When you are planning to travel someplace for an exciting getaway, just be sure that you plan your vacation according to your personal tastes and preferences.  This may sound elementary, but it’s anything but that.  The fact is, lots of people go to the Internet or a travel agency and plan their vacations according to things they have seen other people do — rather than things they wanted to do in the first place because of their own interests.  There are so many places to venture to in the world for fun and excitement, but they aren’t all for everyone.  For example, a person who would enjoy a quaint tour of a historical city of the world, taking in the sights and sounds and checking out museums, dining destinations, and architecture would not necessarily enjoy a trip through the Australian Outback carrying a pack and taking his chances against all the wildlife and treacherous dangers of the bush.

Writing Your Goals

For one thing, you need to know what you like and what you expect before you decide on a place to visit.  One way to do this is to go ahead and write down a few of the most important keywords that have to do with your vacation goals.  You might choose to categorize by themes, ideas, or even colors!  Let your imagination run wild and see where it takes you.  You might choose words like these:

• tropical
• green
• ocean
• island
• cruise ship
• shopping
• dining
• romance
• singles

These are just a few ideas that might appeal to someone who is single, looking for other singles to enjoy a vacation with in a tropical region, part of which consists of a cruise ship and partly of time spent in ports of call, on the beach or shopping local markets.

No matter what you envision as the ultimate vacation, it is always easier to start planning after you have firmly decided your goals and given yourself an outline to keep in mind as you organize and prepare to book your arrangements.  All of these tips were designed to help you get started, and we hope you have enjoyed them.

My husband and I love to travel.  The only problem is that we, unfortunately, do not tend to have limitless funds to vacation as we would like.  Oh, and we also lack that mad luck I referred to earlier.  So, what is a girl and her hubby to do?  Obviously, we have to save for our vacations.  I do not know anyone who gets magnificently excited about having to save up money, and we are not those type of people either.  

The thing is that vacationing is pretty much a necessary part of our life.  If we did not take a couple of vacations here and there, we would go absolutely insane.  That means that we are always putting money away in our vacation funds.  Here’s how we do it:

• Food money – When we take a week long trip we like to go to the grocery store nearby and get our essentials and then eat out a couple of times on our trip.  Going to the grocery instead of eating out at every meal helps us to save some dough, but we still need money to buy those groceries.  We put in five to ten bucks cash into a jar each week for our food funds.  It adds up quick so when vacation rolls in we can eat!
• Airfare/gas, and lodging money – Airfare and gas are not cheap, and neither is lodging.  To save for these more expensive vacation costs we simply have a set amount of money from every paycheck go into a separate savings account for vacations.  It might sound a little extreme, but like I said we need these vacations.

Do you save for your vacations?  If so, let me know how!

Why is that the second you are in the “real world” that Spring Break just disappears?  Should there not be like a probationary period where you still get to have that week off of work with no questions asked so you can get away and enjoy yourself.  I mean, I guess you could take PTO and jet off to a sunny locale, but I want Spring Break back!  I actually think that I need Spring Break now more than I ever did in college.  

From here on out I say we all band together and demand a grown up Spring Break.  This way we can all have some time to recoup and enjoy a fun-filled and crazy vacation like we used to back in our college days.  Maybe it will not be as crazy, but surely it will be just as fun.  After watching a bunch of movies about Spring Break on nonstopvid, it made me want  Spring Break even more!  Here are my top picks for my grown up Spring Break, and if you are looking for me in a couple of weeks, I will be at one of these places…

1. Costa Rica – The name, meaning “Rich Coast” just sounds inviting doesn’t it?  Warm beaches and fun outdoor activities make this place look like a great place for me to unwind and have a good time.
2. Puerto Rico – First of all, you don’t even need a passport to getaway to Puerto Rico.  Gorgeous sunsets and amazing beaches tend to keep travelers coming to this place.
3. Key West – Florida has been a well known Spring Break spot forever.  The lax lifestyle of Key West seems to beckon me.

So, are you with me?  Don’t you think Spring Break should be a given at all points in life?  I thought you might agree with me.

Luckily for those who depend on tourism to make their means, the President is trying to get people into our country.  That’s right, a few days ago President Obama was in Disney World making a speech about promoting travel and tourism.  He wants everyone to buy hotel rooms, and stare out the lovely windows by www.allglasswindows.com and admire our lovely land! Apparently the United States has the best product to sell.  While I agree that we have some pretty fantastic places to visit in this country, I’m not too sure how I feel about Disney World being the “best.”

Anyway, take a look at the speech yourself and see if it makes you want to travel some more or not.

My main goal for this year is to travel more.  Sure, I travel a good bit already, but it is usually to the same destinations over and over.  This year I want adventure.  I want to do things that I have never done before, see things that I have never seen before, and I want to eat delicious foods that I would have never considered trying before.  Now some people might think that this will be a fairly easy New Year’s resolution to keep, but I have tried it in the past.  I would always find myself going right back to my traveling comfort zone.  This year I am setting up my travels in advance so I don’t have time to back out and go to the same destinations.

I already have a room booked in a hotel in Costa Rica.  I plan on eating nothing but the local food and going zip lining.  One, I’m picky and terrified of new foods.  Two, I’m so scared of heights I don’t know what to do with myself.  But I am going to eat the cuisine and zip line across the sky, oh yes!

For my second and third trips I am still in the planning phases.  They will be equally as exciting as Costa Rica, but I just haven’t chosen.

Do you have any great places where you travel to that can get me out of my traveling comfort zone?

The following infographic traces airline security back to the way it was just before 9/11, and lets us see the ways in which security has evolved since then to thwart further foreign threats to America’s national safety.  This can help you understand what measures were implemented and when they were put into place, in a year by year fashion covering the past decade.

For the traveling woman:

• A faux fur throw is perfect for those chilly flights, plus they give an instant luxurious feel whether you are in coach or first class.  RestorationHardware.com
• Leather travel flats are ideal for getting through security with great ease.  They slip on and off simply and come with a matching bag.  DelmanShoes.com
• Travelers like to read…often about traveling.  The book Hints to Lady Travelers is a unique look at how women’s traveling has changed over the years.

For the traveling man:

• Noise isolating headphones are great gifts for all travelers, but men especially.  Check out BestBuy.com for options.
• Men don’t seem to spend a lot of time bothering to buy pajamas.  So, buy some for the traveling man in your life.

If you are still at a loss, think about luggage, bags, and things like that.  Or you can just plan a trip for yourself and disappear during Christmas so you won’t have to give gifts from flowland.

I think that is what most people look for when taking a trip somewhere, right?  So where are the most visited places in the world?  I think you might find some of them quite surprising.  The infographic below shows the most popular tourist destinations.  Some of the top one included:

1. Times Square, New York, New York with 35 million tourists each year.
2. Washington D.C. with 25 million tourists each year.
3. Disney World, Orlando, Florida with 16.6 million.
4. Trafalgar Square, U.K. with 15 million tourists a year.
5. Disneyland Park, California with 14.7 million visitors each year.

Three of the top 5 destinations are all landmarks, while the two recreational tourist sites are both theme parks operated by Disney.  What do you think of the top destinations?

Las Vegas, Nevada – What happens in Vegas actually stays with you forever.  This town has got it all.  Family fun, shows, and incredible nightlife are some main attractions in Vegas, along with incredible shopping and the beautiful sunshine.  Las Vegas is not just a party town, although if you are looking to party I definitely recommend it.  You will find things to do at any age in this city.

New York, New York – “The city so nice they named it twice.  The other name is Manhatten.”  The Office character Michael Scott was completely accurate in that statement.  New York is amazing.  This city should be visited often, in my opinion.  There are amazing shows, the shopping is fabulous, and I’m going to be a bit cheesy and say there are phenomenal sites to see.  The first trip you take to New York must include some corny site seeing.  Once that’s out of the way, then eat at great restaurants and shop, shop, shop!

San Francisco, California – Even if you were not a huge Full House (which I loved to watch on dish network Sacramento!) fan like I was growing up, you will still appreciate San Francisco.  It’s here where hippies once flocked to Haight and Ashbury Streets, many movies shot footage on Lombard Street, and people from all over the world come to see the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge.  Don’t forget about Pier 39, Alcatraz, and trolley rides too.  Even if you only get the chance to go to this city for one day, do it because it is truly a can’t miss destination.

You wore two different shoes to work…for the third day in a row.  It happens to the best of us.  You are in such a rush to get ready for work and get your kids off to school that you don’t even think to look before you throw on shoes, therefore you end up rocking the two different show look.  (Not a good look, by the way) What’s worse is that it is not your first offense, so doing it more than once lands you an automatic need for a vacation.

You spend more time under your desk crying about all of the work you have to get done than actually doing it.  Holding a job means that you get to deal with stress at work on top of your stresses at home.  Isn’t that fun?  Stress builds and builds and sometimes you just crack under all of the pressure.  If this sounds like where you are, then take a break, please.  You will feel much better upon returning and likely crank out all that work in no time.

To get around in your house you have developed a series of paths to wade through the clutter.  Maybe not everyone has done this, but I have used this technique in my bedroom on several occasions.  When laundry, both clean and dirty, seem to keep piling up my approach is too strategically lay it around my bedroom until it eventually overtakes the room.  If you are at the point where something has taken over your whole house, then escape.  Quickly escape before you suffocate!