How do i know if that deal is for me?

We saw a fare sale to Kuala Lumpur the other day and wondered if it was a decent deal.  At just over $650/pp from SLC, it sounded like a relatively inexpensive way to hop over to the other side of the world and explore a part of Asia we’d heard about but never really considered. 

But before we could jump on the deal, we needed some additional information. We knew about the iconic towers and the incredible views, but what about the food? The transportation? Is it safe? What else is there to do and see?

 We didn’t have the day to spend travel dreaming, but we could carve out a little bit of time, so I challenged Garrett to see if we could find enough info in 30 min to determine if the flight deal would be great enough to convince us to click the BOOK button. Then, we’d have another 24 hours to determine if the trip would be a good decision for us to make before we’d lose our option to cancel.

How did we spend those next 30 minutes?

First Step: We Set a Timer.

As I mentioned, we really didn’t have a lot of time to ‘waste’ down a travel-rabbit hole. We’ve been guilty of spending hours researching a location so many times and enjoy every minute of it. On this particular day, we had other things needing our attention, but we did want to know if Kuala Lumpur might be our next vacation spot before the deal was gone.

Next, We Begin Our Search.

We searched Pinterest and Google for anything we could find about what to do in KL. Pinterest is our greatest resource for travel planning details, but we also came across a new resource we’ll tell you about soon. 

We asked questions like: What to do in Kuala Lumpur, What to eat in Kuala Lumpur, Sample itinerary Kuala Lumpur. In just a few quick keystrokes, there’s a wealth of knowledge available to consume. The top pins will pop up first, but if you’re looking for something more specific, check out the suggested terms at the top and you’ll find even more tidbits to read about.

Thousands of travel bloggers journal their adventures and many do a pretty great job convincing us to visit the places we research, but we really appreciate those who catalog their journey honestly.  We look for blogs with sample itineraries, food recommendations, top tips, etc. and avoid those who seem to just fill their pages with pics of themselves in ‘gram-worthy poses, those who likely didn’t truly explore the city or go outside the 5-block radius. But I digress…

Next, We Take Some Notes In a Google Spreadsheet. 

We don’t worry about making if fancy, creating daily plans, or color-coding it (yet, lol). We just jot down top recommendations from the blogs/websites we visit. Where to go, where to stay for easy access to top destinations, how to get around, what to eat, what not to do… This sheet generally stays pretty simple at this point so that we don’t get sidetracked planning our every move, but we like to have a general idea if there is enough (or too much) to see before we make our decision.

Then, We Research Costs. 

How much does a typical meal dining out cost? How much do groceries cost in the city and on the outskirts of town? What are the best ways to get deals on transportation costs and does the city have a safe, reliable mass-transit system or is walking the best way to get around? What about souvenirs? We like to buy a few things during our travels so we make sure to include them in our budget, too. 

Next, We Assemble the Budget. 

We choose the top sights we actually want to see, add up the entrance fees, figure out a daily meal allowance, estimate for transportation costs, and then put this info into a simple budget. We’ve gotten pretty good at knowing how much we can handle, so even though a seasoned travel blogger might suggest a packed itinerary, we know that 3 museums in one day just isn’t going to work for us. We also know that we’re pretty easy to please and don’t require ultra luxury accommodations, we are savvy with subways and metro lines so we don’t use cabs often, and regular food breaks are non-negotiable, which means our food budget might be higher than other families. No apologies from us; we often travel for the food!

Time To Analyze.

We add everything up and ask some questions. Is the estimated cost something that we can handle? We typically use our rewards points to cover flights and hotels, so in this case, we estimated a 5-7 day trip for two (we decided we’re way overdue for a kid-free trip) to Kuala Lumpur and a few surrounding cities would cost us less than $1,000. That’s not bad for a trip to Asia, if you ask us!

Now It’s Decision Time.

Are we going to snag the deal and spend the next 24 hours making sure we can make this trip happen? Or are we going to wait for the next deal and do this all over again? Stay tuned to find out.

Didn’t read to the end? That’s okay. Here’s the TLDR summary: 

How to know if a travel deal is right for you:

1. Set a timer. Don’t spend too long researching.
2. Research the city and surrounding areas using Pinterest to cut down on time spent searching travel blogs and databases.
3. Note your details on a google sheet or simple notebook. Keep it simple.
4. Research the costs. Lodging, transportation, food, activities, and don’t forget the souvenirs!
5. Assemble your budget. 
6. Analyze your data and make a decision. Is the total cost something you can afford at this time? If not, no worries. Now you’ve got another location to add or remove from your future bucket list.

And that’s it!

Simple enough?  We’d love to hear what you think. Do you have any tips to share with our community? Let us know in the comments!