Vacation Planning Tips: A Few Things to Consider Before You Depart
by Abigail Clark
It’s easy to get caught up in the fun and excitement of planning your vacation before heading out to your destination. Practical planning can help to ensure that your time away is just as fun as the planning portion itself. Consider these seven vacation planning tips to help give you ease of mind when leaving for your trip.
Tips for Budgeting
One of the primary concerns for most vacationers is the cost. With some proper planning upfront, you can plan a dream vacation on a shoestring budget. Consider these two options for saving money without sacrificing the vacation you want to take.
1. Travel off-season: Travel costs work on a supply and demand scale, so the popular times of the year to travel also bring higher costs. School vacation times, holidays and summer vacations are peak-season times to travel. This means that the cost for travel is also higher. If possible, travel when everyone else is staying home. It can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars in total vacation expenses.
2. Scour last-minute deals: If your schedule and plans are flexible, scour sites for last-minute deals. Hotels, airlines, car rental companies and cruise ships, for example, all offer last-minute deals when bookings are still open. You can pick up some great deals on transportation and more for booking right before your trip as opposed to booking far in advance. That four star hotel that you were dreaming of staying at suddenly becomes a reality when you wait until the last minute.
Tips on What to Pack
Packing can be one of the major tasks you have to take on before jetting off to your destination. Smart packing can help make your vacation a more pleasant one. Don’t forget to take these steps to pack what you definitely need or might need during your travels.
3. Weather-appropriate clothing: Check the weather forecast for your destination. Choose clothing and accessories that are appropriate for the expected weather during your stay. It helps to prepare you for what you need and prohibits you from over-packing and under-packing.
4. Medication: Not only should you pack your prescription medication, but take along over-the-counter items you might need on your trip. Pain relievers, antacids, and allergy medicine are a few medications to consider. It saves money and a trip to the drug store, especially in a foreign country, if you already have these items on hand.
Tips for Protecting Your Home
Create peace of mind for yourself while you are vacation by safeguarding your home. Here are some tips for keeping the burglars at bay while you are away. You can enjoy your vacation because you won’t be so worried about calamities at home while you are gone.
5. Put the lights on a timer—inside and outside: Use a light timer so that the lights on your front porch and in your home turn on and off automatically. Set the timer up so that the lights turn on when it’s dark outside and turn off at the time you would normally go to bed or at dawn. You can also set the lights to come on at random intervals so the lights aren’t as predictable. It makes it look as if someone is at home to help keep problems away.
6. Arm it: Install and use security equipment to guard your TV, computer, and other expensive valuables while you’re away. Arming your alarm system makes your alarm company aware of any problems or intrusions that might arise while you are away. Instead of calling you, the alarm company can disperse the police or appropriate emergency personnel immediately. You can also consider letting your alarm company know you are going out of town in case there is an alarm event while you are gone. You can even monitor your security system and house, yourself, over the internet to give you even more piece of mind.
7. Don’t Broadcast Your Vacation: Resist the urge to share your travel plans on social networks. No matter how private you perceive them to be, sharing the fact that you’ll be gone for a period of time leaves you vulnerable. Save the photos and updates until you get back.
Planning a vacation can be a fun and exciting process. Preparing the details ahead of time can also help to save you a great deal of time and money, not to mention the stress. When you consider these seven vacation-planning tips before you head out to your destination, you can better prepare for your journey and your stay in your destination.
Abigail Clark is an upcoming freelance writer. She graduated from The University of South Florida with a bachelors in marketing, minoring in journalism. When she isn’t up to her neck in coupons she is enjoying the outdoors fishing. She loves doing reviews for technology, home products and beauty products. Find Abigail on Twitter at @downtownabby17.
