The holiday season is coming, and you’re probably eager to finally have the opportunity to relax for more than a single evening. Traveling is a beautiful thing, and, if you ask us, it’s one of the best activities to invest your hard-earned money in. Traveling gives you the opportunity to meet new people and experience different cultures — isn’t that what life is all about?
Still, the process of preparing for a vacation is not always something one enjoys quite as much. This is mostly due to the stress related to leaving everything settled at work, figuring out how to efficiently pack for yourself for the trip, and doing the math whether you’ll have enough to cover all the costs (without borrowing money from your friends).
While this is a common situation, vacation planning doesn’t have to be a burden. As long as you start planning early and invest ample time into searching for first-minute offers, you’ll prevent a lot of that stress.
To help you, we’ve prepared a few vacation planning tips. Here’s how to be efficient and stay relaxed throughout the process.
Let’s get started!
Vacation Planning Tip #1: Start Packing on Time
The first important tip in order to save money for a holiday is to start packing for vacationon time. Not only will this reduce the amount of stress that you experience, it’ll also allow you to think through the things that you actually need to take with you.
Depending on how long your trip is, you should bring a few basic outfits, as well as at least one elegant ensemble that you can dress in for your nights out.
If you start packing on time, you’ll also get to see if there’s something that you’re missing. That way, you can buy it on time, instead of having to stress about it on the day you travel.
Investing in products such as a passport keeper is a great way to stay on the safe side and keep your valuables in one place!
Tip #2: Choose Offseason to Travel
Second on our list of vacation planning tips is choosing low-tourist dates. There are a few good reasons why traveling during the offseason may be a good decision.
First and foremost, you will be paying a lower price. You’ll also get to experience most of the things that are present during the peak season. As offseason is mostly during autumn or at the beginning of spring, you won’t have to encounter as many tourists and traffic jams.
What this means is that you’ll get to actually relax and recharge your batteries spending time with your loved ones without the risk of coming across some of your coworkers during those 10-15 days of vacation.
Tip #3: Cover Everything That is Work-Related on Time
Speaking of coworkers, it’s time to talk about your workplace.
Unless you want to be stressed out by phone calls from your colleagues day and night, you will need to settle everything before you leave.
Depending on your position, that might mean delegating some of your work to another person. You can also ask a coworker to cover for you. Or it’s getting everything done yourself before your vacation starts.
Additionally, be sure to instruct your coworkers on the things that you have done and let them know that, unless it’s really urgent, you are not available to answer calls.
Tip #4: Save Money During Vacation Planning
Probably the most important thing to consider when planning out a vacation is the amount of money you’ll spend. No matter how much you earn, you should do your best to find affordable flight tickets and accommodations. You can spend more on experiences once you arrive at the desired destination.
Bearing this in mind, the first thing you should focus on is signing up for newsletters of cheap flight websites. This way, you will be informed once there is a great offer for the destination you were looking to go to.
Additionally, we do suggest that you visit booking websites through the “Incognito” mode. As you might guess, these websites use your cookies to track the info of the destination you were looking for. The result of that is higher-priced deals. The more you search on the same website, the less are your chances of getting a budget-friendly deal.
Additionally, if you are already booking through an online website, check out the credit card rewards program, as it can come quite handy when it comes to saving money for traveling.
The biggest vacation planning tip when it comes to accommodations is to become comfortable with hostels. Believe it or not, many destinations offer great service at hostels. Many hostels are significantly cheaper than 4- or 5-star hotels and are great to stay at. Not only that, you’ll be going to that destination in order to explore. That means that you’re probably just gonna be spending the night in your room to sleep.
Also, why wouldn’t you save a few dollars by using public transportation instead of cabs or Uber? The best thing about that is it is a great way to get a full experience of that place.
Tip #5: Insurance Is a Must
Last, but certainly not least, invest in proper insurance. Whether you’re traveling to a distant destination or to a city nearby, it’s going to be your safeguard and ticket to a stress-free vacation.
With the most common issues being luggage delays and flight cancellations, proper insurance can really go a long way.
Make sure to do your research so that your coverage gets you what you need!
Book your trip!
There’s our top vacation planning tips to save you money and stress.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to knowing your needs and starting the whole planning process well ahead of time.
This will not only work when it comes to proper packing, but also for getting better deals in terms of flight and accommodation prices. So if you want to spend a stress-free holiday, consider our vacation planning tips and be a few steps ahead of any possible issue!
Don’t forget to pack your essentials in a handy hanging toiletry organizer that has space for all you need, and more!
Check out more packing tips on our blog:
What are your tips for a stress-free and money-smart holiday?
Happy to help, Sofia!
Interesting ideas and this blog post really help me a lot thank you for posting such amazing content keep posting
Offseason traveling is underrated! There are many benefits to it, for sure. Thanks for sharing your experience with us!
I love traveling during the offseason. The hotels and flights are cheaper. I don’t have to deal with all the crowds when I am sightseeing. And, people are so much friendlier because they are not so rushed and stressed.
Although we’re more often than not procrastinators, it’s definitely not fun to leave everything to the last minute! The key to being stress-free is finding time for things you have to do. And yes, insurance definitely helps you sleep better at night!
These are great tips, it’s awful rushing to try and get work done before a trip and stressing about it. Insurance is definitely a must too! x
Sophie
glowsteady.co.uk