Planning Your Trip
Who is going?
Establish who is going as this dictates everything else. From this consider the following:
Age appropriate interests and activities
Levels of fitness and ability
Pace of the trip (i.e. unpacking once vs. staying on the move.
Length of time you can (or want to ) spend away from home, work, school, etc.?
What are your interests?
Next, ask yourself what you like to do as this will determine your destination. Questions might include:
Do I want to ski, hike, cycle, swim, shop or just relax?
Do I want to cook, and if so to what extent?
Do I want an adventure or a leisurely vacation?
Do I want mountains, deserts, beaches?
Cities or wilderness?
History & cultural immersion or entertainment?
Bear in mind these choices are not exclusive, meaning you could ski by day while allowing time to soak in the hot tub or relax by the fire in the evening.
Identify your resources
Resources can bring the cost of a prohibitively expensive trip to within your reach. For example:
Age-related discounts (youth, senior, student)
Military, veteran or DoD affiliated discounts
group or family discounts
Friends and relatives willing to host you
Do you own a house or condo you'd be willing to swap?
Do you have a car, RV, camper, trailer, camping gear, etc?