The success or failure of a much-anticipated vacation can lie in the details, the details of the planning that is. From deciding where to go through to finally getting on the airplane, there are many arrangements to be made. Make the process less arduous by dividing these arrangements into tasks to be tackled months, weeks and days in advance of travel.
Planning for a Vacation Months in Advance
The decisions to be made as far in advance as possible are the ones that are literally going to cost you the most. These include airfares, hotel bookings, travel insurance and travel visas.
In general, one is more likely to get a cheaper airfare by booking months in advance. For example in New Zealand, earlybird deals for longhaul travel generally come out three to four months in advance of peak travel periods. Once you’ve purchased your airfare, remember to submit any seating or meal requests to the airline.
Similarly, hotels prefer to have their rooms booked as far in advance as possible. You are likely to have more hotels and deals to choose from when booking months in advance.
Whilst last minute deals on both airfares and accommodation are common, the chances of them being applicable and available on your specific dates are rare. And if you are travelling with a family, or can only travel during certain periods of the year, booking ahead is more likely to save you money than booking at the last minute.
As soon as you have paid for airfares and accommodation, you should also purchase your travel insurance. Travel insurance should be purchased at the same time as your big ticket items so that you will be covered immediately against cancellation penalties if any unforeseen circumstances arise that may delay or cancel your travel plans.
You should also investigate if travel visas are required and at the same time, ensure that your passport is valid for travel to your particular destination. Travel visas and passports can take a long time to process especially if the embassy or passport office is based overseas.
Planning for a Vacation Weeks in Advance
Planning what to do when you are away and what to take should be done weeks in advance. This is so that any dentist and doctors appointments can be tidied away, especially if you need to renew prescriptions or get vaccinations. These are usually tasks that require a few weeks advance planning.
Booking house sitters or kennels and catteries for pets often need to be made weeks, if not months, ahead of travel. Booking car parks at the airport or booking a shuttle to take you to the airport should also be squared away weeks in advance.
Once you’ve decided where you are going on vacation, the fun part is planning what you will do when you are away. You can buy a brand new travel guide, although be warned, they can be costly. Alternatively, bid on used travel guides on online auction sites. If you start looking a few weeks in advance, you should be able to get a recent one at a reasonable price or take advantage of book sales. You can even download special travel guide applications to your Apple iphone for a fraction of the cost of the paper guides.
Creating a packing list a few weeks in advance will be helpful, so when you discover that you need a new bikini, you will have sufficient time to save for one, or search for the ever-elusive perfect one.
A packing list will also help identify anything that needs to be purchased such as power adaptors, a new book, ear plugs or noise cancelling headphones for the flight.
Planning for a Vacation Days in Advance
The only tasks that remain to be done in the days leading up to your vacation are ones that should not rely on supply. For example, anything that needs to be purchased shouldn’t be left until the last minute. The only things that should be done in the days leading up to your travel are things like charging any electronic devices that you are taking, doing your laundry and suspending paper deliveries.
Foreign currency can be purchased at any time, ideally when you think you will get the best exchange rate. I hate having money lying around home so I generally only purchase currency in the days leading up to my travel. However, don’t leave it until the last day because it may not always be available at your chosen supplier, or even at the airport if they have had a run on that particular currency that day.
Similarly, if you are relying on your credit card as the main source of funds, ensure that you have transferred funds to it days in advance in order to allow time for all transfers to clear.
Packing can be a chore so trying doing it over a period of days. This way you’ll have time to reflect on the wisdom of your packing choices, and alter them if need be. Make sure you are up to date with any laundry washing that needs to be done so that you have a full wardrobe available to choose from.
If no-one will be clearing your letterbox or housesitting for you, ensure that you suspend any paper deliveries so as not to make it completely obvious to opportunistic thieves, that no-one is home.
Enjoy Your Vacation
The only thing left to do is enjoy your vacation. There is nothing worse than getting stressed on the way to the airport when you discover that you’ve forgotten to pack something or turn off the stove. Planning in advance means less stress in the lead-up and more chance of enjoying your holiday because you’ll be confident that everything that could be done, has been done.
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