Vacation Time: Planning the Organized Way
If you’ve done any research into flights, hotels, or activities for your vacations, you know there are so many resources out there to give you tips, help, advice, and quotes.
Here are a few tips to help save you time when planning your next vacation:
Planning Tip #1: Research your location(s). If you know where you are going, do some research, or ask friends who have been there. Some things you may want to know include:
- What is there to do?
- Where are the “tourist areas,” places where the locals hang-out, and are there any areas that may be unsafe and should be avoided?
- Are there any travel advisories or vaccinations required?
- Approximately what should I expect to pay for accommodation, transportation, food, and activities?
- If they speak another language, what are some key words and phrases I should learn?
Planning Tip #2: If you don’t know the local language, learn some! Learn some key phrases like hello, please, thank-you, and “how much?” Print out a cheat sheet with pronunciation guides to help you out (you can always ask a local for help with pronunciation when you arrive).
Planning Tip #3: When researching prices for flights, accommodations, or activities, start a spreadsheet. Use this sheet to track when you found the price, where you found it (ie: expedia.ca), details of the price (ie: round trip flight from Vancouver to Hong Kong), the price/quote, and any other information you want to compare. This will keep you from repeating your searches, and help you better compare the deals you find.
Planning tip #4: Read customer reviews. Before purchasing anything, see if anyone has reviewed the company. The pictures of your prospective hotel may look elegant in the brochure, but after reading a customer review, you may learn that the hotel is invested with cockroaches, and the food is poor quality. Take the reviews with a grain of salt, but they are usually a good indication.
Now you’re all ready for your trip. Bon Voyage!!
