Tips For Planning the Perfect Vacation

Thursday, August 27, 2015
I am currently enjoying a week-long vacation with my sisters and their respective families. While vacations are wonderful and intended to be relaxing, the preparation can be full of stress and chaos. Planning is a must to ensure that you have the perfect vacation.

Make a To-Do List
Something I have found very helpful is making a to-do list before we go away. Everything from a packing list to things you'll want to do while you are away to initial prep and planning can be put on to a to-do list. Making a list and prioritizing the items is essential to getting everything done on time.

Familiarize Yourself
If it's a destination you've never before visited, you will want to become somewhat familiar with the culture and the layout of the city or town. Many foreign countries have a completely different society and way of doing things than we do, and it can be a bit of a culture shock if it takes you by surprise. You need to be careful that you don’t offend anybody or do or say anything wrong.   I like to do a bit of homework before we go. It's also helpful to buy a guidebook for the area you’re going to. These always have tourist attractions and areas of interest listed.

Choose Your Package
Choosing your destination and vacation package is one of the most important aspects of vacation planning. Think about where you’re going and how long you’ll be there. Do you want to go self-catered or all-inclusive? Will you travel by air or by car? Perhaps you’ll forgo a hotel and stay in apartments. These are all considerations to make before booking.

Save Up
Going on vacation can be expensive depending on when and where you travel. The more money you can save prior to your trip, the better an experience you can have. I like to figure out the sort of experience I want and then make sure I save the appropriate amount of money. You might take the other approach and save for a length of time, and then choose based on your budget. Whichever approach you take you’re going to need to make sure you save the right amount of money for an enjoyable trip.

Pack Early
Packing is quite possibly the most dreaded part of going on vacation. Packing can be tedious and time consuming. I like to create a packing list to help me get the task done quickly. I have found that it has become less stressful now that our girls are older and can do much of their own packing and when we pack early. Packing in advance allows you to take your time and do a thorough job. You eliminate the mad rush associated with last minute packing!

Enjoying a family getaway is one of the highlights of my year every year. I am very thankful for vacations, but it’s a lot of work to get them to go perfectly. But if you plan accordingly, chances are you'll have a vacation that the entire family enjoys with plenty of memories to look back on.

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