Part of a great vacation is the escape, getting away from it all.  You don’t want to be spending your precious

vacation time running around buying things you forgot to pack.  In addition, you don’t want to have added travel delays because you didn’t prepare the right documentation.

Obviously, if you book with us, we will give you concierge service in advising you of the many things listed below and much more like suggested things to do, things to see and places to eat so that you get the most out of your travel experience.

 

So, here’s a few Tips

Dress Right - Depending on where you are going do a quick search on the internet as to avg temperature and avg rain during your trip, so that you can pack the right clothes, hats, shoes, and rain gear (usually a windbreaker that can handle some rain).  Always pack sunscreen, hats, sunglasses, and multiple pairs of shoes for different tasks.  If you plan on Snorkeling or Scuba Diving, please make sure to get sun screen that is safe for reefs.

No Stress with the proper documentation - If you are traveling Internationally do some research as to what documentations, you will need.  If you are going on a Cruise, there will be a group of documents you need to prepare to make your check in smooth and easy.  This way you leave all stress behind and get on the cruise that much quicker to start having fun.

Plan Ahead - For our larger more epic trips, say 7-14 or more days, we like to plan ahead and book early.  This is a great practice to do on many levels:

1)    You save Money, as you get closer to your target travel dates; prices usually go up as the flights, hotels, rental cars, or the Cruises are filling up.  It’s the simple rule of Supply and Demand.

 

2)    You have time to research your trip, to find out all the things to do, to see and to taste.  You have time to research activities and tours, especially smaller more personal tours that you can do just with your group of family and friends.  No research can really affect your trip.  I have some friends that went to Yellowstone in late October.  They are from South Florida and in October here it gets slightly cold at most, but in Yellowstone, in Northern Wyoming with altitudes of 10,000’ it was snowing hard every day.  They also did not research the park dates and most of the lodges were closed.  This lack of research really affected their trip.  They said they had a good time and I’m sure they did, it’s Yellowstone after all. But how much better of a time would they have had researching the park, avg weather, etc.  Such research would have told them to travel from mid-June to mid-September when the weather is milder, and everything is open in the park.

 

3)    Reserving your trip well in advance can help you overcome the everyday blues.  For me, knowing that I’m going on said trip and researching it takes me away from all the daily stress.  I really enjoy watching You Tube videos about where I’m going.  These videos help me to build an itinerary that I loosely follow once I’m on the trip.  This helps me get the most out of my trip.  Pro-Tip, when looking at a You Tube video about your trip don’t bother looking at a Vlog, you’re just looking at someone’s vacation. Instead look for videos that say the top things to see, top 10 lists are also great.  They can cover top activities, places to see, best restaurants, historical places, etc.  You really want to get the most from your trip, and researching with time can give you extra fun and satisfaction of experiencing all that interests you.

 

4)    You have time to pay the vacation off.  If you book your vacation, say nine (9) months ahead, you have a good chunk of time.  You can send a little money here, send a little there and before you know it: most, if not all your expenses are paid for.

So how early is too early, we usually start discussing the next big trip about a year ahead and do some basic research to set when we want to travel.  We usually book 8-9 months ahead for the bigger trips of 7-14 days.

For 3-day cruises and quick 3-5 day trips we are usually open and ready to go at a moment’s notice, lol.  What can I say, we love to travel.

 

Another time to save money on travel is to be ready at a moment’s notice to travel to take advantage of last-minute deals.  Now these deals are not available as much as you might think.  It depends on the economy and how many of us are travelling.  Remember that supply and demand thing, well it is extremely prevalent on last minute deals.

For Empty Nesters – if you’re looking to save money on Cruises, Disney worldwide, Sandals and Beaches resorts book when kids are typically in school.  Again, it’s that good ole supply and demand thing.  Families who have kids are limited on traveling when the kids are in school, especially for a 7-day plus vacation.

Using an Itinerary – On #3 of the benefits of booking early, I stated that I follow my itinerary “loosely”.  To clarify, I never create a rigid itinerary that says specific times to be at a place.  Instead, I write a few things that we all would like to see, Places we’d like to eat at and use it as a guide, but we are always open to new things that might present themselves on any day. The spontaneity of an experience has its own merits, and many times can be that unexpected wow factor that you keep with you for the rest of your life.

If you fly often (more than 3 times a year) it is worth doing the TSA Pre-Check. This will make your experience at the airport as pleasant as possible.

I hope these tips can help you make the most of every trip you take.

Best Regards