Planning a Trip

I have planned a number of trips - big and small - and while at first it might seem daunting, I've come to a basic methodology that works well for me! I'll admit - even after multiple vacations - it still is a bit overwhelming at first, but if you follow these steps, it will come together.

First (General Ideas)

you need to decide where you want to go in a general sense. For example, in the general sense, you might decide "somewhere warm", or "somewhere exotic". You might also narrow it down by deciding if you want to travel within the U.S. or Internationally. Decide how far away you want to travel, and if you want to fly. For all of our trips, we've had a basic destination in mind: "Ireland" or "Hawaii" or "Alaska".

Second (Narrrowing it Down)

you need to pick out specific area within the destination. After reading some travel blogs and travel internet forums, we narrowed it down to "Southern Ireland", "Oahu, Kaua'i, and The Big Island of Hawaii", and "SE Alaska".

Third (Specifics)

you need to pick out the specific citie(s) you plan to stay in. Again, based on information you can gather from the internet (i.e. use a search engine such as google or msn), travel books, forums and reviews, you can determine which cities sound the most appealing to you. For instance, if you're a big city person, in Ireland you would want to look at Dublin, Galway, Cork and Belfast. If you're more interested in the small town countryside, you would want to look at the smaller towns in between. In Hawaii, if you're a lay on the beach and party type, Oahu is your island. However, if you're into rugged hiking and magestic views, you might consider Kaua'i and The Big Island. If you are dying to see volcanoes, your only option is The Big Island.

Fourth (Lodging, Dining and Activities)

you need to pick out lodging, dining and activities for each part of your trip. Granted, if you're a "fly by the seat of your pants" type of person, this might not seem nearly as important as actually finding the place.

Fifth (Booking)

Once you have a good idea of where you want to go and what you want to see, start booking! I tend to want to wait a little longer than others, perhaps, but it seems the second I start booking a trip, something comes up, so I try not to actually book anything until 2-3 months out, stalking the prices beforehand to know what the deals are. I generally use websites like www.travelocity.com, www.hotels.com, www.hotwire.com or www.1800flyeurope.com to get some great deals. However, sometimes the deals are better if you go directly to the accommodations' websites or call them directly.

Good luck with planning your next trip! If you have any questions, I can try to help :)