Planning a trip well is essential for any teacher that gets granted a long national holiday such as Chinese New Year or paid vacation time. The first week of winter camp is complete. Five more days and I’ll be screaming out, FREEDOM!

Last  Friday came around and although I was relieved one week of camp was over another week still awaits me. I keep telling myself to be present in the moment and enjoy the time with my students, but my anticipation for my upcoming vacation is at an all time high. In this blog,

In this post, I hope to highlight some of my planning process for my upcoming trip to Cambodia and Thailand.

Plan Ahead

EPIK teachers get ten days off in the winter. As soon as your school gives you the English camp schedule, it is best to start planning your vacation right away, especially if you are going to Southeast Asia.

I highly suggest to give yourself at least three to four months to plan your trip. My husband and I bought our flight tickets to Cambodia in October. Although we started planning early it took us a few days to find a flight ticket in our budget.

We were constantly searching AirAsia and Skyscanner day in and out. We were fortunate enough to find a flight ticket for both us at our price range through Skyscanner.

Airbnb Accommodations

After buying our flight tickets we searched intently for accommodations. Our flight is at night and we won’t get to Siem Riep till after midnight. Instead of booking a hotel for the night we searched on Airbnb and found an affordable place to stay within our budget that had really great reviews.

The owner of the place even offers their guest pick up at the airport which is a major plus for us.

Factor in Travel Time

There are a lot of stops we are making throughout the trip. Our first stop is Siem Reap for two days, then we are heading to the countryside of Battambang, Cambodia  for a day in a half. From there, we are taking a bus to the Thailand border.

The bus from Battambang to Poipet (Cambodia/Thailand border)  takes about five to six hours.  Afterward, we will take a flight to Phuket that takes about 90 minutes. When planning your trip factor in travel time from place to place that will determine how much time you can actually spend in certain places.

Pack Light

Depending on what you’re trying to do it is best to pack light. My husband and I will be backpacking throughout our trip. All the research we have done emphasized greatly the importance of packing light.

Chances are the things you don’t have the countries you will be visiting are sure to have. Of course be wise in what you are packing but try to avoid the trap of hoarding all of your clothes into your travel bag. Let’s just hope I take my own advice.

Do you have any handy trip planning tips and advice? Anything you would like to add to this list? Let us know in the comments section below. 

Willynn taught in the education field for three years. It was her curiosity and interest to see the world from a different perspective that lead her to Daejeon, South Korea. Willynn is currently working with young learners teaching English for EPIK in South Korea. In her free time, Willynn loves to go on adventures with her husband, Micah, engage in language exchanges at coffee shops with the locals in her community. As well as participate at Open Mic events across Daejeon and Seoul sharing her spoken word pieces. Follow Willynn on Youtube  or on WordPress.