Discover how to seamlessly plan your multi-centre holiday with my comprehensive 10-step guide, ensuring a memorable travel experience.
Contents
- Introduction to Multi-Centre Holidays
- The 10-Step Planning Process for Your Multi-Centre Holiday
- 1. Define Your Travel Goals and Get Ideas
- 2. Choose Your Destinations
- 3. Plan Your Route Efficiently
- 4. Create a Travel Budget
- 5. Book Your Flights
- 6. Choose the Right Accommodation for Each Stop
- 7. Plan and Book Transfers, Transport and Connections
- 8. Create a Flexible Itinerary
- 9. Book Experiences and Restaurants
- 10. Be Organised
- Tips for a Successful Multi-Centre Holiday
Introduction to Multi-Centre Holidays
What is a Multi-Centre Holiday?
A multi-centre holiday is exactly how it sounds – you stay in more than one place. This can mean staying in different areas of a single country or destination, or even exploring a few countries on the same trip.
Multi-centre holidays give you more variety, lots of cultural experiences and maximise travel time.
Why Choose a Multi-Centre Holiday?
Multi-centre breaks enable you to make the most of your time away, you get to explore more and feel like you have been on a real adventure.
Meaningful travel doesn’t have to take months – you can see lots in a short period of time, whether it’s a few days or 2 weeks.
The best thing about multi-centre trips is that psychologically they feel longer and of course you can create more amazing memories than an average break.
Who is this Guide for?
I have written this guide for people like me, who don’t get to go away for extended periods of time and want to make the most of their limited travel time.
Whether you are planning a long weekend or 2 week break this 10 step guide will help you to plan your adventure.
| Useful Apps and Websites for Planning Your Multi-Centre Trip: AirTravel: Skyscanner Accommodation: Booking.com Transport: Rome2Rio Experiences: Get Your Guide, Viator Insurance: Cover For You |
See my guide to Useful Travel Apps
The 10-Step Planning Process for Your Multi-Centre Holiday
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1. Define Your Travel Goals and Get Ideas
Questions to Ask Yourself
- How long is your trip? How many different destinations can you fit in realistically and enjoy your time?
- Is this multi-centre trip going to be exploring one country or more?
- Are you balancing exploring cities as well as relaxing on beaches, experiencing culture, landscapes and nature?
Get Inspiration
Read travel guide books, travel blogs and watch YouTube for ideas.
🔗Read My Guide for Amazing Multi-Centre Adventure Ideas!!
2. Choose Your Destinations
Sometimes I choose destinations deliberately because they are close to each other, or often it is determined by flight routes.
For example, if you are flying to a far away, long haul destination – sometimes it is cheaper to fly indirect, so why not spend a few days in your stopover?
Things to consider
- Weather – Is your destination going to be warm, cold, in wet or dry season?
- Budget – Which destination will give you the most bang for your buck?
- Travel time – Balance the time you have available with the time it will take to travel to different places.
- Visas / Inoculations – Will you need different visas and inoculations.
- Local Customs and Safety – Are you comfortable with where you are travelling?
- Currency – Will you need different currencies?
A Few Multi-Centre Ideas
- Eurorailing – See multiple countries in one trip.
- Bordering Countries: For example: Mexico/ Belize, Greece / Albania,
- Same Country / Different Landscapes: Thailand – Islands (beach), Khao Sok (jungle), Bangkok (city). Jordan – Petra (ancient city), Wadi Rum Desert, Dead Sea, Aqaba (beach).
- Making a Summer Holiday More Interesting: Island Hopping – Greek Islands, Croatia.
- Book-ending a Villa Stay: – Menorca, Lanzarote.
| Pro Tip! You can reduce your flight costs by ‘book-ending’ a villa stay with a cheap hotel to avoid those costly weekend flights. |
3. Plan Your Route Efficiently
- Minimise travel time between destinations: No one wants to spend hours and hours travelling between destinations. Pick the shortest routes and break up long journeys with extra stopovers or interesting sightseeing stops. We’re breaking up a long journey from Playa Del Carmen to Belize with a few days in Chetumal on the Mexican border.
- Look at maps of your destinations so you can picture the route.
- Use travel tools like Google Maps and Rome2Rio to check distance, travel time and connections.
- Decide whether you should make a round trip or fly to and from different airports.
4. Create a Travel Budget
- Use Skyscanner to research flight prices, and Booking.com for accommodation prices.
- Estimate living costs for each destination – useful website: www.numbeo.com
- Look up costs for transport, trips, food and restaurant prices.
- Remember hidden costs like tourist taxes and visas. For example: We bought a Jordan Pass before visiting Jordan, which was around £65 each.
5. Book Your Flights
Find the best flight deals on search engines like Skyscanner and Google Flights. Skyscanner will show you options to book. I always choose the option to book direct with the airline.
Search for Flights with Skyscanner
Check when is the best time to book your flights for the cheapest deals. Sometimes it’s best to book as soon as the flights are released. Other times you might be better booking 60 days before the flight or even last minute.
Internal Flights and Transport
Research internal flights and transport. Is it cheaper to take public transport or rent a car? Is it more time efficient to take an internal flight? Balance cost with time and ease. Book internal flights early.
We booked internal flights for our trip to Thailand but for Mexico we will be using the ADO bus service.
See my guide to Cheaper Flights.
6. Choose the Right Accommodation for Each Stop
- Use accommodation apps like Booking.com, Expedia, Airbnb and Hostel World.
- Check the reviews and location carefully.
- Always book free cancellation to leave room for tweaks and flexibility.
Budget, Mid-range or Luxury?
We like to mix things up a bit and book budget to mid-range with the odd luxury treat in the mix.
See my guide Everything you need to know about using Booking.com.
7. Plan and Book Transfers, Transport and Connections
Book planes, trains, buses, private transfers and rental cars in advance but make sure they have free cancellation or flexibility and that you are insured for cancellations.
| Pro Tip! We use packing cubes to make moving between destinations easier. |
8. Create a Flexible Itinerary
Write a list of must-see attractions and hidden gems but balance sightseeing with relaxing experiences and downtime. Especially if you are a family or group. You will need time to yourselves to decompress.
Finalise your itinerary but leave room for relaxation and spontaneity.
See my guide to Planning Your Perfect Itinerary
9. Book Experiences and Restaurants
Book experiences and tickets on Get Your Guide, Viator and Tiqets. Check to see if it is cheaper to book direct. I often find that you get ‘free cancellation’ if you book through Get Your Guide or Viator.
See if it is necessary to book restaurants. This is more likely if you are part of a large group, or you have specific dietary needs.
Use apps like Trip Advisor to find restaurants.
10. Be Organised
- Type up Your Itinerary: Ensure you have key information: dates and times, flight numbers, addresses, telephone numbers and reservation references.
- Make a Packing List: Use your itinerary to take exactly what you need. Pack smart for multiple destinations. Will you require hiking shoes, jungle gear, spare swimming costumes, snorkelling equipment? Use packing cubes for better organisation.
- Take out Travel Insurance: Travel insurance is absolutely essential. You never know what might happen. We pay for family annual travel insurance, which we find cost effective. See my guide to Protecting Your DIY Holiday.
- Check if you require Visas: Always check entry requirements for the countries you are travelling to. You never know when the requirements change.
- Keep Important Documents Ready: Have copies of insurance, passports, visas , boarding passes and tickets. It may be all in your phone but what happens if you can’t charge your phone, or it is lost or stolen?
Tips for a Successful Multi-Centre Holiday
- Keep travel time minimal.
- Plan your route logically to avoid back tracking. Consider flying into one city and out of another.
- Pack light and smart. Carry-on is easier for multiple destinations. Consider versatile clothing.
- Book transport in advance.
- Balance sightseeing and downtime.
- Be strategic with accommodation. Stay near transport hubs for quick transfers. Mix budget friendly stays with occasional splurges for comfort.
- Budget carefully. Factor in all travel costs, including transport and ticket prices.
- Stay Organised. Keep all your booking confirmations in one place.
- Learn local customs and essentials. Research local etiquette, tipping, safety tips.
- Download offline maps and translation apps for convenience.
- Get travel insurance.
Conclusion
Multi-centre holidays are not just for ‘gap year’ students and high-end luxury travellers. Anyone can enjoy a rich and meaningful travel experience. It just takes a little imagination, careful planning and budgeting. We almost always book multi-centre trips without even deliberating it now.
Often multi-centre breaks are not only more enriching but they can save you money by breaking up a long haul flight and mixing up accommodation.
For more inspiration: Read my guide - DIY Multi Centre Holiday Ideas
Tell me about your multi-centre trips in the comments. Have you planned any? What were your most successful?
Make planning a trip yourself simple and stress-free with our ‘how to’ guides in the DIY Travel Planning Hub for tips on flights, accommodation, transport, itineraries and more – all in one place.
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