How to Plan a City Break like a Pro

A quick city break getaway every now and then is one of my favourite ways to travel, explore new places and culture and also to unwind from the stress and/or monotony of the day to day life.

Sometimes, you only have a couple of days but there is so much to see in a city that it helps to do a fair amount of research before going, to avoid any disappointment. Of course, you cannot ignore the joy of discovering the city, slowly, on your own. And excessive planning may ruin it!

Nevertheless, one needs to prepare for a holiday at some or the other level. Now what that level would be, is a personal choice.

My aim here is to share with you how I go about planning my city break itinerary – places to see, things to do. This is apart from taking pointers from friends and family who have already been there 😀

Flight

Skyscanner is my preferred website to check for flights. It compares all the flight options and brings you the results in one place which you can then filter your heart away to get the best and the most suitable deal possible. I like to book my onward flight as early as possible in the day and then the returning flight as late as possible in order to maximise my time for the city break.

Hotel

I generally like booking through Hotels.com because they offer a reward system where you can get a free night after collecting 10 nights booked with them. They also offer a price guarantee, subject to “conditions” though (of course :D)

Itinerary

Google
The first thing I do when planning an itinerary is to hit Google and type in “{n} days itinerary in {place name}”. I will choose the top 10 results and start going through them one by one. I will make a list of all common points mentioned on these various websites. Now I have a starting point! Sounds very basic, but it works.

Trip Advisor
Trip Advisor lists good itineraries on their site as well. And it is my go-to website for reviews. I check reviews for hotels, points of interest, and cafes & restaurants on TripAdvisor before planning any trip. Reading reviews can also give me a fair idea of how many hours are required for each point of interest or activity. I also rely on TripAdvisor restaurant reviews because I am a vegetarian and I am a big-time foodie. And I don’t want to miss out on exciting food just because I have certain dietary restrictions 😉

Official Tourism Website
It’s also a good idea to check out the official tourism website for the particular city. I find it very useful to get information about the public transport, maps, guidelines & advice and other such practical information.

Blogs
And finally, I really like to check out a few blogs before planning a city break. Bloglovin’, Pinterest are platforms where I bookmark the blog posts which are about my travel wish-list destinations and then I can get back to them easily when I am planning a holiday.

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How to Plan a City Break like a Pro

So, these were my tips for planning a city break like a pro! Are you doing anything different, anything extra that may help me out the next time? Share your ideas by leaving comments below. I would love to know them!

Cheers,Ameeta xx

Ameeta xx