Travel planning is so addictive!
I first began to do it for my first solo trip to Paris in January 2016. I remember I browsed a lot to find as many information as possible; how to leave and go to the airport, where to store my luggage (and which is the cheapest and easiest), which transportation should I use and most importantly, how to maximise my time when it is (really) limited.
I admit that the first time was never perfect, but I must say I was pretty satisfied with my plan. Since then, I did a lot of trials and errors, using different kinds of websites and aggregators, reading lots of articles and other people's experiences. Nowadays, I have some website selections that I find realible enough qua options, quality, and price (but I still don't stop looking for the next best ones!). I also come up with idea of making my plan clearer by typing it out on excel list.
The more I travel, the more important it is to do a slow pace travel. When I first did my solo traveling, I was not confident that I would do more traveling in the next time. That's why I packed my day full of places to visit. However, now I am more confident about it and start thinking about the quality of spending time in one city for several days (well, at least 2 full days-for now) before going on to the next one. The reason this is good for me is because I do not have to move a lot with my luggage, I can enjoy not only the main tourist attractions but also the local place and consequently I get to see what the city is all about by its people's lifestyle. Oh, I also make time to visit at least one museum and make effort to admire a touristy place thoroughly, not just snap a picture and done-let's go.
So my preference and priority change and they can be reflected in my daily itinerary. Then, I put as many places as possible to see in one day, but nowadays I prefer having 2-3 and max 4 places to visit per day. I also consider of having a blank day which can be used as spontaneous travel (still work on that though, I am not a so spontaneous human being LOL). I do think I can do it in the future, though.
Platforms
I want to share the platforms I use for planning my trip. Bear in mind that this is based on my personal experience, so other people's preference might be different, and.... I don't do any endorsement!
Where-to-go and itinerary: Google sheet, Google, Youtube
I use google sheet for making my itinerary since it is so easy to use and to access, and I can work with it from my computer and my phone.
I rely a lot on Google (who doesn't) to explore anything interesting in a travel destination. Mostly, I will read through blogs for nice tips and tricks. Youtube is also nice to see far ahead what I am going to visit. Some of my favorite channels: Rick Steves's Europe, Patmax Adventure (Asia; mostly for East Asia), and Yellow Productions (Asia; mostly for East Asia), Strictly Dumpling (Food). I have yet found youtube channels which provide information for travelling in other continents other than Asia and Europe, because I haven't got a plan to go there. We'll see in the future.. there should be some good youtube channels for it.
Flight: Skyscanner, Kilroy, Traveloka, Google Flights, Airplane's websites
Mostly, I start my search with Skyscanner and Google Flights. From both websites I can see which airplane offers the best option (from price and travelling time to facilities). Then I usually check the airplane's website to compare the price. When I am sure that I am going to buy a certain flight, I buy it from either Kilroy, Traveloka, or airplane's website, depending on their paying options and also price. Paying options for me is important because I don't have a credit card yet so I am happier to pay with e-banking from my bank account. Most of the time then I use Kilroy (paying with iDeal) or Traveloka (e-banking with Indonesian bank).
Accommodation: Booking.com, Agoda
I really love using Booking.com since I can save more (getting good deals) by traveling more. Furthermore, since I live in the Netherlands and have my own Dutch bank account, I can pay online with iDeal which also can be used to pay my bookings in Booking.com. So handy! Then with Agoda, I can pay a little bit more money to receive Garudamiles points! Well, I can say I favor booking.com more because I can opt not to pay with credit card, which again, not really my prefered way of doing transaction.
More tips?
Yes, I have some more!
I am sure you have read it elsewhere, but it is true: we need to be flexible in deciding when and where to travel. You can principally save a lot by travelling off season and it is more comfortable because the touristy places are not really packed with people. Do consider about the weather, for example it is not really easy to go to Taiwan during the typhoon season (in the summer); it is hot and the chances are high with typhoon during your stay. Further, it is nice to have a 'home base' and do a day trip to nearby cities, for example you can stay for like 4 days 3 nights in Amsterdam/Den Haag/Rotterdam and during those days you go visit nearby cities such as Utrecht/Eindhoven or even the furthest Groningen and Maastricht!