Browsing Tag Planning
The best travel itinerary recipe
Have you ever followed a recipe for anything titled “the best” and been extremely disappointed? I have. I’ve tried about 10 “best blueberry muffin” recipes, and none of them were as good as my friend Amanda’s. While I know calling this “the best travel itinerary recipe” could welcome some people who don’t like the taste, I still believe it’s got all the necessary ingredients for a great trip.
How exactly do you plan a trip?
I always have a trip planned. And I’m not talking about those that I know for sure I’m going on, but ones that I’ve planned for the future. There are a lot of places I want to visit, and I like to keep a running list. I also like to have the itinerary, budget and number of days needed all figured out so I can simply look at the list and pick a place based on a number of factors.
Believe it or not, this enables me to be “spontaneous” and also satisfies my need to be planned and organized. I already have many well-thought out trips, so when we find a time to go somewhere, I just pull up that list and pick a place. Maybe we only have 4 days, so I can see what I’ve already planned for four days. Maybe we only have $1,000, so I can see what I have planned for $1,000. Maybe the time of year is a factor, and I want to see what I have planned for a winter destination. This makes things a lot simpler. Depending on how detailed I got in my trip planning, I may have already found restaurants and hotels (or Airbnbs) for places to make booking things even simpler.
Big cities in North America: Washington D.C.
I love D.C. Not just because my mom grew up in Alexandria, my grandmother worked for the CIA and my grandfather worked at the Pentagon. (Although, that’s pretty cool!) I love it because it’s simple to navigate, there’s lots to see (mostly for free because our taxes have technically already paid for us to see them) and good food to be eaten. There are perks to visiting at any time of the year, which makes this a great year-round weekend trip.
In the Spring, it’s Cherry Blossom weather.
In the Fall, it’s beautiful fall leaves weather.
In the Winter, it’s snow-capped monuments amidst beautiful lights.
In the Summer, it’s festivals lining the street and live music.
10 reasons you hated your last vacation
If I had to guess, these are ten reasons why your last vacation wasn’t what you hoped it would be. I know we’ve all made endless travel mistakes, and sometimes we run into things that just aren’t under our control. If these things haven’t happened to you on a trip yet, either you haven’t traveled much or you’re a very easy-going person! These things don’t have to make you hate your vacation, but sometimes they do. Some of these things can be avoided, and some of them can’t. However, you can decide how you’re going to deal with these situations, which can make or break a vacation.
1. Driving time took a lot longer than Google maps said. So Google maps said an hour right? I wish I had a dollar for every time this has happened. We quickly realized driving in Ecuador that if the GPS said 1 hour, it was actually going to be 2 hours. Once you realize that you have to account for driving behind farmer’s trucks, and 15 mph dirt roads, it’s a lot easier to deal. Or when we were driving in Yosemite, the traffic was so bad a 20 minute trip actually was going to be an hour. So my recommendation is don’t be so naive as to trust Google maps. They do a great job, but you’ll be sorely disappointed if you’re in Miami and it says 5 minutes, but really it’s an hour. Google maps driving time is not to be trusted with your life.
2. Everyone was hungry and the food was terrible. Add this one to the fact that Google maps said “20 minutes” and now it’s an hour and everyone is in the car starving. Plus, you didn’t research restaurants, so you have to wander around, finding parking trying to get to a restaurant. You pick the first place you find and it’s terrible. Don’t let this happen to you. PACK SNACKS. And plan your food accordingly. Do not let hanger on your vacation with you.
