Planning Vacation Memories

I have always said that half the fun of a vacation is planning it. Deciding what my husband and I want to do, where we want to go and how we will pay for the trip without incurring financial debt is part of the overall excitement of the vacation.

Selecting the Vacation Destination

When trying to choose where to go on our next trip, we first list the places we want to go. We keep the list at 3 or fewer places each. This way, the maximum number of destinations we will consider is 6.

Next, we talk about each destination in detail. Why do I want to go there? What does he want to see? Usually, this process narrows the choices. Once we identify "the" destination, we discuss what we want to do during our visit.

Where's the Money for the Vacation?

Next, we talk about costs for the trip. Usually, I do a bit of online research to estimate costs of flights, hotel and meals. Then we decide whether we'll put extra money aside for the trip or use money we already have saved. If we decide to put extra money aside, we agree on an amount we will save, say $400 a month and to which account we'll deposit the funds. We each will save $200 monthly.

By the time we take our trip nearly a year from now we'll have at least $4,000, a reasonable amount of money to enjoy a wonderful vacation.

Method of Travel

Because we will fly, I next check various airlines online for fares. My partner and I examine our current balances of travel miles to see if we can get at least one free airfare for our vacation. But if not, we will have enough money saved to pay for both fares when the time comes.

Researching the Destination

This is my favorite part of planning a vacation because it's so much fun to discover information about a place we plan to visit. I start out going online and checking out various travel websites like Fodor's, Frommer's and Lonely Planet. They offer updated information about so many destinations. I keep a list of sights I want to see.

My partner also researches the destination, using his iPad. We usually come up with the same list of places to explore. But if I have places on my list he doesn't or vice versa, we work it out so we see most of the sights we chose. Keeping the list helps us anticipate fun vacation activities together.

Plus, from the list of sights we want to visit, we determine where in the city we will stay. Then, we begin pricing hotel rooms in that area. I also keep notes on hotels and prices to help make final decisions.

Local Transportation

An important aspect of trip-planning is exploring local transportation. Because we will be traveling from place to place at the destination, we need to know whether we will rent a car the whole trip, just for a few days or whether we will ride the subway, city buses or take taxis. Because taxi fare is so expensive, if we plan to take a cab more than 2 or 3 times, we'll rent a car instead.

Sources

Fodor's website

Frommer's website

Lonely Planet website

Personal experience