Five Easy Steps

Planning a vacation can seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. During my nearly 20 years as a professional travel agent, I helped many clients plan their vacations. Using my free vacation planner, I will show you how to plan a vacation in five easy steps.

Let’s start with the most important step:

1. Who is traveling?

I know that many people want to start with where to go, but who is traveling is, actually, the more important question. Without knowing who is traveling, everything else is meaningless. Let’s face it, a girl’s weekend will be much different than a multi-generational family trip. That said, let’s begin by listing the names of the travelers and then add the following information:

Ages

The ages of the travelers will have a huge bearing on your trip.

For instance, if you will be traveling with young children, you will need to take into consideration their needs. What kind of sleep schedule do they have? Early to bed? Early risers? Are naps a requirement?

If you’re planning a road trip, how long will they be able to travel at one time? 

The same applies to traveling with teens, the elderly, you get the idea. Each age group, or life stage has a different set of needs.

Travel Identification

If flying, do the travelers have identifcation that is TSA compliant? 

If traveling outside the US, do the travelers have passports? Will they be valid up to six months after the end of the trip?

I recommend using passports whenever you travel outside of the United States; here’s why. Let’s say you are going on a Caribbean cruise which only requires you to have a birth certificate as proof of citizenship. You are at a port of call in the Bahama’s, and someone gets hurt and requires medical attention. You miss your cruise ship’s departure. 

At this point, you determine you need to go back home. The problem is you are in a foreign country, and a passport is required to re-enter the US. All you have with you is a birth certificate. In order to fly home, you will have to obtain a passport while you are in a foreign country; it doesn’t happen over night!

I know you’re thinking, “This will never happen to me.” But it does happen, and more often than you think. This is absolutely a better safe than sorry proposition.

Currently, an adult (ages 16 and older) passport, valid for ten years, is $145. A child’s passport, valid for five years, is $115.

I recommend that you get the passport book as the passport card is not valid for air travel. Learn more about obtaining passports at the US Department of State website.

Special Needs

It may not be obvious to you that an individual has special needs; without asking, you might not know. Those who have special needs will appreciate that you made the effort to consider their requirements. This is not the time to make assumptions, ask the individuals or their caregivers exactly what accommodations they will require.

For instance, some people who walk with a cane can walk for miles and miles while others may only be able to walk for short distances, requiring a wheelchair for longer distances. Some people in wheelchairs require roll in showers in their rooms, while others do not.

Keep in mind that ADA stands for Americans with Disabilities Act and is part of US law. Do not expect other countries to meet the ADA standards of the US. I will say that I have noticed an improvement in accessibility in other countries, but not to the standards of the US.

If anyone is planning on traveling with a service animal, there are other considerations. It is not just as simple as showing up with the animal. The airlines will have specific requirements. As an example, check out American Airline’s rules. If you are traveling outside of the US, there will be additional requirements imposed by the destination country.

2. Dates of Travel.

This is pretty straight forward, the start and end dates of the trip. If you are not locked into exact dates, how many days do you have for traveling? 

Remember, if you have one week of vacation, you may not want to actually be traveling on all of those days. You may want to leave a day at the end to be home before getting back to work. This will allow you to get to the grocery store, get the laundry done, and be ready for the week ahead. It also provides a buffer in case there should be any travel glitches on the way home.

If you are locked into specific dates, it is in your best interest to book your vacation early. This is especially true if your travel dates are over Christmas, New Year, Thanksgiving and spring break. You will find that flights and cruises over these time periods fill up quickly.

When Art and I are traveling, particularly during peak travel times, we build in a buffer which allows us a day or two, just in case a flight should get cancelled. 

We have also found it to be to our advantage as we can volunteer to be bumped from overbooked flights. On the way home from one trip (which happened to coincide with both Easter and spring break) we volunteered and were bumped from two flights and earned over $1000 in flight credits! It doesn’t happen often, but occasionally, the stars align and things work in your favor.

3. Purpose of the Trip.

Is this a family gathering with numerous generations? Is it a romantic getaway? Family vacation? Celebrating a significant event? A cultural immersion? Much needed down time? 

Determining the purpose of your trip will go a long way in determining the success of your trip. This is the time to ask everyone, including the children, what expectations they have of the trip. Ask, even if you think you know what someone is expecting.

Is the purpose of the trip to rekindle the romance? If your idea of a romantic Hawaiian vacation is biking down Mount Haleakala at sunrise, and your partner’s is sleeping in late and having room service for breakfast on the veranda, you can see there might be a difference in expectations.

Don’t think that renting a house at the beach will necessarily be a relaxing vacation for everyone. There will be someone who has to go to the grocery store, prepare meals and perhaps do a load of laundry or two. For some it is simply a change of scenery, and sometimes a change of scenery is all that’s necessary for a good vacation.

If the trip is a family reunion, how much time together do you want to spend? Do you want to all be in the same house? Perhaps you’re okay with just staying at the same hotel. Do you expect to eat all of your meals together or just do a few activities together. 

A conversation early on will make sure that everyone comes home from the trip happy.

4. Desired Activities.

Hiking, biking; the full gamut of outdoor activities? Lie by the beach and do nothing at all? Visit museums? See wildlife in its natural environment? Educational activities? Theme parks?

It is important that everyone is on the same page with this one. It doesn’t mean you can’t do a variety of activities, but you need to make sure that the destination you choose has some activities for everyone.

Again, ask all the travelers for input. Don’t assume you know what they want to do. Trust me, there is nothing worse than a 15 year old who doesn’t want to be doing what you are doing. Been there, done that; lesson learned.

Knowing the desired activities of all the travelers helps in determining the destination. There are very few destinations that have everything available. Planning ahead is the key to choosing the destination that will allow for as many of those activities as possible.

The kids were younger than we expected when we heard, “Why do we always have to go somewhere that’s educational?” So, we learned to compromise. For instance one year we went on a two-week camping trip in Canada and New England. At the boys’ request, we included visits to amusement parks along our route, which made the educational parts a bit more bearable for them.

5. Budget.

How much are you willing to spend on the trip? You can decide on a per person amount, per couple, or family, but you really need to have a dollar amount in mind.

I can’t tell you how many times people came into my travel agency and said they didn’t have a budget because they didn’t know how much it would cost to go where ever they had in mind. I would quickly ask, “How does ten thousand sound?” Most often, I would get a response along the lines of “I thought we could go for more like three thousand.” And, viola, we had a budget.

You see, ten thousand was out of their comfort zone. Even if they hadn’t sat down and determined an exact budget, they had an amount with which they were comfortable. So, before you start planning, know the amount you feel comfortable spending. It will reduce your anxiety level during both the planning process and the trip.

Your budget should include everything; transportation, lodging, food, activities, admissions and souvenirs.

Transportation

The cost of transportation can vary widely. It can be as simple as driving the family car. All you need to budget for is gas. Or it may be transportation to your local airport, a flight, and transportation to your lodging at your destination. Will you be renting a car at your destination, or taking a cab and utilizing local transportation? Try to think about all of the necessary elements of the trip in order to get a good estimate of transportation costs.

Lodging

Knowing your budget will be most helpful when you start looking at hotels, resorts, or cruises. Most destinations have hotels and resorts that will fit in any budget. Of course you cruises come in every size and shape imaginable; trust me, you can find one to fit in your budget! Don’t forget vacation rentals. You may find a place that meets your lodging needs and helps to stretch the budget.

Food

A lot of people leave food out of the budget. They think they would have been paying for food at home, so it will be the same while on vacation. When you are in a resort or popular vacation area, the prices are higher, at restaurants as well as the grocery store. If you are vacationing on an island, expect everything to be more expensive. As a rule of thumb, I figure at least 1.5 times the amount I would normally spend on food at home.

We found that by making lunch our big meal of the day, we save a little money on food. Lunches are typically less expensive than dinners at restaurants. Then we have a lighter meal for dinner. 

Remember, some hotels that typically offer breakfast included in the cost of the room do not do so in resort or vacation areas. Just make sure you double check before you book your room. 

Souvenirs

Souvenirs can be handled in a couple of ways. You can tell the children, that the cost of souvenirs will fall to them, if they want something they will have to use their own money. If you tell them in advance, this usually works pretty well. Now, if you like to buy a lot of souvenirs yourself, then you need to make sure it is in the budget.

Putting It All Together

With these five steps, you can now plan your vacation. Always start with who is traveling. Then, prioritize numbers two through five starting with the step that is the highest priority.

You will find that your priority may change from trip to trip. One time, budget may be the priority; another time it might be the dates of travel.  

Once you have determined your priorities, you can start playing ‘what if’. You can use a travel booking website, such as Expedia, and plug in different dates, destinations and other travel needs.

You may decide that you don’t want to take the time required to make all of the plans yourself. Or, you might not be comfortable making the arrangements on- line. Simply take the the information you have gathered to your favorite travel agent; she will be able to quickly put together some travel options for you. 

The Perfect Vacation

So that’s it! You now know how to plan a vacation in five easy steps. By taking the time to gather this information you are well on your way to having a great vacation.  Request my free vacation planner, Vacation Planning in Five Easy Steps. This planner will provide you with a worksheet and information on just how to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

How about you? Do you have any tips you’d like to add? I’d love to hear about your experiences! 

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