Know Yourself Part 1
Understanding yourself and your family can make all the difference between a great vacation and a bad one. Vacations no matter what, cost money and the last thing you want to do is waste money on a vacation that you hated. Most people don’t realize that your vacation actually starts the day you book it. Planning a vacation can be as fun as the trip itself. Here are some some things to consider when planning your vacation and this is where knowing yourself is really important.
When to take your Vacation? This is always a challenge because of work schedules, school schedules and other obligations. Here are some questions you can ask yourself when planning when to go on vacation.
● What kind of weather do I prefer (hot, warm, cool or cold)?
● Do/don’t like crowds?
● Are you willing to search for deals?
● How much time do you have?
What kind of weather do you prefer? Weather can make or break a vacation. Knowing what type of weather you like will make all the difference in the world. If you don’t like heat stay away from places that are hot and humid, which is usually in the summer months. You’ll be stuck inside where there is A/C and wont be able to enjoy the area you are visiting. And if you hate the cold don’t travel to cold areas during the winter months because you’ll be stuck inside warming up to the furnace. There are plenty of places that you can go to year around. It’s just knowing what you like and what you enjoy doing. This is where research can really pay off and make your trip more enjoyable. Remember to research the weather in the area you are going because will usually tell you the average temperature, max and min temperature, rain and snow fall levels and humidity levels. Anyone who has traveled will tell you that hot and cold temperatures in humid places are a lot harder to deal with than in dry climates.
Do/Don’t like crowds? Are you a people person or not? Do you like people watching? Do you enjoy less stress? These are the questions you have to ask yourself before you go on vacation. It’s important to know what your tolerance level is for being around people because this can ruin a trip real quick. If you hate crowds don’t go to any tourist place during any holidays, spring break or during the summer. If you enjoy people watching or people in general there are plenty of options like amusement parks, cruise ships, ball games, night life etc. Like I said know yourself and the people who are traveling with you because there is nothing worse than going on vacation and being miserable. We went on a cruise during spring break and this older couple in front of us complained the entire time during embarkation. These are people who could go anytime of the year but they chose spring break. So the rest of their trip was probable horrible because they already tired of crowds on the first day.
Are you willing to search for deals? I guess the better question is who doesn’t but still people fall in to the trap of excitement and just book their trip. Knowing when to go can save you lots of money. Ski resorts are more expensive during the holidays so if you can go a different time you can save lots of money on lift tickets, hotels, food and deal with less people. Holiday vacations are always going to be more expensive so try to avoid it. You can also find great deals by checking websites of hotels, rental car places, cruise ships, amusement parks, etc;. My wife saved us several hundreds on our hotel in Washington D.C. by constantly checking the website and found out the price of the rooms went down so they gave us the discounted price. She also did the same for our upcoming cruise. If you have the patience and put in the work you can save lots of money on a vacation. Look for promotions, buy one get one, free breakfast, free drinks etc. Like I said before vacations cost money so try and save as much as possible.
How much time do you have? How long do I have? Do I have time to fly? Cost vs time? This is a big one for me. Knowing how much time you have off helps you to decide where your going out off state or country or if your staying local. Knowing this determines how much time you spend planning. If you want to fly somewhere for your vacation understand how much time it takes. Don’t fly across country for a long weekend you’ll waste most of time at the airport plus jet lang can make you sleeping for day. If you are flying for more than 3 hours you need to spend least 5-6 days to truly enjoy it. Good rule of the thumb if your flying across country you will be traveling 2 days of your vacation ( there and back) so know how much time you have before you book. If your time is limited do a vacation in your area, these short little getaways are sometimes the best. Also, knowing how much time you have will help you decide if the cost is worth it. Just remember don’t overextend yourself because whole purpose of vacation is to relax.
Knowing yourself is the best way to enjoy a vacation and don’t let others influence the type of vacation to take. Because in the end it’s your money and only you know what you like and dislike.