I love planning trips. So much so, that sometimes when I am stressed out and need a vacation I will start researching a destination that I have no intention of going to. I’m serious! I just choose a bucket list location that I will travel to in my mind by checking it out virtually. Usually, when I do this, it is somewhere I would like to go eventually (manifest!), so I just save the info in a folder and have it to go back to when my lucky day arrives. I definitely find looking at tropical beaches or majestic rainforests soul-refreshing, even if it’s just on my computer screen. Try it sometime!
The first step to planning your vacation is choosing a destination. I am a beach lover, so that is where you can find me on the majority of my vacations. I did, however, just go on my first trip to the desert and absolutely loved it. I found it just as peaceful as being by the ocean. This was also my first experience hiking, so I’m sure that had something to do with it. Being in nature truly is so good for the soul. After that trip, I now have places like Montana and Wyoming on my bucket list to experience nature from another perspective. I want to show my kids that there is a whole big world full of so many different experiences out there. I also have a lot of international destinations on my bucket list, so stay tuned for blog posts on future travels!
When choosing your destination, be mindful of what kind of vacation you are looking for. If you need to just relax, a beach is a great choice. If you are looking to recharge your soul, I find nature trips like the above suggestions so refreshing. I also have a Christmas-time ski trip to Aspen or Vail (or Switzerland!) on my bucket list. I’m not a skier, but I do like fires and hot tubs, and hot cocoa! If an international trip is within your budget, you could embark upon a European getaway to Paris or Venice, or take an exotic trip to Bali or the Maldives, the possibilities are endless! (Note: It’s obviously always a good idea to check into any travel advisories when booking internationally.)
Once you have chosen your destination, you can start looking at dates for the trip. If you are flying, airfare is an important factor in this decision. Mid-week flights tend to be cheaper than flying on weekends, although flying on Saturday is typically cheaper than Friday or Sunday. I have also definitely noticed that purchasing airfare on the weekends is a bad idea. Whenever I am watching airfare prices I do notice that the common advice of purchasing on Tuesday evenings is a good bet. I often sign up for fare-watcher email notifications if I am planning a trip far in advance.
A website I love to use to help me with travel planning is Accuweather. This site will give you weather forecasts months in advance and it is usually pretty accurate. I don’t bank on it too much for the rain forecast, but it definitely gives you a pretty good indicator of what the temperature will be. I especially love to use this for our spring break trips to Hilton Head, because the temperature can vary a lot in just a matter of a few weeks.
Choosing a hotel is such a fun part of vacation planning for me. I typically will use a site like booking.com and then add filters for what I am looking for. For example, if I’m going on a beach vacation, I will choose “oceanfront” and “3 stars and above” with a “90% approval rating.” I used to choose 4 stars and above, but I’ve learned that you can actually get more for your money at boutique-style hotels (and they are some of my favorite places I’ve stayed). I’ve realized 4 stars typically just mean a brand name like Hilton or Marriott. I definitely read lots of reviews before choosing a room. For longer family trips, I also love to use VRBO for a larger vacation rental such as a house or condo. We use this for our trips to Hilton Head and Destin and we have always loved where we’ve stayed.
If you are traveling with kids, reserving a rental car will probably be your next move. Before having kids, I would always just use taxis and Uber, but having children who need car seats changes that plan. The only exception to this is Disney World because they make it absolutely painless when it comes to traveling with kids by offering bus transports or car services with car seats. Renting a car is one area where I do not feel that I am an expert when it comes to traveling. I definitely always feel a little duped when it comes to this. It seems we are often given a total that is not what we reserved online or we get an awful car that I never would have chosen. If you have any tips on renting a car, please feel free to send them my way! I think Kayak is the site where we’ve had the best luck because it gives you prices from multiple companies. This is the only part of vacation planning that I do not enjoy.
Once you have all of your travel booked, it’s time to begin planning the fun parts! I absolutely love researching a new city to find out what activities we will do and where we will eat. I cannot even fathom going to a new place and not having a plan, that is just not in my DNA. My family and friends know if they are traveling with me we will show up with a full itinerary of fun things to do and see. The first thing I do is google “things to do” in whatever city we are visiting, or I will often google “things to do with kids.” Once I figure out all of the sights we want to see, I will look at the locations on a map and figure out a plan. Something I love to do in a new city is “Hop on Hop off” bus tours! I have done them in San Francisco, New York City, Washington D.C, Los Angeles, and I plan to do one in Savannah on an upcoming trip. I think this is a really cool way to learn about the city you are visiting and see all of the best sites firsthand.
Another important thing to plan for vacations is the food! For beach vacations, we typically stay in a condo or home where we can make our own breakfasts and lunches. This makes traveling with kids so much easier, since going out to eat three times a day as a family of four sounds like an actual nightmare. We will buy cereal, breakfast bars, and yogurt along with some other fun treats like donuts and muffins. We will usually cook a full breakfast of eggs and/or pancakes one of the days as well. If we’re staying at a hotel, I do love a fancy breakfast buffet! For lunches, we love to buy lunch meat and bread for sandwiches and just pack a cooler with chips, cookies, juice boxes, etc… My kids absolutely love these beach lunches (and lunchables are awesome for the beach too!). We also stay stocked up on macaroni and cheese, of course! *Pro Tip: I highly suggest ordering Instacart once your plane lands in your destination city. This way you can have fresh groceries delivered to your door around the time you arrive at your rental home. I even order diapers so it’s one less thing I have to pack! Who wants to grocery shop on vacation?!)
Another tip, I always try to stay at a hotel that has a restaurant and a coffee shop. I definitely enjoy my trips much more when those options are available. Especially with kids, also having a “market” type option where you can grab quick meals to eat in your room is very helpful. My go-to restaurant vacation lunches are something fun and easy at the beach like tacos or nachos or a simple salad or sandwich. I try not to go too crazy with food choices during the day so I can enjoy my most anticipated vacation meal- Dinner!
Going out to dinner on vacation is always a highlight of my trips. I love to get dressed up and have a fancy night out, with or without kids (although without kids is much fancier). I usually just google the best restaurants in that city, or will sometime filter for the ambiance I am looking for like “best waterfront restaurants” or “best family-friendly restaurants.” Once I read some reviews, I look at the menus. If traveling with the kids, I make sure there is a kid's menu with meals they will eat. I also look for things my husband and I or my friends will enjoy and do not pick places with overly fancy menus. I also try to vary the cuisine at each restaurant so maybe one steakhouse, an Italian restaurant, a more casual burgers and beers type place, seafood, etc… If we are on a longer trip, like a beach vacation, I usually schedule an easy takeout night too where we will order pizza and relax if we don’t feel like getting ready and going out (or more specifically we don’t feel like taking the kids out). Having all of this planned ahead of time makes vacation much more relaxed for me because I don’t have to make any decisions. I think having food planned out in advance makes a mom feel more “on vacation” since meal planning is oftentimes such a big part of our role at home.
Vacation planning can take time, but I definitely think it is worth it. Because of these efforts, you will be able to relax and make the most of your trip when you get to your destination. However, if you are someone who absolutely hates vacation planning, I am here to help! Feel free to check out any of my trips I have documented here on the blog for a full recommendation of where to stay, what to do, and where to eat when you get there. Feel free to reach out with any planning questions, and tag me in your photos if you take any of my recommendations! I love a virtual vacation :)