That's a good question! For the past 6 years, Jeremy and I have taken a week long vacation every year. Combine this with the many family vacations taken when I was younger, small weekend trips that Jeremy and I have taken, and the many small weekend trips I've taken with my girlfriends and the list gets pretty long:
**Los Angeles, California
**Birmingham, AL
**Orlando, FL
San Antonio, TX
Williamsburg, VA/ Washington DC
**Omaha, NE
Minneapolis, MN
US Virgin Islands- St. Thomas and St. John
San Francisco, CA
New Orleans, LA
Aruba
**Chicago, IL
New England- **Boston, MA - Portsmouth, NH - Rockport, MA - Cape Cod, MA
San Diego, CA
**Las Vegas, NV
Seattle, WA/ Portland, OR
Miami, FL
New York City, NY
Crested Butte, CO
** I've been to this location more than once
2011 trips-
Napa Valley/ San Francisco, CA
The Outer Banks, North Carolina
Miami, FL
And hopefully the list continues to grow...
Travel Planning:
Jeremy and I both love traveling. After our honeymoon in Aruba, we decided that we wanted to make it a point to take a vacation every year, whether it is somewhere we've never been or at least just a short weekend trip somewhere close to home. Here are some of my tips to make your trip a success:
- Research- I always do a lot of research on each city I'm visiting. The following websites, along with the many guide books and magazines you can find at your local bookstore, have been great resources for me when I'm travel planning:
- www.tripadvisor.com - is one of the greatest resources out there for travel advice. Travelers, just like myself, get on the website and post reviews and tips on anything and everything about each city. I always make sure to check
- www.yelp.com - a great resource for hotel and restaurant reviews. I find that Yelp is more helpful than Trip Advisor for restaurant recommendations if you are really wanting to eat at restaurants where all the locals dine.
- www.frommers.com or www.fodors.com - These websites are the online versions of the famous guidebooks that you can find in any bookstore. They are very useful for travelers and give great information on areas to stay, hotels, restaurants, things to do, etc.
- www.smartervegas.com - Need coupon codes for hotel deals and show ticket deals in Vegas? Check out this website! They list all hotels and shows that have a promotion going on and give you the coupon code that can be used when booking.
- www.travelocity.com or www.expedia.com - Great places to look for hotel deals, and airline specials...many times if it's a last minute trip, these are great to look at for last minute deals.
- The city's visitor website- This is a great place to find out what events are going on in that specific city for the dates when you'll be visiting. Most cities either have their own travel website or a link on their government page for visitor's. It's as easy as typing the name of the city in your search engine of choice.
- Expenses- Yes, traveling can get very expensive so I like to START PLANNING EARLY. I've found it most beneficial to plan as early as possible and typically speak directly with the hotel for deals and promotions that they have going on. I try to start planning most trips at least 6 months in advance. That way I am able to research all of our options and find the best prices for where we want to go. This also helps with an estimated budget of costs associated with each trip.
- Reward programs-We belong to Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards program and we've been able to get many free flights by using their partner programs and earning points in the rewards program. Many other airlines also offer reward programs and often have their own credit cards to help with earning points.
- Saving, Saving, Saving-We try to put back a little money each month into savings, when we know we have a trip coming up. This has been a great way of making sure we're not having to put a lot of expenses on credit cards and having to find a way to pay it off later.
- Itinerary- Your flight is delayed...there is horrible traffic and you're stuck in a cab...dinner is taking much longer than you thought...Does this ever happen on vacation? Of course! You can't predict everything that might put a damper on your plans, but you can be prepared with options.
- Basic Itinerary-While planning out every hour of every day is not necessary and not a good idea if you want to see some of the cities hidden treasures, I always have a basic itinerary planned out so we have an idea of what to do each day. This takes a lot of stress off of us when in a new city, because we aren't worried about finding something to do and not knowing where anything is located.
- You want to make sure you leave yourself a little time in between each activity.
- If you end up getting through something quicker than you thought you would, have another option of something to do before your next activity that is close by or on the way. This will save you all the hassle when you get to the new city, on wondering what to do and getting bored.
- Make sure you do leave a little extra time each day to wonder around and explore. There is nothing better than just walking around neighborhoods, and finding great places that aren't talked about a lot on travel websites. Before you leave, make sure you've done your research and know which areas and neighborhoods are safe and not safe. Your hotel will also be able to give you suggestions.
- Reservations- I try to make restaurant reservations for places we definitely want to try and buy show tickets, tickets to museums and events, and sometimes transportation passes before we leave home. Many times you can find better deals online than you can if you just wait and purchase these things when you get there.
Disclaimer: In no way am I directly affiliated with any of the above websites or publications. These are strictly just resources that I have found extremely helpful when traveling.
