Have you wondered on how we plan and book our travel? Find amazing places to stay around the world? In this episode, we reveal our secrets on how we do this. In this episode we share 10+ years of their travel lifestyle and give you insights from their very best curated experiences. We all know that feeling of getting off a plane for the first time, arriving at our destination, being so hungry and tired, we literally blow a bunch of our trips budget in a tourist trap restaurant in the cities main square, just to fuel our desperation. The No.1 tip any traveller should hold to, is prior planning. Alex researches the heck out of every detail before he even book the flights. Infact, the flights aren’t the first thing he looks for.   It’s essential to find the right place in the right location, that is at the heart of your interests. Are you looking for a beach holiday, a city break or something in nature. All of these options come with their own unique requirements, and planning is the only way to maximise your experience whatever your interests are.   “Travel is the way to self discovery, each time you do it, you know more about what you like, what suits you and what your tastes are” - Alex Ikonn [11:00]   Alex and Mimi share all the tools and secrets they use to make every trip like a dream experience. And you can do it too.   You’ll hear this and much more:   How exploring your own city for new experiences that you didn’t know were there, can be just as fun, rewarding and cheaper than travel Why you should set your expectations before you go? Be realistic. Budget Vs Luxury, when is it time to drop the lower quality option? From maps to flights, hotels and restaurants, Google should be your first choice tool for travel. Get a clear idea of the location before you choose by pinning your findings to Maps and Pinterest Visualise your surroundings in advance with street view. Prepackaged vacations are fine if you want a lazy, no pressure vacation, but they don’t maximise your possibilities. How staying with a host can be much more rewarding than getting your own place It can be cheaper than an hotel if you split the cost and rent a villa Find the worst reviews, don’t only read the good ones. Check if there is going to be issues you don’t want to deal with Never trust Trip Advisor, find your own curated referrals. Blogs are your friend. Use a business account to collect fly points Price matching and cross check every option Check airlines directly, some of the cheapest flights aren’t on comparison sites, same with hotels The last minute myth.   Where to stay tools: Airbnb.com Onefinestay.com Plumguide.com Homeaway.com Booking.com Vrbo.com/ Homestay.com Couchsurfing.com   Our top 3 Luxury curated stays: Tablethotels.com Mrandmrssmith.com Designhotels.com Flight finder tools: Google.com/flights Kayak.com Expedia.com Flightfox.com Hipmunk.com Skyscanner.net Azair.com