There’s no need to stress out over a last minute business trip or vacation. Sometimes life catches up and leaves us no time to plan a trip. So whether you have a last minute business trip or you just decided to get on a plane and travel to somewhere new or you simply had no time, you can use this article to help guide you with your last minute travel plans.

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Tip: Do not plan a last minute trip for a honeymoon or special occasion. Those kinds of trips need a lot of planning and preparation. Also, make sure you are willing to travel alone because it will be difficult to form a group within a limited time.

Booking your flight

First start with looking for flights and check out Norwegian airlines if you are traveling to anywhere in Europe and some other destinations outside of Europe. Another website that works great is Fly.com. This website offers affordable prices and they have last minute sales on flights. Try to book your flight on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. The prices won’t be as high as flights that are going out on the weekends.

Accommodations

For hotels (if you are planning on staying at one), look for deals (flight and hotel). It is easier and faster this way; you can kill two birds with one stone. Use travelzoo.com or lastminute.com. After lots of research, I found that lastminute.com had better deals than Expedia, Orbitz, and Travelocity. Lastminute.com lets you book a hotel and a flight together and gives you affordable prices last minute, hence the name of the website. Remember that the biggest savings are in accommodations and package vacations- not airfare.

Travel Apps for your phone

A good way to save time on planning are travel apps for your phone. Travel apps can make your life a lot easier while traveling abroad. These travel apps are great because they will do most of the work for you and will prevent you from having to do all the planning on your own. Here are the best ones I found:

CheapOAir- Makes last minute travel plans and booking flights on the go. Its available for free in the app store.

Roadside America– find cool things to see in America and Canada. Great for roadtrips!

Triposo- Triposo includes detailed maps, recommendations and travel advice for more than 15,000 places in more than 200 countries. It is able to work offline, so you don’t have to worry about having an Internet connection to use it.

TripIt– Like being organized? Forward all your confirmation emails to [email protected]. It sorts through all your travel plans.

Get packed: packing list– The ultimate packing list that customizes your packing list according to what you are doing or where you are going. This is great for traveling last minute because it will let you know everything you need to take with you. Traveling last minute can become stressful and can cause you to forget some things.

Scout– Helps you discover nearby movies and music and restaurants.

In terms of planning, these apps will help because you won’t have much time to plan everything you are going to do. Just make sure to have your flight booked and to have a place to stay. Where you will go and see can be figured out once you get there. And now that most airlines offer free WiFi, you can research where you want to go and what you want to see on your flight. Once you research it, then write it all down and ask your hotel staff or an information desk for more details when you arrive. Remember that this is a last minute trip and not everything will be according to plan. You have to be prepared to roll with the punches.

Other Ways to Plan Quickly

If you don’t have a tight budget, then have a travel agent arrange all your travel plans and accommodations. They will usually take a couple of days to book everything. Give them everything you expect from the trip (4 star hotel, nice location, business class) and they will do it all for you.

Last-minute travel has become an affordable way of traveling; just be sure to be flexible with travel dates and location. Start planning your trip now and read up on these tips for traveling alone! How have you? Any spontaneous last minute travel stories to share?