We’re ready for a new adventure – we’re off to the UK! This summer we will explore England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. After discovering a fantastic airline deal we jumped at the chance to explore. Many people have asked if we use a travel agent or do the planning on our own. We also get lots of questions about packing, activity selection, and accommodations. So this blog is about that process!

When we plan our trip we set the begin and end dates first and then fill in the gaps. We start old school with a map and a calendar. Then as we research (thank you Google!) we fill in the blanks. For this trip we decided to spend about a week in each area (England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland). The next step is to search Airbnb and HomeAway. When you are a family of 6 it is virtually impossible to find a hotel! In addition we love to learn about the culture by “living” in a house in a neighborhood. We have also met the most incredible people along the way as they welcomed us into their homes! Some areas we find hundreds of options while others we have to make some sacrifices (hello sofa bed!).

After securing our accommodations it is on to the activities! We believe it is important to be open to possibilities so we don’t schedule everything in advance. For this trip we had to schedule a day at the Harry Potter Studios because the tickets sell out months in advance. Other than that we write a “bucket list” for each city. When we wake up each day we check out the weather and the options and make a choice! This allows us the most flexibility and although we make some mistakes we also discover some hidden gems!

And then to pack….Last year we packed 8 outfits for each person. This summer we are hoping to reduce! So each person will have 3 shorts, 5 t-shirts, 2 pants, 6 undies, 6 pairs of socks, 1 swimsuit, 1 jacket, 1 pair tennis shoes, and 1 pair sandals. We use packing cubes (if you don’t know what those are stop reading and go to Amazon now) to keep everything organized. 1 cube per person (color coded!). It makes packing and unpacking at each location so much easier!

So……

• Plane tickets – check!
• Housing – check!
• Activities – check!
• Packing – check!

We’re ready to go! We hope you will follow our journey as we discover the UK!