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Who loves a vacation? ME! I love a vacation! You know by now that we love traveling, and I know that many of you do too! I’m not super picky about my travels – as long as we get to go somewhere fun as a family, I’m usually up for it. This could mean a simple day trip to an amusement park or a long week at a theme park, or it could very well also be a camping adventure. Bob and I traveled a lot before we had kids. I remember being pregnant with Lily and having a lot of doubt that we’d travel much with a baby in tow. I laugh now at my former self, because we travel WAY more with kids than we ever did without them. Sure, our destinations may be a little different these days now that they’re along for the ride, but not as much as you might think. The camping, the road trips, the cruises – these were all things that we enjoyed pre-kid and continue to enjoy as a family of four.
While we almost always have at least one future trip in the works, I find that the winter months are a great time to really lay out the framework for big vacations on the horizon. We currently have a couple of trips planned, including one massively huge undertaking for the summer (you’ll hear more about that one in months to come). Having planned so many of our trips on my own for the most part, I have amassed a collection of helpful travel tips.
Today I want to suggest 5 Important Things to Consider When Planning a Vacation
1. What time of year are you able to travel? Are there any big events happening during that time of year at a destination which might take away from your positive experience? Time of year is like, the EVERYTHING. It truly all starts with the time of year. Ask yourself these questions:
:: Does your work have any limitations as to when you can travel or use vacation/personal days?
:: When can your kids travel? If they go to school in a traditional brick and mortar setting, does the school allow extended absences for travel? Is there an approval process? What time of the year does your school administer standardized tests or other hard-to-miss events?
:: If you require a house or pet sitter when you travel, is your preferred sitter available at the same time you are hoping to travel?
:: Are any big events taking place at that time of year at your destination of choice that might hinder enjoyment due to large crowds and long wait times? Think holidays, marathon weekends and Spring Break at Disney, Bike Week in Daytona, etc. Any time there are huge crowds of people descending upon a tourist area, you can expect to experience longer waits for rides, restaurants, transportation, etc. Just ask anyone who came to our Vegas Wedding about the time I picked my wedding date without realizing the annual NASCAR race was also happening in town that same weekend.
2. What is the weather like at your intended destination at that time of year? Now that you have determined when you and your fam can feasibly get away for a few days, it’s time to look at the average weather during that time of year at your destination. For example, if you’re hoping to go to Disney World, one of the first things I would look at is the Average Temperature and Rainfall Data for Disney. I love Disney, but you WILL NOT catch me there during the summer months because I do not (willingly) do extreme heat and humidity. Those things don’t bother other folks, so it’s important to check out the weather averages and compare them to your family’s likes/dislikes.
:: Are you traveling during rainy season? If so, double check that the tours or excursions you book offer refunds for inclement weather.
:: Are you traveling during hurricane season? You should highly consider purchasing hurricane insurance. I don’t like spending any extra money than I don’t have to, but if we are traveling to, say, the Outer Banks, during the month of August you’d better believe I purchase hurricane insurance.
:: Does anyone in your family have a health condition that prohibits extreme temperatures?
3. What are others saying about your hotel, resort, campgrounds or other accommodations? Research, research, research. On this topic, I research a LOT. I love when I have a friend who has stayed at a destination before and can give me their recommendation. However when that’s not an option, I take it to the interwebs. Please remember that travel websites can most definitely contain biased reviews or downright false reviews left by competitors. It stinks, but it happens. This is why I read the highest-rated reviews AND the lowest-rated reviews. I also use multiple travel sites to form a better picture of what to expect.
I read reviews on Trip Advisor and on Facebook. I love using Trekaroo to read about family-friendly destinations because all of the reviews on that site are written with family travel in mind. I also use Pinterest or good ‘ol Google to search for blog posts written by other bloggers about their experiences.
4. Use Google Earth to check out the surrounding area. Do you remember back in the olden days when GPS devices first came out? They were massive, tablet-esque pieces of technology that hogged up way too much real estate on your dash. We got our very first GPS about 10 years ago during a Black Friday sale at Circuit City (yep, if that didn’t just date the purchase…). We named her Lola and while she definitely did help us navigate here and there, we learned early on that GPS’s clearly have some limitations. A huge “for instance” – they don’t account for personal safety and can certainly drive you through some unsavory locales, across dimly lit and rundown areas and just in general, roads that you don’t feel comfortable traveling on for one reason or another.
We use Google Earth before we travel to get a feel for the surrounding areas and also to see how populated the spot is or how well-maintained. Sure, Google Earth does not update in real-time. Sometimes an image can be a few years old. But for most circumstances, it gives you a reliable idea of what to expect.
Great uses for Google Earth when it comes to travel planning:
:: Check out a hotel property. Does it really have a pool and beachfront access like the website claims? Ample parking? Are there restaurants or grocery stores nearby?
:: Check out a rental house property. Does it appear to well-maintained? Is the house easy to access from the road or are you going to be parking on the street and lugging your bags a distance? How close are the neighbors?
:: Check out a campground. Oh – this is one of Bob’s FAVORITE pre-trip hobbies. He loves to study aerial views of campgrounds that we are thinking about booking. He not only looks at the general condition of the campground (ie facilities like pools, playgrounds, etc) but he looks at the actual campsites. Which ones might be bigger? Which ones are close to the bathhouse? Are the sites wooded or not? How close are the sites to one another? I have to say, I love that he enjoys checking out the campgrounds like this before we travel. We usually end up in some great campsites/campgrounds because of his curiosity!
:: Check out road conditions and terrain. This is something that actually never crossed my mind before we started towing a travel trailer. But when we’re pulling a decent sized trailer and heading to a national park or some other mountainous or forested destination, we take a look at different available routes and usually try to pick the main highways versus the winding back roads. Roads that we wouldn’t think twice about traveling on in my Kia SUV are a whole different ballgame when you’re dragging a trailer behind you. Your GPS will often try to take you the shortest route. Sometimes the shortest route isn’t going to be your best option, depending on what time of year you’re traveling and/or what you’re towing!
5. Research the surrounding area to see what other attractions or activities might be available. When we travel, our vacations tend be high-activity Danny-Tanner-Clipboard-of-Fun morning-til-night pack-it-all in style. Our (extended) family finds this pretty hilarious and when we’re all discussing travel, if a potential trip is dubbed a “Weaver Style Vacation” it means everyone will probably need a vacation to rest after the vacation. And while Bob and I certainly have NOTHING at all against endless days of relaxing on a beach, we do love to get out and explore while we’re traveling. We figure many of the places we visit might be the only time we are there – we might as well get out and see what we can.
We have been at Disney before and have taken various days to do things like Universal, a Phillies Spring Training game, etc. There are also aquariums, Legoland, Gator Land, Space Center, the BEACH and more in Florida – lots to do! Most areas that you travel to will have other things nearby that could be fun. It’s worth taking the time to research and see what you can find!
Some things to consider if you want to do a little exploring:
:: Will you have your own car or will you be relying on another transportation source?
:: Do you have time in your schedule to allow for a day or two of other activities?
:: Browse daily deal sites like Groupon or LivingSocial and try to find discount admission for local attractions you’d like to visit.
:: Is the area outside the resort you’re staying at safe to travel into? For example, many islands in the Caribbean have gorgeous all-inclusive resorts that are fabulous, but the areas outside the resorts are crime-ridden and dangerous.
Keep these tips in mind as you plan future trips! I would love to hear what tips you have for planning your own vacations!