If you’re like me then you’ve done a lot of traveling in the U.S. but not so much internationally. Maybe it’s the cost, making time or the fear of the unknown. I plan to embark on 2 weeks in Europe this year and document the process of planning, navigating and making it a trip to never forget.

Step 1: Commit to a Travel Time

Pick a date or a time period when you want to go. Keep in mind that summer is peak season for tourism in Europe so if you want shorter lines and fewer crowds go during the shoulder or off-season. Committing to a time period is important so you can start looking for the travel deals and planning out the details like destinations, cell phone usage, etc. It should also go without saying but be sure you allow enough time to get a passport if you don’t have one yet.

Step 2: Pick a Home City in Europe

Decide on a primary destination or two that you definitely want to visit. This will give you a target for your main travel purchase, airfare. I plan on visiting a few countries over 14 days, so I had a few options. It’s not critical to map out every destination at this point, (especially if you have several months before your trip). Just choosing the bookends, where you will enter and leave the continent on your trip will be the first step. Trying to be really precise from the beginning and planning out every destination can make it difficult to find travel discounts. Your options become narrowed and thus increasing the costs.

Step 3: Finding Travel Deals

With flights exceeding $2k round trip from the U.S. it’s important to looks for deals. This is an area where you can save a ton of cash. My suggestion is to check out Scott’s Cheap Flights. You’ll get daily air fare deals sent to your inbox regularly. Some awesome options will come your way in no time. Be patient but ready. Hence the commitment step earlier. Some times deals are extremely short-lived because they are accidental on the airlines part. I secured round trip for two to Paris from Cincinnati for $900. It involved finding the flights using Google Flights and then toggling calendar days until the best price came up.

There are other options like skyscanner.com or kayak.com, but so far my experience is these traditional travel booking sites just don’t find the best possible deals.

Stay tuned for Part 2 where we dive into the actual planning. Picking activities, finding local transit, languages, exchange rates…