Travel: How to Plan a Successful Vacation

How to Plan a Successful Vacation:

There are a lot of things that go into planning a great vacation. And for everyone, the definition of a “great” or “successful” vacation is different. Some people love to have every second of every day planned. That sounds good. You're never bored, that's for sure. But for me, I'd rather not have to worry about something taking too long and throwing off the entire day. Some people don't plan anything at all. I've never understood how those vacations turn out. I mean, unless you've never had a great vacation so in your mind, your mediocre vacation is fun because you have nothing great to compare it to. I'm somewhere in the middle. I think this is where a lot of people want to end up, but find it hard to get there.

In fact, my sister was talking to me about how she wishes she could plan her 3 vacations she is going on this year, but just doesn't have the time what with running her own business, having a 1.5-year-old child, and being pregnant with her second. I understand. And these tips I'm going to give you are not going to be easy, quick things you can do in 10 minutes. So let's get started.

Step 1: Set your budget. – If you're planning to do something ridiculous like going to Orlando or Paris or something, then take the budget you have in mind and double it! I'm only slightly exaggerating on this one. For our 5-day Universal Orlando/Legoland trip we just planned, we started with a budget of $2,000 and quickly upped it to $3,500 to accommodate everything we wanted to do. Make sure you budget for souvenirs and food. Those things can really add up.

Step 2: Determine your dates. – Sometimes this is just when everyone in your family is available to go. Other times, you'll want to find out when you can get better deals. You might even be at the mercy of the airline you want to fly with.

Step 3: Book the big stuff. – The big stuff might include your flight, the hotel, a cruise, or a car. These are the things that are most important to your vacation.

Step 4: Book the medium stuff. – For our upcoming trip, this would include park tickets for Universal and Legoland. Sometimes, if you book in advance, you get a discount. Also check with the company you work for. Sometimes they have special discount programs. For a cruise, this might be any excursions you want to take.

Step 5: Book the small stuff. – I got the Photo Connect add-on for Universal which means I got unlimited digital access to all the photos that are taken by Universal employees and the ones taken while on rides. This might also include special dinner reservations, Character meals, renting a stroller, etc. Most of this stuff can probably wait until just a couple weeks before you leave.

Step 6: Research everything. – This is probably the part that will take you the longest. Researching a little before you book anything is essential. You need to make sure you're going to like the hotel you're staying in. However, most of my research occurs after I book the big stuff. This way, I know exactly what I want to book as far as all the extra stuff goes. My two main places for research are Pinterest and TripAdvisor. Without these two websites, I would be lost. Search by location. Search by activity. Search by age. There is so much information out there. I even look up tips on flying with children and what kinds of food to bring on an airplane and packing, oh packing. Yikes!

Step 7: Take notes. – While researching. It is essential to take notes. You're never going to remember everything you read. When you read something you find interesting, jot it down. Or better yet, open up a new WORD document and type it out. I end up with pages and pages of information based on restaurants, activities, hotel, photos, etc. Organize them. Make sure all like information is together.

Step 8: Make a vacation binder. – I have a mini binder where I keep all of this information. I print it out and put it in the binder and divide it into sections. This way, when my husband asks where I want to go for dinner, I can simply refer to the binder in the restaurant section and ask what he's in the mood for. Steak? Great. I have 3 choices for him. No reservation required? Great. Now I have 2 choices. Good children's menu? Awesome. I have just the restaurant. It really is that easy (as long as you can get everyone to agree on what they want).

Step 9: Make lists. – I make lists for everything: things to buy before we leave (travel-sized everything!), things to do before we leave (hold the mail, lock all the windows, turn off the ac), a master packing list, a carry-on list, food to buy when we get there (we don't eat out for every meal), etc. And then I put all these lists in my vacation binder.

Step 10: Pack. – Put all that research that you've done to good use. Oh, during your research, you learned that you should pack lanyards for everyone? Awesome. Put them in that suitcase. You were originally planning to pack 1 tube of sunscreen, but your research shows you might need 2 because purchasing it on the cruise will be VERY expensive? Super. Throw that extra tube in there.

Step 11: Go on vacation. – You might think we're done now, but we're not. While on your vacation, use the binder. Every night before going to bed, it is a good idea to sit down with the decision makers (you and your spouse or the entire family? You decide!) and make a plan for the following day. We do this every night! It helps to not have your entire week planned. This way, if you thought you were going to do certain things during the day, but didn't end up getting to them, you can put them on tomorrow's list without moving things around. Decide on activities and food.
A couple years ago, we decided to go with planning one fun family activity per day and eating out for dinner. We had breakfast and lunch in the condo and then went out for dinner. Dinner didn't take long to plan because we had a nice list of places to go. The same happened when planning our activities. Then, everyone was able to spend the rest of their time doing whatever they wanted to like going to the playground, swimming in the pool, hanging out at the beach, attending a planned activity at the kid's center, etc. It was so great. We weren't bored, but it was still pretty relaxing.

Step 12: Have fun. – Even if all of your planning ends up wasted and nothing works out, just remember that you are spending time with your family and making memories that will last a lifetime. (Too cheesy?)