Organized trips. What is required for implementation

An integral part of the work of companies is the need to organize travel. At the same time, it does not matter at all which employee goes on a business trip - this event must be thoroughly prepared. This article will be devoted to this topic.

Today we will look in detail at questions such as:

organization of business trips;
organizing travel for the manager;
organization of corporate trips.

Business trips can be within one country or around the world. As a rule, the more contacts an organization has, the more often the need for travel arrangements arises.

Organization of business trips

As a rule, the organization of business trips rests entirely with the manager's secretary. It includes such stages as purchasing an aircraft or train tickets, hotel booking, transfer, establishing contacts with the host party, etc. Depending on the purpose for which employees are sent on a business trip, the degree of its preparation also varies. For example, the purpose of a business trip may be to attend a conference, exhibition, advanced training, training courses, negotiations with partners or establishing new contacts. Mostly, ordinary company employees or heads of departments go on such trips. However, this does not mean that the organization of these trips can not be given due attention. On the contrary, the result of a business trip directly depends on the quality of the organization of a business trip. Therefore, let's look at all the points in more detail.

When organizing business trips in Russia, significantly less time and costs are required than required for trips abroad. To begin with, the secretary responsible for organizing the trip needs to know exactly how many days the employee or employees should be in another city. Based on these dates, you must book tickets. Please note that traveling by rail is cheaper, but may take longer. As a result, the employee will be absent from the workplace longer. In addition, a situation may arise when an employee arrives at the place at night or late in the evening (which happens very often when traveling by train). In this case, you will need to book a hotel in advance. Also, if the head of a department goes on a trip, it is unacceptable to buy tickets for him in a regular reserved seat.

Knowing the arrival date, you need to arrange a transfer. As a rule, many hotels have this service, however, if it does not, we recommend that you negotiate with the relevant company in advance. Also don't forget to arrange a transfer for the return trip.

The choice of hotel largely depends on its location. It is most convenient to give preference to those hotels that are located within walking distance from the business destination. This is especially true in cases where the event to which the employee went is strictly regulated and one cannot be late for it. In cases where there are no hotels within walking distance or they do not meet the requirements, we also recommend organizing a daily transfer.

Organization of executive trips

When it comes to organizing executive travel, many secretaries begin to worry, although there is nothing complicated about it. The main thing you should do immediately before purchasing tickets and booking a hotel is to ask your manager about his preferences. It is possible that he does not like to fly or prefers to check into hotels located on the outskirts of the city. Therefore, do not be afraid to ask about this again - in the future it will save your time and allow you to quickly choose the right option.

When choosing a place of residence, you should select several of the most suitable options so that the manager can choose from the proposed ones. Before doing this, check to see if the hotel has available rooms for the desired date.

Organizing business trips for a manager outside the country requires a visa. To obtain a visa, you need to collect a package of documents requested by the embassy. First, you should visit the embassy’s website and familiarize yourself with the requirements and conditions for issuing visas. After this, you need to call the embassy - sometimes embassies do not have time to post the changed requirements on the website.

There are two types of visas: business and tourist.

To obtain a tourist visa, simply request visa support from the hotel where your manager plans to stay. Often it is issued exclusively for the dates for which the hotel room is booked.

The procedure for obtaining a business visa is usually more complicated than a tourist visa: the embassy requests confirmation of business contacts (contracts, invoices, extracts from registers, etc.), so for a single exit they often issue tourist visa through the hotel. But if your manager plans to visit the country often, it is better to apply for a business visa, especially considering that people who entered the country on a tourist visa are prohibited from engaging in commercial activities on its territory.

If you want to receive visa support from the hotel, then when ordering a room by email or phone, ask to send confirmation for the embassy, i.e. provide visa support. The booking site sends such confirmation automatically to the specified email address. You may be asked to show a printout of the document confirming your reservation when crossing the border, so print out a separate copy for your manager.

Also, organizing business trips to other countries involves preparing currency. As a rule, hotel reservations are made by prepayment in international currency. It is also necessary to foresee in advance the availability of ATMs within walking distance from the hotel so that your manager can withdraw money from the card without unnecessary hassle. If there is no such information and the hotel does not provide currency exchange services, we recommend that you make sure you have the required amount in currency before your trip.

Organization of corporate trips

The organization of corporate travel differs only in the number of employees who must travel to another city. Although this event cannot be called frequent, many companies organize corporate vacation trips. In this case, it is necessary to ensure that the selected hotel can provide accommodation for all business travelers. It is also important to ensure that the transfer is spacious enough.

When organizing a corporate trip abroad, you must ensure that all necessary documents from employees. If a visa is required for your trip, we recommend making a plan according to which the documents will be prepared. So, having contacted the embassy and learned the list of necessary documents (for obtaining a visa), it is necessary to determine the time period during which all employees must prepare a package of documents. Next, we recommend that you agree with the embassy on a date when they can accept all employees. It is best to devote two days to this issue.

When booking tickets, you must contact the airline serving this destination in advance. It is possible that you will be able to get a corporate discount if you purchase a large number of tickets at once. Also ensure that all employees are aware of the date and exact time of departure. If many employees go on a corporate trip, then responsibility should be assigned to departments. Thus, organizing corporate trips will not cause much trouble.

Attached files

Order to send an employee on a business trip (form).doc
Regulations on business trips (form).doc
Memo for an employee in case of a business trip (form).doc

Available to subscribers only

Order to send an employee on a business trip (sample).doc
Regulations on business trips (sample).doc
Memo for an employee in case of a business trip (sample).doc

Who cares. Personally, I hate organized tours.

Disadvantages of organized tours:

often they include unnecessary sponsored excursions to a jewelry or fur coat store (came across it in Paris and Turkey);

you are partially dependent on the other tourists in your group (they need to pee, they need souvenirs, they have a crying baby on the bus);

on tours usually the most popular places for excursions for which you have already paid. And if you want to go to a non-tourist place, but you are going to Versailles by bus, you’d be sorry to refuse, you’ve already paid.

Advantages of organized tours:

you don’t have to think about anything: what to do with yourself, how to get to the museum, where to eat, what to see. True, it is not a fact that all places will be good.

usually it is cheaper due to a travel agency, hotels on the outskirts or those where travel agencies have special prices, sponsors, whose store you will be taken to on an excursion, etc. Also Bus tours, like 7 countries in 5 days, very cheap.

There are very cool tours that are not for everyone, but especially for you. For example, in Ukraine there are guys who take designers and architects on tours. They plan well and with them you can get, for example, into the workshops of famous architects, where you would never get to yourself. Or there are photo tours. In short, highly specialized tours that will interest you. Or very expensive and rare tours, such as a cruise near Antarctica.

That is, you can have fun on a tour if the planning makes you hysterical and if you don’t worry too much about what you’ll see on the trip. Paris and okay, it doesn’t matter what exactly you see (you will see 100% the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre). Or if you find a unique tour.

If independence and quality are still important to you, it is better to do everything yourself.

Pros of self-guided tours:

you do whatever you want - visit the places you want, plane or bus - you choose yourself, you choose the hotel yourself, everything is up to you.

websites for selecting tickets, hotels, restaurants, establishments and entertainment give complete freedom (tickets.ua, tripadviser.com, hotels.com, anywayanyday and other hundreds of sites).

a guidebook (book) often tells everything you need, and if you choose it wisely, you can do without a guide on a bus, as on an organized tour. The Internet, again, knows everything.

you can get into tourist places, which you will learn about on some local website, and not in tourist consumer places, where the quality is designed so that you will never return, and others will come tomorrow.

many interesting routes are not subject to organized tours. If only we could see the Scottish northern castles, climb the most high point Great Britain, would visit Glasgow, Edinburgh, Oberdeen, Inverness, Loch Ness, Isle of Skye in one organized tour. And on your own it is quite possible.

Disadvantages of self-guided tours:

you have to plan a lot and rely on yourself. Often this means buying museum tickets online, otherwise there will be a huge line waiting for you (Uffizi, Louvre);

you can end up in a bad hotel with bedbugs (Paris:)), travel agencies usually choose proven hotels, because of reputation and all that matters;

some places can only be reached with a group, or it is easier to get with a group or an organized tour (in some collections, group-only excursions, cruises, etc. are most often organized tour).

It’s a little more difficult to find a guide. I don’t know, somehow we have never had the practice of ordering a city guide from the Internet without recommendations. It’s always either a blogger-tour guide, whom I read long before the trip (London, Stockholm), or on the recommendation of friends (Tallinn).

In short, it is usually easier and more pleasant to organize an independent trip to simple places (cities and countries in Europe and the USA). It’s easier and quieter to take a tour to exotic countries, as I understand it

It's not the same for everybody. Last year, my friend and I were looking for a place to relax, looking for options where we could surf (I’ve been dreaming of trying it for many years). The newbies themselves didn’t know how to do anything. First we wanted to get there ourselves, find board rentals and try it ourselves, but in the end we decided to choose a paid surf tour. And you know, we haven’t regretted it at all! We chose surfvan camp at our own risk - thank God. everything went very cool))))

Answer

It's better to travel on your own. Get out of your comfort zone, improve your languages, take local public transport, rent accommodation from locals, eat with locals, go where everyone else doesn’t, watch what group guides don’t show, find yourself in stories that will be interesting to tell. Take risks and discover new things. And you will be happy!

Independent travel is definitely better, and here's why:

Self-planning is the way to travel on any budget. No one in the chain between you and the computer has their own margin for food, flights, housing and all that.

Self-organization is zen. No one but you is responsible for mistakes, delays and failures. And since there is no point in blaming yourself, all you have to do is accept the universe with all its surprises.

Complete freedom of movement. Nowhere and never will you feel so many emotions as at a Bangkok station without boards and signs.

Go for it, friends.

1) If this is a European city, then, of course, travel on your own. Book a hotel on one of the many sites, upon arrival buy a “city name_card” (many European cities sell such cards for a period of one to 3 days, they usually give free travel on public transport and free or partially discounted passes to museums), until suburbs travels public transport, you can take an audio guide there, and if you arrive before the opening, you can walk around the attraction in front of all the tourist crowds. The good things about such a trip: you don’t depend on anyone, you walk wherever you want, eat wherever you want, you blend in with the city, and not with the guide’s herd. But for this: you need to plan in advance what you will visit tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, etc., not to spare your legs, because there is a lot of walking, it is advisable to know English.

2) If this is a trip around the country, then the question is the budget. Everyone writes about tours as huge buses filled with time-oblivious women, sober men and their screaming offspring (hello, typical Turkey). Of course, such a journey is comparable to a descent into Hell. Another case: a driver-guide in a good car for a small company or family (assuming that you don’t drive/are afraid of getting confused in maps/not being able to control the controls on unusual terrain/take a break from the wheel and calmly look out the window) - this, believe me, is very good and helps to get to know the country from the inside. However, this is a tour, not an independent trip.

3) There are concept tours, but that’s a completely different story.

4) Destination: the difference between East and West is great, if you are not going to experiment with yourself by placing yourself in the condition of a newly hatched chick, then it is better to use a tour operator.

Is it better water or beer?
It's the same here. You need to ask yourself several questions, in the spirit of “what do I want to get from the trip? What resources do I have (time, money, etc.)?”, and accordingly, based on the answers, it will be clear what is better in this case.

If you want to lie on the beach for a week in Turkey because your budget is limited, you’re too lazy to organize things, and besides, you don’t know languages and are afraid that they are needed (in fact, they are not) - then why not buy a tour.

But if you are interested in walking around Venice, then on the contrary - there is no point in contacting a company - you will overpay for the tour, and the hotel will most likely be offered who knows where.

There is no clear answer to this question. Depends on the direction and what you want.

Usually an organized tour, especially if it covers several countries or cities, allows you to free your head from organizational issues and put all your energy into perceiving and mastering what you see. For relative comfort and efficiency in terms of time, you pay here with standardization and a somewhat incubator approach.

Traveling on your own is more interesting because you can completely tailor it to your needs, interests, budget and pace of learning. However, this requires a lot of time, emotional and physical investment, which is rewarded interesting discoveries and adventures.

Some companies offer a combination of these two approaches, and this is probably the most advantageous option. Last year I had the opportunity to go on a two-week trip to Vietnam with the world famous company Intrepid. We had basic things organized, such as travel between cities and overnight stays in hotels. Everything else was optional - additional excursions, entertainment, going out, dinners, and so on. And we put together the most interesting and relevant program for ourselves, as if from Legos, while we had enough time and opportunity to explore the area on our own.

For me, independent travel is preferable. Sometimes you start preparing six months in advance, and this is already a great pleasure. I buy a bunch of books, a map, watch historical films, read reviews of other travelers. Finding housing is a special pleasure. When traveling around Europe, we ignore hotels and book accommodation on airbnb.com. We always take country houses close to the area we want to explore. Having a good kitchen is so important! You can live in a real medieval house very inexpensively! But regarding the cost of independent travel, I do not agree with those who write that you can save money on this. Traveling in a rented car around Europe will still cost at least 2 times more than a package tour, although it is worth it.

I am always in favor of independent travel, since it assumes that unforeseen circumstances will arise that need to be resolved, you may run into some adventures, and so on, in general, everything will not be monotonous.

Agreeing with everyone who responded, I’ll add that if you are just starting to travel abroad, are not very fluent in the local language (where you are going) and are not yet very familiar with where to learn, buy, live, be, I would advise going with a group a couple of times. You take a closer look, learn basic things about travel, etc. And then you can reach an independent level. I traveled with groups for several years, and then it so happened that I went to Ireland as a “savage” - with a drawn up plan, a hotel reservation, a paid excursion to the cliffs. After this trip, I realized that I wouldn’t go with the group again))) This is such freedom! But it requires at least minimal traveler preparation :)

Depends on what you want from this trip. I will write about excursion trips, since I am not a fan of beach holidays.

When buying a trip through a travel agency, you, of course, overpay, but you don’t bother with the route (you just pre-select from several presented), accommodation, excursions, guidebooks, and mode of transportation. Sometimes you don’t even bother with food. They simply pick you up at the airport, put you on a bus and take you to wherever they have planned. All you have to do is relax, listen to the guide's stories and buy souvenirs. And another bonus: groups often get into museums faster than individual visitors.

When you plan your trip yourself, you take care of it all. You need to dig through a lot of information about the city or country you are going to in order to find out where and why you should go there :) You buy air tickets, look for accommodation, find out how to get to this accommodation. If you plan to travel, you will also need to buy train/bus tickets. But there are some advantages here: you go wherever you want, you don’t have to listen to the rantings of the guides (if this depresses you) and make sure that you don’t fall behind the group; you are the king and god of your journey, everything completely depends on you; you can go to super-interesting, non-pop places; you lie down and get up whenever you feel comfortable. And it's also much cheaper!

Personally, I went on both tours and independent travel. I love both. Mostly I travel on my own, but when I have extra money and don’t have the strength to explore the country on my own (waiting to plan a trip in advance), but want to go on vacation, I go to a travel agency

I see a lot of opponents of the organized tour, and I’ll add my two cents in defense of the tours. Firstly, an organized tour is often cheaper, this applies, of course, to known destinations. Let’s say the flight is direct, accommodation, transfer and insurance are cheaper than if you put everything together yourself, all thanks to charters from the operator, and by the way, a big plus is often a direct flight. Secondly, no one will keep you in the hotel, they will bring you, they will tell you what’s what and then do what you want, travel around the country yourself, this is already like an independent trip. In fact, the operator does not organize your trip, he simply takes you to your place and picks you up in comfort, and then you are free to do whatever you want.

Fortunately, we all realized a long time ago that you can move around the world without a travel agency, and even save money. But what if you plan time difficult route no, but you also don’t want to go with a group of tourists? Agencies are at your service to help organize independent travel. No hassles in buying tickets or booking a hotel - everything will be done for you until you go to the airport.

Makemytrip.com.ua

Agency offers organization combined tours for relatively affordable money. For example, you can go to Bali, Hong Kong and Singapore for 1400-1500 dollars, and go on a 10-day tour of Italy for 400-500 euros.
The agency helps create a route and buy tickets, books hotels, advises on visas and charges 70 euros per person for its services. Even if you are not going to use Makemytrip services, I recommend subscribing to their page on Facebook – useful links and news about promotional fares for air tickets are posted there.

Mandruy.com

The Mandrui Cheaper company appeared on the market relatively recently, but already has a whole army of fans on Facebook. The agency offers individual tours By good prices– for example, 10 days of Brazilian beaches – for $1099 with all flights and meals, or week's vacation in Greece for 300 euros. At the same time, traditional tours also appear on the company’s website, the price of which is no longer so low compared to tour operators. Overall, be sure to compare before purchasing!

I Love Asia

As the name suggests, the company offers travel arrangements throughout Asia. Through iloveasia you can order and group tour with an excursion program, and independent travel with a personal guide, and even get help in organizing a move to Asia for the winter. All this pleasure is not cheap - services for organizing an independent trip up to 15 days will cost 180 dollars, longer - 310.
A group tour to four countries will cost an average of $1,400 without the main flight; if you plan on your own, you can meet this amount even with the flight. At the same time, the program is very rich and thoughtful, it includes excursions and activities, so if you have a lot of money, take advantage! And you can still follow the life of the company in

Have you decided to go on a trip and don’t know where to start? Contact a travel agency, the staff will be happy to help you choose a route, assist in obtaining a visa, etc., but they will charge you a certain fee for this (though no one will tell you about this). They have to earn their living! Don't want to overpay? Then organize it yourself an amusing trip to your taste and based on your financial capabilities. Of course, it will be difficult to do this the first time, and you will agree that it is a little scary (what if something goes wrong!) But as they say, he who does not take risks, does not drink champagne. And not always what a tour operator offers will be interesting to you. And on your own organized trip gives you complete freedom of action, does not limit you to one or another cultural program and, which is also important, it saves money. But in order for your trip not to become a headache and a big disappointment, prepare for it in advance and very carefully, observing all the formalities associated with choosing a destination, crossing the border (if this is expected), purchasing travel documents, etc. Where to start organizing your own trip? First of all, from reading this article.:f:

free time to study and search for information about the direction you are interested in;
Internet access;
time to read this article;
desire to travel and discover new countries;
international passport (if border crossing is expected);
bank card (with money on it, of course);

The first thing you need to do when organizing a trip is decide on the direction. You must decide what you want from your trip. Soak up the beach on the soft sand and under the bright sun? Or see the sights of a certain country: museums, castles, etc. ? Or maybe combine both? But first, remember that you shouldn’t go on your first trip to conquer the jungle or wilds of the Amazon. It’s easy for an inexperienced tourist to get lost there. Maybe, for the first time, satisfy your wanderlust with a trip to good old Europe? Well, or Turkey, for example (here the issue with a visa is resolved one-two-three). In general, it's up to you. As they say, every whim is for your money.
The next step will be to resolve financial issues. First, get a bank card with a certain amount of money on it. After all, without it you will not be able to buy a ticket, book a hotel, or rent a car... And you shouldn’t carry a large amount of cash with you while traveling, the entire civilized world has long been paying with cards (and only we still keep money in glass banks). It is best to apply for a Visa or Mastercard. When traveling to Europe, it is better to choose a Mastercard and open it in euros. In all other cases, Visa, which is in dollar currency, is suitable.
Before you go to the country of your choice, study the necessary information about it, which will allow you to create an initial opinion about it and possibly influence your decision. Read reviews from real people who have been there and can provide reliable information. Pay attention to religious and cultural traditions, customs regulations. It would be a good idea to study the rules for obtaining a visa. For example, you may refuse to travel to Mexico if you find out that when obtaining an entry visa to this country you will be asked to leave your fingerprints, and choose United United Arab Emirates, where the air temperature in the coldest December and January is +28 during the day and +18 at night, and even with a visa it’s easier.
Once the choice of country has been made, I advise you to move on to creating a budget for your trip. First, you must clearly determine how much you are willing to spend on your trip. Find out how much a visa (if required), tickets, hotel accommodation, insurance, etc. will cost approximately. Don't forget to leave money for small expenses and gifts for loved ones, and also set aside a certain amount for expenses that may unexpectedly arise before traveling (for example, buying a new luggage bag or extra battery charger).
Armed with information about your destination, you can start purchasing tickets. To do this, you first need to decide what type of transport you will use. Remember that the journey by land transport(train, bus, car) will cost you much less than by plane. But traveling by plane is faster and more convenient. And of course, there are countries that simply cannot be reached by land transport. Therefore, take care of purchasing travel documents in advance, especially if you decide to use air transport - this way you can buy cheaper tickets and save money. To purchase tickets, you just need to have access to the Internet and an open bank account. And if you don’t trust the World Wide Web, contact the ticket office, where they will help you choose the most appropriate option.
The next step is to secure a roof over your head, i.e. to reserve a hotel room. First, decide on its type and location. Remember that if your hotel is located in the center or, for example, near the beach, then the cost will be quite high. You can, of course, choose a hotel that is more distant, but in this case, transportation costs arise, and most importantly, you spend additional time on the road, which is already worth its weight in gold when traveling. You can book a hotel online or upon arrival (this sometimes works out cheaper), you just need to know where it is. But this option has its pitfalls - if there are no rooms in the hotel you choose, you risk staying overnight on the street.
When traveling abroad, it would be a good idea to take out medical insurance. In most cases, this will be a prerequisite for obtaining an entry visa to the country of your choice. With this document you will feel much more confident.
Obtaining a visa will be the final stage in preparing for your trip. Of course, if your destination country is Turkey or Egypt, there is nothing to do in advance need a visa you will receive upon arrival at the airport by paying a certain amount for it. But if you are planning to visit Europe, then you simply cannot do without the formalities associated with obtaining a visa. Therefore, find out in advance how and where you can arrange it, how much time it will take you and other details, so that you can do it before the start of your trip.
If you have a visa and are completely ready to travel, it would be a good idea to study good guide along the route you are interested in. Read reviews and advice from experienced tourists who will recommend which places are worth visiting, study the opening hours of museums, traffic, etc. and based on the information collected, make a rough plan for your trip. It would be a good idea to purchase a map of the city you are interested in, or an alternative would be to purchase a GPS navigator.
Let's say that you have already prepared for the trip, your suitcases are packed and you are ready to hit the road for new emotions and impressions. But don’t forget to check everything carefully before your trip. First of all, make sure that you take with you all the necessary documents (passport, travel documents, hotel voucher, insurance policy, bank card, etc.). Once again, carefully read the information indicated on your ticket (departure date and time, last name, first name, etc.). Check your luggage carefully and hand luggage for the presence of prohibited items (I have written a separate article on this topic, if anyone is interested). And it’s better to leave in advance, so that later for some reason you don’t fall behind your transport. And most importantly, do not forget to take with you a good mood, the idea that everything will work out for you, so that your tourist trip will bring you only positive emotions.

2016-08-22T18:11:50+00:00

Hello again, dear readers. I finally got around to writing the final article on organizing your trip yourself. Even before this happened, many friends and acquaintances asked how I managed to travel on my own, book tickets, find hotels or travel companions. In principle, many people have the same questions, so I came up with the idea of putting everything in the form of a small plan or guide for those who are just about to start organizing their travels.

This article will be both introductory and final, because first I had to write all the useful posts on this topic, and then combine it into a single guide. I want to say right away that all articles, tips and examples are mine personal experience, which I tested on myself and still use it. So if you have any questions or misunderstandings about something, you need help, or maybe you want to add something else to the list important information, be sure to write to comments.

So, below is a list of articles that I included in the topic “ How to organize your own trip”:

How to organize a trip on your own and cheaply

This list will be visible at the beginning of each page included in it. This is so that the reader does not get lost in the links. And the current article you are in (for example, we are now on the page from the first paragraph) will be inactive and highlighted in a different color. It’s simple. Naturally, the list only mentions the most important planning points in my opinion, so I ask you for feedback from me, in case you think differently.

Now let me tell you how I organize an independent trip, and at the same time I’ll briefly go through the items on the list.

1. Obtaining a passport via the Internet. Of course, what is traveling abroad without a passport? No, I don't argue that there are several more countries post-Soviet space(Kazakhstan, Abkhazia), where you can get there with a Russian passport, but we don’t want to limit ourselves to the “near abroad,” right?

I am glad that with the development of the Internet, many paper operations have become much faster and easier, so I always receive a foreign passport the same way. On what website can this be done, for how long, at what price and under what conditions is it better to take it, as well as a list of necessary documents to obtain and a couple of practical tips you will receive by reading the corresponding article under point No. 2.

2. Route planning. Next, you need to decide, where exactly will I go? And after the answer to this question is received, I begin to plan a route for the country (countries) where I am going. For many, this particular point is a stumbling block, but I assure you that there is nothing complicated about it. Of course, for a beginner you will have to spend some time, but then your work will more than pay off in the fact that you will begin to easily and quickly create routes around any country, even ones you have not yet been to. You can find out about this in the article point No. 3.

3. Obtaining a visa. Oh how! Someone will say: “Where did this point come from? He’s not on the general list!” That’s right, it’s not there, because obtaining a visa is individual for each country. That’s why I said that I included only the most important points for organizing a trip; I won’t describe obtaining a visa to all 200-odd countries, especially just yesterday, for example in South Korea, a visa was needed, but today it is no longer there.

But to make it easier to navigate this issue, because in any case you will need to find out about the need to obtain a visa to a particular country, I will shed some light on this issue.

A good place to start would be to find out do you need a visa to the country where I was going. Personally, in this case, I do it simply: I go to Yandex and write “Japan visa” and see what they give me. There are, of course, a lot of sites where there is a whole list of visa-free or visa-free countries, but I don’t trust them, because it is not known when this list was updated or whether it was updated at all. If you are still interested, then the best site (in terms of relevance at least) in my opinion is this one, but, I repeat, be sure to double-check the information.

If you need a visa, there are several ways to get it:

at the Moscow embassy - I often use this point, since it is the cheapest and easiest for me (despite the fact that I am not a Muscovite), I still have to go through Moscow;). However, it is a good idea to know what documents are required to apply. I can find a solution to this issue on the same website that I gave above, but you can follow the standard procedure - “Google”, and the best thing is to go to the consulate’s website (although sometimes the information there is only in English). And it would also be nice to have friends in Moscow who could take the documents if personal presence is not necessary.
at the embassy of another country - this is if you have a lot of time and are traveling through more than one country.
upon arrival in another country - this point does not apply to all countries, which also needs to be checked. There are also options for obtaining a visa when ordering services in the form of air tickets around the country or hotels (a very expensive option)
through a travel agency - the easiest way for those who do not live in the capital, however, you will have to pay for mediation. Accordingly, the further you are from Moscow, the higher the “duty”.

4. What to take: card or cash? Choosing a plastic card. Money is an eternal question of humanity :). I think the title title speaks for itself. We decide in what form to take money with us, cash or on a card? And if it’s a card, which one is better? You will find answers to these questions in the article below. №4.

5. Buying a train ticket online. Since I am very far from the capital, and fly mainly from Moscow, I often have to think about railway crossings. It’s a pity that Russian Railways has no competitors, but if you make a purchase via the Internet, even the monopolist will find a couple of “tasty” offers. I wrote about this and much more in the article point No. 5.

6 and 7. Finding and purchasing cheap air tickets. The key word here is “cheap”, because unlike railway, airlines compete, and how. But finding a cheap ticket is not so easy among the many “cunning” offers. So be sure to read not only the purchase method itself ( point No. 7), but also the nuances of search engines that will help in your future experience of purchasing air tickets ( point No. 8).

8. Finding cheap accommodation: book in advance or search locally. Well, of course, in addition to all the tickets, we also need a roof over our heads. Since we're talking about independent travel, then we will look for and book a hotel ourselves. There are two ways - book in advance (via the Internet) and on the spot. What is better and of higher quality, you will definitely find out from the article point No. 8.

9. Travel packing list. It would seem like the most banal point, why can’t I pull myself together? However, personally, I always keep with me a standard list of the most necessary things for all types of travel (mountain, long, leisure), so that I don’t suddenly forget something. Of course, a couple of items from the list can be easily removed or added, it all depends on the preferences of each individual.

10. Airport: how to check in for a flight. Many travelers are now giggling when reading the title of this paragraph, apparently having completely forgotten how they themselves stood in the huge airport lobby for the first time, at a loss, not knowing where to go and who to turn to. But I remember, and that’s why I wrote about how it’s painless for your nerves to check in for a flight, which you can read about in point No. 9.

Last two points No. 11 and No. 12 rather additional, however, lately I have been increasingly faced with questions from others on these two topics, which is why I added them to the list. Who joined our group