by Aggie Swituszak, Product Specialist
Vacations and trips are an important way to experience the world and to make time for yourself. As fun as they can be, sometimes having your little brother drool on you in the plane and your sister screaming for her iPad makes you want to be anywhere BUT on the vacation. As someone who is a college junior, I am in the age where I can start venturing out on trips with friends instead of family. But how do I even plan a vacation?
Decide on a Destination
This can be easier said than done sometimes, especially when planning with a group of your friends. Some people may want a tropical vacation whereas others want to see a city or go camping. The first step is to decide on a spot where everyone is excited to go.
Find a Time That Works For You
Now that you know where you are going, you should know when you are going. If it is just you and one or two people, sit down and map out when you are busy so you can see any overlapping free time to use for your trip. If it is a larger group, I suggest everyone fill out a Google Calendar with their time commitments so then one person can overlap all the calendars and see who is free and when.
How Are We Getting There?
Arguably the most stressful part, how to get from your house to your vacation. Are you taking a plane, car, or using public transportation? Try and give yourself a day allocated for just travel; a 3-day vacation with the first and last day being check-in and check-out doesn’t sound the most relaxing. Flights can also be confusing! Use cheaper flight websites such as Kayak to help, but I also recommend looking on the flight company’s website itself.
Room and Board
The second biggest piece to your trip is where you are staying. It is important to check out hotels in the area that have amenities you are looking for and are also in your price point. Make sure you know the age limit of room rentals before booking so that you aren’t stranded at your vacation spot!
Car Rental
Depending on where you are staying, you may need a car rental to get around. This step is as easy as looking at different rental companies and finding the best price for what you need, however, most major car rental companies will charge you extra for being a renter under 25. My recommendation is trying out the website “fox-rent-a-car”, which is a company that rents out to ages 18+.
An Itinerary
Once you have a general idea of where you are going, something that can help with your trip is making an itinerary. It could be as simple or as in-detail as you want, but having just a checklist of what you want to cover each day can really help make sure you have the best time and don’t leave regretting not seeing anything!
Enjoy!
Now that you have gotten all of these things out of the way, sit back, relax, and watch the days count down until your trip!