Save Time with these Leads when you plan your DIY Holiday

Do-it-yourself holidays are unique. The experience is exclusively yours. Unlike packaged tours, you do not have to keep group time and chase site after site, you get the freedom to explore, the time to wander as you so choose and the control over your own agenda.

Whether it’s a simple 3-night cultural trip to Hong Kong or an elaborate two-week trek round Thailand, the fun really starts as soon as you have decided to D-I-Y it.

Planning such a trip is a journey in itself. A typical wanderlust plan runs through the following:

Set your screensaver picture.

Yes, create the ambience, let your desktop wallpaper set your point of inspiration!

Decide on the What.

Beach or culture, active or passive, spiritual or retail, chill or thrill, remember that you are also effectively setting your FB/instagram/etc. wall topics and your ‘Like’ ratings from hereon.

Fix the When.

While scheduling dates and duration, bear in mind that you might also need to add on time to submit your leave application – for when your boss is in a good mood!

Locate the Where.

Try this quiz to get the creative juices going.

Choose the Who.

Whether your holiday-buddy is a social butterfly or the deep conversationalist, he/she should be: reliable, adventurous, hygienic, and especially, not paranoid nor hypochondriac!

Select the How.

This is where the planning becomes an art. We juggle to achieve the ideal timetable, accounting for all aspects from transport connections, hotel comforts, entertainment varieties to our travel buddies’ wishes, factoring delay contingencies, plan A, plan B… so on and so forth… all to be kept within a budget.

Have you heard of the guy who wore all his clothes onto a plane so he could save money on extra-bag charges? For most of us, every bit we save could get us that further mile, to taste that special dish, to visit that place we will probably never go near again, to see, feel or do more.

Such savings can normally be made if we could be that ‘Early Bird'. But those of us who are apologists of ‘I am busy…’ simply cannot find the time to be this Bird. With the myriad of choices and combinations out there, how does one think, plan, go to work and also make the time to wade through the world of sweet offers and promotions?

I recently completed my travel plans and purchases for a D-I-Y itinerary. Feeling like a bird of prey having nailed my plans, I found myself turning into Angry Bird when I discovered that I could have saved more:

5% and 2000 Qmiles with Qatar Airlines
RM136 off from AirBnB

… if I had the time to search through ALL the sites!

We do not have to lose out on savings because of our busy hectic lifestyles. So, here are some heads-up on leads to help you save time:

Up to 38% for the next few weekends from Booking.com’s list of Bargain hotels. Look under “Find Deals” at the top.
Be entitled to Unreal Deals from Expedia and savings as big as 100% off hotels when you shop with them.
There are some Unique Accomodations on Sale at Hotels.com. It covers South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Thailand.
UOB card holders get 40% off ALL accomodations at Travelio. The promo is valid till the end of 2016.
Get 15% off your first booking and help with planning your itinerary at Touristly. Grab the code here.
Register your CIMB card with Uber and save RM25 for your rides to and from the airport. Share this code.
Always zoom in on the promotions and deals first!