Start Planning a Summer Vacation Now
Dreaming up a summer vacation is the perfect way to warm up as winter wears on. Planning early will give you the best chance to find great deals, coordinate with your travel mates, and have your pick of accommodations and time off work.
Putting together your well-deserved break this winter will give you something to look forward to and starting now will make the planning much easier. Answer these questions below and you’ll be well on your way to the perfect vacation!
What do you want to get from your trip? Are you focused on rest and relaxation? Connection with your friends or family? Fun? Luxury? Adventure? Romance? Entertainment? Get clear on this before you start anything else.
Who’s going? Kids? Pets? Friends? Do you want to visit someone at your destination? Choose companions who will match your goals for this trip, who will match your level of activity and adventure, and who will match your desires for connection on this trip.
What? When? Where? Now that you know your priorities and who’s involved, plan together to decide on location, primary activities, time frame, and budget. If connection for you and your sweetheart is your main priority, you may choose someplace quiet with a spa. Alternatively, if the most important thing is that the vacation needs to happen between summer school and football camp, you’ll want to check the timing on every idea you have.
Using your priorities to guide your decisions, nail down your budget, location, time, people, and list of awesome things to do.
How are you going to do all this? The best thing about planning early is that you have a better opportunity to choose your travel and accommodations and to snag the best deals. Set your vacation time at work and book your flights, rooms, RVs, and rental cars. Make sure you check ahead of time for policies and accessibility that suit your needs. If you can, get a decent cancellation policy because life happens.
Depending on where you’ll travel to, make sure your passports, IDs, vaccinations, or other travel requirements are in place well in advance of your dates.
What else? Once you have your travel and stay booked, consider purchasing tickets now to reserve your place at shows, theme parks, tours, or any special activities that may be sold out if you wait till the last minute. Research your destination, purchase travel guides or maps, and note places you may want to visit. Try to plan one or two experiences that let you really immerse yourself in your main reasons for this trip.
Arrange care for pets, house-sitting, forwarded mail, and make sure you’re prepared for your time off at work. If you’re going to drive your vehicle, schedule it for routine maintenance ahead of time.
Do you like lists? Even if you don’t, lists are invaluable for travel. Make lists for packing, reservations and confirmation numbers, itineraries, restaurants, and anything else you can think of.
Sources: neamb.com & camillestyles.com
