragemarket.com _____________

MISTER BAGEL

There are 10 or so Mister Bagel locations in Maine, including South Portland and Falmouth. It all began with the Portland location, which was the first bagel shop to open in Maine. The late Rick Hartglass started Mister Bagel in 1977, and it is still a family business. Music fans will appreciate the breakfast sandwich menu, which includes The David Bowie (bacon, egg and American cheese), the Jimmy Buffett (egg with roast beef and cheddar) and The Lady Gaga (avocado, salt and pepper, with or without egg).

WHEN: 6:30 a.m. to noon Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to noon Saturday and Sunday WHERE: 599 Forest Ave., Portland. misterbagelforestave.com ______________

At Rose Foods, the menu varies depending on the day, but there are usually six to eight flavors available. For example, should you pop in on a Friday, you’ll find a poppy and onion bialy (a cousin of the bagel that is not boiled). Rose Foods also makes a number of bagel sandwiches, including the Classic Nova with Nova lox and the Classic Whitefish. Advertisement

WHEN: 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily WHERE: 428 Forest Ave., Portland. rosefoods.me

______________

ROVER BAGEL

At Rover Bagel, you’ll find wood-fired plain, poppy, sea salt, sesame and everything bagels available most of the time, and the spread game here is strong with cream cheese options like lemon-thyme-honey cream and chili-garlic.

WHEN: 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, 8 a.m. to noon Sunday WHERE: 10 West Point Lane Suite 10-204, Biddeford (Pepperell Mill). roverbagel.com

______________ Advertisement

SCRATCH BAKING CO.

You haven’t lived until you’ve experienced the line of devoted fans waiting for Scratch Baking Co. to open, especially on weekend mornings. Along with the popular Maine sea salt, plain and other everyday flavors, Scratch has a daily special bagel. There’s honeyed rosemary on Wednesday and jalapeno cheddar on Thursday. Scratch is also famous, at least to locals, for its P-Cheese spread. It’s a pimento cheese recipe made with cheddar, mayo, roasted red peppers and seasoning and was passed down to co-owner and head baker Allison Reid by her grandmother, Mern.

WHEN: 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday, 7 a.m. to noon Sunday WHERE: 416 Preble St., South Portland. scratchbakingco.com ___________

THE MAINE BAGEL

The Maine Bagel is a drive-thru with several breakfast and other kinds of sandwiches available. With a bagel list that features egg and bialy among the standards, the family-owned spot is the perfect place to stop on your way to Pine Point Beach. The Maine Bagel really shines with a dozen kinds of cream cheese spreads, including raisin-walnut, lox, strawberry, cranberry-nut and bacon-chive.

WHEN: 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. WHERE: 117 Route 1, Scarborough. themainebagel.com Advertisement

THE WORKS CAFE

The Works Cafe is an institution on the edge of the Portland’s Old Port. It opened in 1990 as Bagel Works before it changed its name in 2002. The original shop in this regional chain opened in Manchester, Vermont, in 1988, and there are 11 locations around New England, though just the one in Maine. Gone are the ’90s-era banana-walnut bagels and cold pizza cream cheese, but The Works Cafe is still a reliable place to grab a salt, multigrain or cinnamon raisin bagel, among others. The menu also has bowls, sandwiches and smoothies.

WHEN: 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily WHERE: 15 Temple St., Portland. workscafe.com

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