We have a friend staying with us this week, who took advantage of a last-minute deal to fly to London. We’re psyched he’s here; a last-minute trip is such a thrilling way to shake up life a bit!

Having said that, our friend mentioned he wished he’d had more time to research London before travelling. He was making lists of things to see from the moment he bought his tickets, right up to the plane ride over; but life gets away from all of us sometimes, and I think he would have liked it if he’d had more ideas for things to do in London. (Luckily, I love living in London, so I think he’s enjoying his stay!)

My whole vibe is slow travel—spending time leaning into the moments and experiences that make me happy, rather than checking off things on a list and rushing to do as much as possible just because the pressure of travel is on.

But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t sometimes look at last-minute deals online and think that it would be amazing to just book a ticket and go; to not get so caught up in travelling mindfully, and go somewhere on impulse.

I’ve only done this a few times, but I think I’ve nailed how to do both—to take advantage of a last-minute deal, AND plan a low-stress, but activity-filled, trip. If you’ve had no time to prepare and are looking to slow down and make this trip count, I’d suggest doing the following (even if you’re doing it in line at the airport, or waiting to board your plane!)

Start with your travel priorities. Ask yourself what you’re really looking to get out of this trip—is it to break up the stress of life and relax? Is it to delve deep into cultural experiences? Is it to practise a language you’re learning? Is it to see family, or reconnect with a friend or romantic partner? Or are you not sure what you’re looking to get out of this trip, but know you need a change from the humdrum of regular life?

If priorities are harder to pinpoint, you might try making goals for this trip that surround how you want to feel and experience life. Try writing them down: I want to come back from Spain more relaxed than when I left. Or I want to be proud of how much French I practised in Lyon.

Now you’ve got your focus, it’s time to start planning.

Filter activities through your goals. Don’t start your search by Googling “Things To Do In [the place you’re headed]”. Instead, think about your priorities/goals and work backwards from there. So for example:

• Your top goal is to come home feeling relaxed. What relaxes you? A stay in a spa, a massage? Or maybe it’s long hikes in nature, or spending interacting with animals?
• Let’s say your goal is just to read. You have five books you want to read over three days, and your only goal is to get out of your routine long enough to have uninterrupted reading, and really enjoy the books you’ve brought. What are the best bookshops near you? How about cafes where lingering is encouraged? Are there libraries that tourists can access?
• If your top goal is to practise a language you’ve been learning, you’re going to need people to practise with. Are there second-language groups where you can participate? Is there a job or volunteer opportunity you can do that will include meeting and chatting with locals?

When you have a list of things you’d find enjoyable on your trip, that’s when the research begins. The research becomes a lot easier once you know what experiences you’re seeking!

Build a map of interesting places. So you’ve got your list. Now you get to work! Use the list to plan things that you’re going to be excited about. My go-to is to search TikTok; I search by location and save anything interesting to a separate folder.

Then I open Google Maps, and I make a new map for the trip I’m taking. Every time I see a place on TikTok that I’d like to go to, or an activity I’d like to try, I save the pin of the business or activity to the map. What ends up happening is a map full of blue pins—if it gets to be more than 10 or 15, I divide them into categories I can turn on and off, like “coffee” and “restaurants” and “see art here”.

In my notes app (where by now, I’ve written my goals or priorities for this last-minute trip) I start to map out what days could look like. I write down each day of the week I’ll be there on a different line, and then under that, I start to think about what I could do on that day. I start with the activities that require tickets, or could be limited in the days they’re open; I go back to my map and see what pins are roughly in the same areas so that I’m not traipsing across town each day. I usually plan at least one day for relaxing/being open to whatever I feel like, so as not to overschedule myself.

Plan some “in-between” activities. What’s an in-between activity? It’s the coffee you grab between the walking tour and the museum, when your feet need a break. It’s the quiet moment you need to be without crowds, where you can duck into a stationery store or custom vinyl place where you might find something cool to bring home. Look at a map, put pins on the places you’re going to, and see what’s on your walking path that might sound like a small break. Planning what to do during the day gets easier if you’re not going from major excursion to major excursion; remember to plan some downtime as well!

Add tourist highlights last. There’s nothing wrong with searching for touristy things to do; museums, famous landmarks, or beautiful parks. But the key here is that these are secondary to what your inner compass is directing you to. There’s a lot of joy I get from going to places everyone else does (they’re popular for a reason!) but it’s never as much as when I feel I have a tailor-made schedule for myself.

Don’t forget to keep your schedule flexible. There’s an energy around a last-minute trip that can easily turn into frenzy if you don’t stay mindful. Don’t feel the need to pack in every moment with a goal-fulfilling activity. If you get overwhelmed with what you’ve planned, you can take a break and try something different and slower. You might even find that your priorities change on your trip—like a trip where you started out wanting to relax could turn into a trip where you think deeply about lifestyle changes. Or a trip you booked to practice your French could make you realize that you’d like to become more outgoing, and talk to more strangers. There’s no “wrong” way to travel like this, as long as you’re staying true to yourself and asking yourself what you want.

Happy travels!