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Travel Guide
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Vacation Planning Strategies
If traveling to an unfamiliar destination, consider using a travel agent who specializes in that region.They can help you enormously, and can probably also save you money on your air travel due to having special contracts with carriers to that region. Cheaper is usually not better when on vacation. The whole concept of travel is to give yourself wonderful and happy memories. A slightly better hotel and slightly better hotel room, a nicer meal at a nicer restaurant, are likely to give you better memories than are less expensive alternatives. Please bear in mind the cost of each hour of your vacation. Plan the total cost of your vacation - the air fare, hotels, transportation, meals, entertainment, attractions and admissions, souvenirs, and so on, and then divide that by the 'Fun time' you have. Fun time is a free hour not spent on essential things such as washing, eating, traveling, sleeping, etc. When spending an extra $50 gets you extra fun time, and the current cost of your fun time is $75/hour, that $50 is a good investment. An example of this would be spending an extra $50 to get a hotel more conveniently located rather than one that adds to your travel time each day to get into and back out of the city. This makes it harder to return to the hotel during the day for a rest, or to drop off shopping, etc. Don't put things related to your travel off until you travel. Research whatever you need to know before you start your travels. Your travel time is precious and you don't want to unnecessarily waste it on administrative tasks. Furthermore, at home you have all your familiar local support resources at hand; while traveling, you have none of these. Prices of travel tend to steadily increase - travel at peak holiday times, and hotel rates in general (although watch also for last minute specials in the last one to three weeks). Lunches are better values than dinners. Consider having bigger lunches and smaller dinners if trying to maximize your travel and food budget. If you see something you like somewhere, buy it immediately. The chances are you might never see it again during the rest of your journey. Look for an alternative to airport parking. Consider the "Park and Fly" option offered by many hotels, and call around to arrange the best deal. You'll sometimes pay less for a night's accommodation and a week or two of free parking at the hotel than you would just buying parking at an airport lot by itself. Make a list of people and their addresses to who you plan to send postcards. Having this all in one place makes it easy to get postcards written and sent. Make a travel itinerary and give it to a family member so you can be reached in an emergency.
If traveling to an unfamiliar destination, consider using a travel agent who specializes in that region.They can help you enormously, and can probably also save you money on your air travel due to having special contracts with carriers to that region. Cheaper is usually not better when on vacation. The whole concept of travel is to give yourself wonderful and happy memories. A slightly better hotel and slightly better hotel room, a nicer meal at a nicer restaurant, are likely to give you better memories than are less expensive alternatives. Please bear in mind the cost of each hour of your vacation. Plan the total cost of your vacation - the air fare, hotels, transportation, meals, entertainment, attractions and admissions, souvenirs, and so on, and then divide that by the 'Fun time' you have. Fun time is a free hour not spent on essential things such as washing, eating, traveling, sleeping, etc. When spending an extra $50 gets you extra fun time, and the current cost of your fun time is $75/hour, that $50 is a good investment. An example of this would be spending an extra $50 to get a hotel more conveniently located rather than one that adds to your travel time each day to get into and back out of the city. This makes it harder to return to the hotel during the day for a rest, or to drop off shopping, etc. Don't put things related to your travel off until you travel. Research whatever you need to know before you start your travels. Your travel time is precious and you don't want to unnecessarily waste it on administrative tasks. Furthermore, at home you have all your familiar local support resources at hand; while traveling, you have none of these. Prices of travel tend to steadily increase - travel at peak holiday times, and hotel rates in general (although watch also for last minute specials in the last one to three weeks). Lunches are better values than dinners. Consider having bigger lunches and smaller dinners if trying to maximize your travel and food budget. If you see something you like somewhere, buy it immediately. The chances are you might never see it again during the rest of your journey. Look for an alternative to airport parking. Consider the "Park and Fly" option offered by many hotels, and call around to arrange the best deal. You'll sometimes pay less for a night's accommodation and a week or two of free parking at the hotel than you would just buying parking at an airport lot by itself. Make a list of people and their addresses to who you plan to send postcards. Having this all in one place makes it easy to get postcards written and sent. Make a travel itinerary and give it to a family member so you can be reached in an emergency.
