How I Plan a Trip:
From the First Spark to the Memories You Bring Home
NOVEMBER 2025
This week, I’m sharing a bit about how I plan a trip, from the first spark to the small details that make it real. It felt like the right moment, with the year coming to an end and that familiar feeling of looking ahead, dreaming, setting new goals, and maybe even sketching out the next adventure for 2026. Because planning a trip isn’t only about dates and tickets, it’s about giving shape to your dreams, choosing what kind of traveler you want to be next, and letting the excitement slowly build until it becomes a real journey.
Listen to the podcast for more personal stories, travel sparks, and the little methods I use when it comes to travel planning. HERE
A Bit About La Paz This Week
La Paz is slowly getting into the Christmas mood,I feel like every year it starts a bit earlier than the year before. Lights are beginning to show up around the city, markets are filling with decorations, and that cozy holiday feeling is sneaking in. At Café del Mundo, we’ve also started to bring a bit of Christmas to life, slowly, but it’s definitely on the way. Warm drinks, festive treats, and stories from around the world.
And if you’re here in December, don’t miss our Christmas Tour, a mix of local traditions, food, and that special holiday spirit that only La Paz can give.
The Dream Stage – Where Ideas Begin
Now, let's talk about trip planning! Whenever I’ve started planning a trip, it has begun with a spark. I need something to light that first curiosity, to make me go all in. In the beginning, everything sparked, every photo, every story, every rumor about a place I’d never been. But after many years of traveling, those sparks can be harder to find. I’ve become more selective, with what catches my attention.
Back in time, it was almost always a movie, a documentary, or a book that started it. That’s still true today. I see or read something that fascinates me so much that I simply have to go there. Many of my dream destinations haven’t been the typical ones; they’ve been places I stumbled across through stories, then slowly started to research, checking if and how you can even get there. Once I know it’s possible, I read more, look deeper, and become a kind of mini-expert. The more I learn about a place, the more I want to see it for myself.
I’ll be honest, with less time these days, that old method doesn’t work as well as it once did. Between kids, work, and life, I don’t have endless hours to dig through books and documentaries. But I still know that this is my best way to find that spark. Social media is full of stunning travel clips, I mean, I use it myself to show La Paz and Bolivia, but nothing creates that deep spark like a great book.
The Research – Turning Inspiration Into Routes
I’ve always been drawn to Africa, not just because of its landscapes, but because it’s the kind of place where the experience doesn’t stop when you leave. You feel it before, during, and after the trip.
I once mentioned in a podcast what excites people most about traveling. Many say it’s nature, and I get that, but for me, it’s the stories. The people you meet, the way they tell you about their lives, the moments that make you want to learn more even when you’re already home. That mix of listening, feeling, and discovering is what really stays with me.
Of course, I always want to explore the famous spots, the “must-sees.” You don’t go to Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower, or to New York without seeing the Statue of Liberty. But those places rarely give you the longest-lasting feelings or the best conversations. They’re the doors, what matters is what you find when you walk through them. So I try to balance the big landmarks with deeper moments, local connections, slow afternoons, small talks with strangers. That’s where the stories live, and that’s what turns a good trip into something unforgettable.
The Logistics – Making It Real
For some people, planning out a trip is the best part. For others, not so much. I’ve always loved it, even if, these days, I don’t have as much time for it as before.
When I first started traveling, I sometimes wonder how we even managed. The most-used resource back then? Lonely Planet, always. Sometimes I had one of those “shoestring” editions that covered a bunch of countries in one go, and sometimes a single, heavy book for each destination. But because we’re talking about books, let’s be honest, the information wasn’t always that accurate.
Still, I loved the process: reading through the guides, watching movies and documentaries, and then sitting down with a real paper map to create itineraries. I planned everything, almost too much, just to make sure I didn’t miss a thing. There wasn’t much space for spontaneous surprises. Back then, there wasn’t a lot online either, so one trick was always to find someone who had been there before, call them, and ask all the basic questions. That was gold.
Today, things move much faster. I don’t take long trips right now, but whenever I do travel, I’ll admit, I use TikTok and Instagram to plan. It’s another world: fast, visual, and updated. I still make my itineraries, but instead of books and phone calls, I create maps and collections using social media. Different times, different tools.I still love hearing from people who’ve been somewhere, their real tips, their small discoveries, what to skip, what not to miss. The only part that still stresses me out is booking flights. You have to stay focused; one wrong time zone, and it’s chaos. But once that’s done, it’s pure fun. The rest, documents, visas, vaccines, boring but necessary. Everything after that? That’s the exciting part.
The Experience Design – Crafting the Journey
Once the big things are set, the next phase begins: going deeper into what to actually see and do. This is where your own preferences really shape the trip. There are some things you simply have to see. But I also believe in adding a bit of background to understand where you are, a museum visit, a guided walk, or a small interactive tour where you can listen, ask questions, and connect the dots. Those are the moments when a place starts to make sense beyond the postcard version.
The best trips, at least for me, are always a mix. A bit of adventure, a few calm moments, time to just relax. Combine the must-sees and the meaningful stops with small, personal choices, a café that feels right, a restaurant you discover by accident, or a local market that surprises you.
And of course, food is always part of it. Trying local flavors, even simple dishes, can teach you as much about a place as any museum. So I always try to balance it: stories, sights, and flavors, my kind of perfect mix.
The Reflection – After the Journey
The best trips are almost always the ones you’re prepared for, not in the sense of packing lists, but in knowledge. When you know a bit before you go, you notice more while you’re there. Those are the journeys that make you want to dig deeper on the spot, and keep your curiosity alive long after you return home. They make you want to read more, follow stories, and stay connected to that spark.
My big idea has always been to organize everything once I’m back: collect fun things, stickers, tickets, and prints of my favorite photos, and make real albums. The funny part is, that didn’t even happen before the phone era, just a lot of unsorted photos. But what I always did, and still treasure, was writing a travel diary. Today I’m so thankful for that. It helps me remember places, names, and moments that would otherwise fade away.
Even when a trip is over, I love keeping the travel spark alive. Souvenirs, small decorations, photos on the wall, playlists, or a favorite meal, these little things bring that feeling back. It’s a way to keep your home connected to the world out there, to remember how big and beautiful it is.
And sometimes, when you’re about to start planning a trip and feel unsure where to go, start with the opposite question: where don’t you want to go? Somehow, that’s what helps you find your magic destination, the one quietly waiting to be discovered, the one that sparks something new.
Download our freebie of the week to find out where you definitely should go in 2026
While you’re at it, drop by our Inspiration Station for more travel ideas and stories, especially if you’re dreaming about La Paz and Bolivia!
