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So you love traveling. That much we have gathered.
How you should plan your travel is what we can tell you. As we see it,
you could either be in a ‘just pick up and go’ kind of mood, or you
might be planning a proper family vacation for your annual holiday.
Either ways, it does not harm to have some handy tips to
get it right. Of course, if you are in a quick holiday mood, you would
not be doing so much planning. But read on, in any case. Chances are
you would go for a planned vacation next!
>> Research for Destination
>> Select the Hotel or Resort
>> Pack your Bags
>> Enjoy your Trip
>> Come Back Home
>> Research for Destination
>> Select the Hotel or Resort
>> Pack your Bags
>> Enjoy your Trip
>> Come Back Home
1. Beginning with the toughest question, where to go! This decision should be made based on few factors, the most important of which are – who your co-travelers are, the type of vacation, the duration of vacation AND the budget, though we do wish that this factor did not matter! If you sort out few things beforehand, it will make it easier to do a narrower research on the type of place you wish to visit.
2.
Shortlist a few destinations that you like, and you can make the final
selection after discussing with your co-travelers.
3. While researching, find out the following facts and reviews about the desired destination:
>
Weather (General as well as warnings, if any)
> Currency and
conversion rates
> Visa Formalities and Customs Restrictions
> Language(s) spoken (and common spoken sentences in the foreign language, such as greetings)
> Cultural differences, if any
> Popular food (so that you don’t miss out on that)
> Famous tourist spots and attractions (better to have some information on these, rather than completely depending on the hotel front desk)
> Safety (information on places to avoid at night)
> Maps and Driving Directions to your hotel and to tourist spots (if you are traveling by your own car)
Some of these can be deciding factors for your final choice. In any case, you should know something about the place before you visit it. You would not want to be taken for a ride there.
4. To help you with your research, we have created a list of destinations based on the type of vacation. You can also visit Tripadvisor for millions of user reviews of destinations and hotels. Another good idea is to purchase a travel book or travel guide and keep it handy.
Key point: Do not miss out on this essential research, though how deep you want the research to be is purely your call (or your wife’s perhaps). It’s best to base your research on internet surfing, but also count in friends and family’s recommendations. ‘Been there, done that’ is quite useful many a times.
> Visa Formalities and Customs Restrictions
> Language(s) spoken (and common spoken sentences in the foreign language, such as greetings)
> Cultural differences, if any
> Popular food (so that you don’t miss out on that)
> Famous tourist spots and attractions (better to have some information on these, rather than completely depending on the hotel front desk)
> Safety (information on places to avoid at night)
> Maps and Driving Directions to your hotel and to tourist spots (if you are traveling by your own car)
Some of these can be deciding factors for your final choice. In any case, you should know something about the place before you visit it. You would not want to be taken for a ride there.
4. To help you with your research, we have created a list of destinations based on the type of vacation. You can also visit Tripadvisor for millions of user reviews of destinations and hotels. Another good idea is to purchase a travel book or travel guide and keep it handy.
Key point: Do not miss out on this essential research, though how deep you want the research to be is purely your call (or your wife’s perhaps). It’s best to base your research on internet surfing, but also count in friends and family’s recommendations. ‘Been there, done that’ is quite useful many a times.
Select the Hotel/Resort
1. Once you have the destination decided, its time to zero down on where to stay. Again, the most important deciding factor would be your budget, but there is another equally important aspect that you should consider. Do you wish to use the hotel only as a place to spend the night, with the major part of your vacation spent in exploring your destination inside out? Or, you wish to choose a beautiful resort with lots of facilities and plan to relax in the resort itself? If it’s the former, you should simply select a decent hotel which is near the airport/train station (if using either of these) and preferably the tourist spots that you wish to visit. If it’s the latter, well, then the views from your room, the facilities that the resort has to offer and the quality of food available become important.
2. When short-listing the hotels, be sure to visit each hotel’s website, rather than depending on a small paragraph that you read somewhere on a travel website. That will give you a complete idea of what you will find there. This is true even if the bookings are handled by a travel agent. We don’t know about you, but we do not want unpleasant surprises on our trip.
3. If you are doing your hotel reservations or booking airline tickets online like everyone else today, make sure that the hotel has a secure payment option on their website before providing your credit card information. And do not forget to read their cancellation policies. Even change of dates can cost you a lot, so be careful while booking. While booking, also check if the hotel provides complimentary or paid pickup from the airport or train station. This really helps if in foreign land. You can visit our Reservations section to book your hotels, flights, vacations and cruises via Expedia or Kayak, the best in the business.
4. Note: You can get a travel agent to do all your bookings for you, from your flights, to your hotel bookings, to tickets for tourist attractions. It’s convenient, sure, but you do not have as much control over your vacation and expenses. We suggest that even if you opt for a travel agent to handle everything for you, be on top of things. Make sure you know which flights/hotels they are in process of booking for you, so that you can make timely changes if needed.
Continue to Travel Tips Part II...
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