Door No. 2
"The life you have led does not need to be the only life you have." -Anna Quindlen

Far

Sometimes life takes you away from your home.  And that's important.  "Away" is where you see more clearly who you are and who you want to be, because it is where you discover a life different from the one you've known, for better or for worse.  "Away" is where you find the courage to be your own person, it's where you find your independence, it's where you sink or swim.  "Away" makes coming home that much sweeter.  

Sometimes life takes you away from your home.  And that's important.  "Away" is where you see more clearly who you are and who you want to be, because it is where you discover a life different from the one you've known, for better or for worse.  "Away" is where you find the courage to be your own person, it's where you find your independence, it's where you sink or swim.  "Away" makes coming home that much sweeter.  

Trip Planning with the Tombers

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Whether you have never left home or have been a wandering nomad for years, planning a long awaited trip can be overwhelming.  We are getting ready to go to Hawaii for Christmas to celebrate the fact that this year we became DEBT FREE!  As preparation is fresh in our mind, I thought I would share a little about how we have planned for the successful trips we have taken.

STEP 1: Choose a destination

Surprisingly, this is a difficult one.  There are so many places to see in the world and you can only ever be one place at a time.  Factors that may play into your destination decision include: budget, transportation options, local culture, safety, personal preferences, and trip goals.  If you have narrowed it down to a few options, do a little research on each one to further decide which best suits your desires for the trip.  Our decision to go to Hawaii came from a couple of factors.  Hawaii is a popular destination from Alaska - there are direct flights from Anchorage, cost of living is similar, and it's probably the easiest tropical location to reach from Alaska when all you want is to leave the dark winter and find a sun toasted beach.  Getting anywhere from Alaska takes time and often you spend an entire day each way in a cramped airplane seat, so being able to go from 10* to 80* in one 6 hour flight is rather enticing.  Next we had to decide on one or more islands to visit.  We've chosen to stick with one because we like to spend minimal time on transportation and maximum time really getting to know a place.  Kauai is a good option for us because it is generally quieter, less populated, full of outdoor activities, no less beautiful than any of the other busier islands, and has one of our goal activities (more on this in step 3).  

STEP 2: Choose your dates

For most people, this depends largely on when and how much time they can get away from work. This is also the case with us.  Brad being a teacher means that, for better or worse, we often travel during high travel times because everyone else is also on break with kids out of school. Generally I would not recommend this as everything is more expensive, but for this trip we chose to pay the higher rate in exchange for a maximum amount of time in our desired location.  In contrast, when we went on our honeymoon (a time when we were significantly more cash strapped) we opted for the Dominican Republic in October - the height of hurricane season.  Everything was cheap, nothing was crowded, and we got lucky with a quiet storm year. Obviously in 2017 that trip would have been drastically different, so you just have to decide where you're willing to compromise. 

STEP 3: Identify your "must do's"

This, I think, is the most important step.  It sets your goals for the trip and guides many of your other decisions. A goal of re-reading the complete Harry Potter series whilst indulging in bottomless umbrella drinks on a beach chair will make for very different decisions than a goal of backpacking remote mountain trails and eating dehydrated food from a bag for 5 days.  Similarly, an "as cheap as possible" trip will look much different than a 25th anniversary all-out celebration.  None is any better or worse than the other.  We plan to make all those trips a few times in our life.  It's about what you want from this particular trip, that will be what guides your decisions on other things like where to stay, how much to spend, and what to pack.  

STEP 4: Set a budget

Regardless of whether you are planning a low cost trip or an all out ultimate dream vacation, it is important to establish a budget for it.  The last thing you want to do is come home to "vacation hangover" and realize you have to work the next 8 weekends to pay for your impulse decisions.  Brad is the math nerd in our family and truly enjoys making spreadsheets and budgets and projections and all kinds of other things for which I am profoundly grateful.  Our trip budgets are usually separated out into several main categories (such as flights, housing, food, activities, rental car, and miscellaneous).  Your categories may differ depending on the specific trip you are taking, but don't forget to have a miscellaneous category to give yourself a little cushion for all those random little things that are sure to come up.  We further separate ours out into each day that we will be there as some things (such as food and miscellaneous) can be easier to estimate in such smaller chunks.  Use whatever system works for you, just be sure to have a plan based on research and not a guess that has been shot in the dark; this will help to reduce any financial anxiety either before, during, or after the trip itself.  Find more great tips on saving for a vacation on Mr. Jamie Griffin's finance blog.

STEP 5: Find accommodations

Now that you have established your destination, your goals, your dates, and your budget, you can start in on the details.  For some people this is where it gets fun and for some people this is where it all falls apart and becomes overwhelming.  Deciding where to stay will depend largely on your trip goals, and there are many many options out there from staying with friends or relatives in the area to a hostel to an all-inclusive resort to any number of hotels to one of the smaller local options such as Airbnb.com or Homeaway.com.  There are a plethora of websites to help find good deals on accommodations, whether in advance or at the last minute, and they are making traveling so much easier, more accessible and more customizable.  For our past couple of trips we have been opting for Airbnb and will be doing the same in Hawaii. Some things to consider when booking your accommodations:

  • Location: Where do you want to be?  Will you have a rental car?  If not is there public transportation nearby?  Do you want to be able to walk to things like restaurants, shops, activities, the beach?  Is it in a safe neighborhood/part of town?
  • Style: Are you looking for a house, apartment, studio, hotel room, shared space where you can meet other travelers, dry cabin in the wilderness, fully furnished escape?  Will you be spending a lot of time there, and if so is it comfortable enough to suit your needs?  Or will you be out and about all day and simply need a place to rest your head at night?  Are you bringing any furry friends?  Are they allowed?
  • Amenities: Are you looking for a place with a full kitchen?  Free breakfast?  Free wifi?  Free parking?  Outdoor space?  Great views?  A restaurant on site?  A spa?  Hot tub?  Pool?
  • Price: Does it fit the budget you have set?  Are there any coupons or deals available?
  • Reviews: We always take a look at the reviews of a place before booking.  Even if there are bad reviews we want to know what it was people were not happy with and whether or not that thing is important to us - maybe the thing that bothered someone else enough to leave a bad review wouldn't phase us at all, but we still like to know about it ahead of time. 

Of course it will be difficult to find a place that has absolutely everything you're looking for, so you'll have to prioritize which things in this list are most important to you for any given trip. 

STEP 6: Book any advance reservations

Now that you have a place to stay, it's time to book some of the smaller stuff.  We make a point to NOT plan out every moment of every day.  That allows us the freedom to spend more time doing things we discover along the way.  But some of your "must do" activities may require advance reservations.  Do some research and figure out what needs to be scheduled ahead of time and what can be easily done without any advance notice.  For example, for our upcoming Hawaii trip we have made reservations and gotten camping permits for our hike along the Napali Coast, we've reserved a rental car, and we've spoken with the company doing helicopter tours.  Other things on our list can be arranged either same day or one day in advance.  The important thing is that we have done the research and have a general plan.  It would be terrible to have a must-do activity that ends up not being possible simply because you didn't bother to plan ahead.  

STEP 7: Day dream!

If you're anything like me, by now you've circled the day on your calendar, created a countdown widget for your phone, ordered a new swimsuit online, hit your workout routine with a little more vigor (because beaches and bikinis), and read the travel books from cover to cover.  You've laid the groundwork for a GREAT vacation, now it's time to dream, pack, and GO!

A few other nice things we've discovered:

  • Check out Airbnb's Experiences feature where you can arrange with locals to take you on all kinds of adventures.  We did this in Seattle for a progressive dinner through a few local restaurants and it was definitely a worthwhile experience.  
  • Turo is a peer-to-peer car rental service that is typically cheaper than the larger car rental companies.  It's like Airbnb for rental cars.  We'll be trying it out for the first time when we go to Hawaii next month.  I'll come back with an update on our experience with it!
  • There are lots of resources out there for researching a particular place.  We often use google reviews for restaurant decisions.  We also typically buy a travel guide book for our destination - something like Lonely Planet, Rick Steves, or Frommers.  It's a good resource for planning as you can get a good feel for what a place has to offer, with up to date recommendations on accommodations, restaurants, activities, cultural and historical information, and maps.  This can be especially helpful to have in your suitcase if you are in a place without good cell service.  
  • Skyscanner.com or Google Flights can be a good resource for searching airfares from a variety of airlines on a particular date.  Also, many credit cards offer miles or other travel perks - check with your card provider. 
  • We get Backpacker and National Geographic Traveler magazines which are full of all kinds of inspiration for your next trip.  Like I said, SO MANY PLACES TO SEE IN THE WORLD!

 

Let me know if you have any more GREAT trip planning routines you use, especially for international travel as this list has a focus on our recent domestic travels.  And any can't-miss Kauai tips are most welcome!!

 

 

 

Nicole Tomberstips, planning, budget, HawaiiComment