From the lake that's an hour away to that exotic island halfway around the world, the vacation spots farely exceed the number of vacations anyone could take in a lifetime. Making a list of places you wish to visit someday, then prioritizing the list to the most desireable or realistic is the easiet way to go.
Time contraints are the main voyage issue, because obviously trying to go to Italy on a weekend getaway is basically unrealistic. In the past my friends told me about this formula they use to calculate if your vacation is worth it. (Divide the number of hours you will spend traveling by the total number of vacation hours to come up with a percentage.) I found that "travelmath.com" calculator is helpful.
Expences are a running second on the vacation meter. When planning your vacation be sure to look at your vacation finances and see what you have in there. This will give you a better look at where you can go. Be sure to calculate travel, rentals of cars if need be, lodgin, food, admissions and misc expences. It's safe to say the smaller expences add up quickly so prepare yourself for anything.
Something old or something new? You are now ready to look into where you can afford or if the time allows. However you have that urging problem that you've narrowed your spot down and it's between and old familiar place or a brand new place, with exatly new things. This is up to you, are you up for an adventure then go with new, but if memory lane is calling you then go to an old place.
Finally, are you traveling alone? If not then you will need to get the opinion of your tabel partner on the destination. You don't want your friend to be miserable while your having a blast or visa versa.
8 comments:
It still amazes me how quickly small purchases and expenses can add up. All of a sudden you look at your bank account thinking to yourself that you've only bought a few odds and ends and your down quite a large chunk of change. I love going with the old familiar places but am always up for a crazy new adventure myself, so the final decision always falls on who I am going with.
You have some great tips to make traveling much easier. I checked out travelmath.com to calculate driving costs from Seattle to Mountain View, California. What an excellent tool. This would be great for cross-country road trips! This would be a starting point for international trips, but I’d double the cost and then convert to the foreign currency rate just to be safe. You already got me thinking—thanks!
I have been trying to come up with a list of my most-wanted places to visit for years, but it inevitably ends up changing as I hear and read and see things about other places I had not considered in the past. I tend to lean towards the new rather than the familiar. I figure that way I will get to see more in my lifetime. That being said, the familiar is still tempting, especially for the small trips such as camping and the weekend getaways. Travelmath.com is a great site, thanks for the tip!
these were excellent tips! And I think the travel math works really well, especially for certain priorities regarding traveling. For example, if somebody wanted to RV for a long trip, it might not work as well, but if you only have 2 days for vacation, then it is a very good idea indeed. Wonderful resources, Rebecca
I really enjoyed reading this post. I'm actually planning on going to Las Vegas in the next couple weeks for a little vacation with a couple of friends. Of course with my procrastination habits I really haven't priced anything out yet... sooo this was a nice eye opener. The website you posted was very helpful as well and I'll be using it!
Sorry haha... typo'd the last two comments and couldn't figure out how to edit them. Third times the charm!
“Making a list of places you wish to visit someday, then prioritizing the list to the most desirable or realistic is the easiest way to go.” Yes, Elisha, it’s the realistic way to go for, although having a dream place will enable us to look forward to a lot of things and fuel us to work harder in life. It can serve as an inspiration. Thank you for the post! It would help enlighten a lot of people.
Daphne Michaels
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