Vacation Tips

Vacation Tips. As a child, the word conjures up grand visions of no school, staying up late and eating ice cream until you pop. You carefully count down the days and scream with excitement when the final bell rings. Even as a full-fledged grown-up, the word vacation can put a spring in our step, a smile on our face and provide enough motivation to sit through yet another mind numbing meeting at work. Although most Americans only get two weeks vacation, making the best use of the time we do get is paramount. Spending some time planning your next vacation will assure that you end up looking back on the vacation with fond memories, rather than swearing that you are never going to the beach/Walt Disney World/Rome/Grandma’s (insert your vacation-gone-wrong here) again!

Decisions, decisions

You know you have some days off. You know you don’t want to sit around the house. But you don’t know what exactly would make your vacation one to remember. You need to ask yourself what is most important to you for your next vacation? Are your priorities sitting on the beach all day with your toes in the sand or seeing all the museums of Paris? Do you want to traipse across the Andes Mountains, sleep by the campfire or dine at the best restaurants Europe has to offer?

Research

After you have decided what you want to do, your next step is gathering information to see what your options are. There is an abundance of information out there, to the point it can be overwhelming at times. One of the best ways to gather useful and reliable information is to learn from other people who have vacationed there before. Using travel forums is an excellent way to talk to someone that might have just returned from your vacation spot, who has some tips that may save you some time, cash or may even help you land the perfect beach house.

Organization

After doing all that research, keeping it all organized is a must! It is impossible to keep track of the different packages, hotels, and activities that you have heard about without a little organization. Keeping a notebook or a folder is one idea to keep everything in place as well as to be able to compare prices and vendors side by side in order to make your final decisions.

Booking

When you have arrived at your decisions, booking them is your next hurdle. Booking early will almost always give you the best prices and the greatest amount of choice. That being said, if you can stomach the risk, last minute bookings are famous for giving out some of the best deals of all. Of course, if you must have a certain date, hotel, or restaurant, then it is best to try and book early to avoid disappointment. A little planning goes a long way in helping your next vacation become your best yet.

This guest blog was written by Freedom Travel, specializing in military travel financing and military lending since 1983. Freedom Travel offers military cruises at discount to destinations all over the world. They even offer military airfare discounts.