School Papers, #3 Planning a Vacation?

Your Guide to Planning the Perfect Vacation

            Planning your vacation can be easy and fun with the proper steps and preparation. The first thing you need to do when planning your vacation is to pick your destination. Picking a location can be easy, if you have a spot you have always wanted to visit, at the same time, picking a location can be difficult if you are not sure where you would like to go or what you would like to do. The internet has a lot of sites you can visit to get an idea of both local and international destinations. Friends and family can also be an excellent resource for recommendations on places to see and things that might interest you. Picking your final destination might depend on whether you plan on flying, driving, or even taking a train. Your vacation budget will also affect where you can go. If your budget is on the lower side, you will need to stay local. If you have a larger budget, then your possibilities will be more vast. Once you have decided where to go, you will need to set your dates.

            Picking your dates will usually depend on where you are going. If you are visiting Southern states, you may not want to go mid summer when temperatures and humidity  are high. If you are planning a trip to New York, you may want to stay away in winter where they average 30 inches of snow. Planning a cruise in the Caribbean? Then you may want to set sail before June or after November when you are not in danger of Hurricane season. Your vacation dates might also be scheduled around a family function like a wedding or birthday celebration. Once you have set your dates you can request the time off needed with your employer.

            Organizing your trip is very important. It will make it easier to keep track of finances, places, and schedules.  You can organize in a multitude of ways. Two of the most common ways would be either on your computer with a folder or using a good old fashioned folder and notebook. Some of the materials you will want to keep in your “travel folder” will be: hotel information, plane or train schedules, directions and maps, itinerary such as the places you plan to visit, and costs so you can keep track of what you are spending as well as what you plan on spending once there.  Sites such as tripit.com or duffelup.com will also help you organize your trip as well.

            Researching your choice of location is the fun part. Although you may have ideas on what you want to do already, researching where you are going will open the possibilities to new experiences. There may be historic sites that you are unaware of or restaurants that you do not know about. You will also be able to learn about the best modes of transportation for your given location. This will be the most time consuming part of your planning. Again, you will find a lot of information on the internet. You can find information in books, both from the library or purchased from the bookstore, and friends and family are always a great vat of knowledge. While researching your location you will also want to pay attention to any deals you come across. Add these to your folder so you remember what you saw or were interested in.

            Once you find a great price on tickets, whether it be air or train, you will want to purchase them right away. Prices change constantly and if you believe the price is great then do not hesitate. You can visit sites like expedia.com and orbitz.com that will help you find the best deals. You can also use these type of sites to hunt down the best prices on hotels and Bed and Breakfast type Inns. And do not forget car rentals. If you plan on driving, you will want to research car prices and secure your rental in order to pick it up when you arrive. If you are not sure what you are looking for or do not have the time you can always use a travel agent, who will do all the work for you.

            Once you have the basics done, such as your tickets and sleeping arrangements your last course of action will be to set up your extracurricular activities. Your research of your planned destination will help in these plans. You can decide what days you will want to visit certain places and build a timeline around this. Some people prefer vacations which consist of resting and relaxing while others prefer to visit as many museums and monuments as possible. Keeping the lines of communication open with the person or people you are traveling with is a must. You will want to make sure that everyone wants to do similar things or you will have to make plans to do a few separate activities.