There are lots of awesome destinations out there and lots of different ways to experience them. Knowing ourselves and honoring who we are when we make choices is critical to great trips. We encourage everyone, whether well traveled or just starting out, to ask the following questions when planning a trip.
- Who’s going on the trip? This might seem obvious, but planning a family adventure with a 7 year-old, including grandparents in the mix, and having an adult get-away are very different and thinking through this and planning the trip to maximize fun and minimize stress are really important.
- What’s the overall trip goal? Pure relaxation, reconnect as a couple, creating awesome family memories, a super fun kid trip, spending time in nature, understanding a different part of the world, seeing and experiencing historic landmarks, and going to a place we’ve always dreamed of visiting are all potential goals. We always want to know our goals as we plan, and make sure all the travelers are aligned!
- Do we want to move around a lot? We think about this logistically… the ease in getting around, how we’ll get around, how much of the trip we will spend in transit, and whether all the participants are up to it. We also think about the overall experience and trip goal… are we looking for total relaxation? How much time we want to spend absorbing ourselves in the experience of specific destinations? What’s on our “must see/do” list?
- What time of year is the trip? Weather is a big consideration… going on a beach vacation during hurricane season or monsoon season is not something we’d generally do. Hi and low season are also important, and both have benefits. Hi season means lots of other people and potential increased cost, but everything is generally open. Low season has its appeal, but we make sure we’re not going to miss out because places close up certain times of the year.
- How long do we have? A long weekend is a lot different than two weeks and we’re less likely to spend a lot of time traveling to and from a destination for shorter trips.