Plan your perfect vacation

What is important to you when you think of a vacation.

Is it relaxing on a beach? Wondering the streets in a far away country? Seeing the wonders of the world?

What ever it is, planning is often the part that people forget to do when they think of a vacation.

I always ask my clients, what do you want your vacation to feel like? Do you want to feel rushed around an amusement park? Do you want o relax on a white sand beach with a book in your hand? Are you a social butterfly who like to meet new people?

Once you have that all figured out, then next part is pretty simple. It sort of just falls into place, although you might have a few details to work through.

For me, planning is one of the hardest things, since I am working with 4 other personalities that travel as a group with me (husband and 3 boys). Mind you, as long as we are together I don't mind what we are doing.

After I figure out the feel of the vacation we want, next comes the budget!!! Not everyone will agree with me, as many people start with the budget and how much are they wanting to spend on a vacation, but for me, my vacation in more about the people I spend it with and not the dollar value that is attached to it (my husband will disagree completely with me on this one). Sometimes, the places I want to go, just aren't in the cards, with the budget we have set out for ourselves. And that is ok, I have a LONG list of places that are on my bucket list that I will eventually get to.

Part of budgeting for me, is also looking at the time of year we travel. I can often find a way better price, if we travel off season. Or check to see if any festivals or deals are happening that we can jump in on. And I am continuously looking for a great deal. But I am a beach bum, and I love me some tropical weather in the cold Canadian winters so I know that for the most part I am going to be paying top dollar for what I want, when I want it. Although I am going to pull my kids out of school to experience the world. There are somethings that can not be taught in a classroom that should be experienced. (like me or not, it is how I feel, and I was raised by an educator who doesn't exactly agree with me on this point).

And once I have gotten all of that under my belt, I start searching again for a better deal.

I like to plan 3 vacations in advance, and tend to start looking about 2 years out for what I want, and have found that I can get the best all inclusive deals at 330 days away from travel, or a pretty good deal around 6 months in advance. I watch about 6 weeks in advance as well, to see if a good deal comes up, but generally the days of saving a bunch on last minute trips are gone. For cruises I tend to look 2 years in advance and wait until they have a kids sail free promotion.

And travelling over seas is always done with planning a year out, and always done during off peak seasons, so that we don't have to wait in such long line ups for different things.

Happy planning EVERYONE

#travelplanning #vacation