Ask Yourself How Many Vacation Hours You Will Lose Along the Way.
Before you start booking flights and hotels for your next big vacation, ask yourself one question: What percentage of my total vacation will these travel and accommodation options consume?
For example, if the cheapest flight includes a four-hour stopover, that’s four hours of your vacation that you can’t actually spend on vacation. If you book a budget hotel that is an hour’s drive from the attractions you hope to see, you are wasting at least two hours of vacation each day getting to and from where you plan to sleep.
Since many of us don’t get as much vacation time as we need (and only a few of us use up all the vacation time we earn), ask yourself how much money you are willing to spend to maximize your abilities. relaxing and enjoying your vacation is now an integral part of travel planning.
And don’t assume that the internet will necessarily provide you with better options. The Washington Post reminds us that discounted travel booking sites often try to sell us flights and packages that may actually be ineffective during the vacation:
Online travel sites promote offers that take up your time and resources. This includes flights with long connections or roundabout routes involving multiple carriers, as well as hotels located so far from your intended destination that you can also stay at home.
I went to a family holiday across the country last summer and booked a flight that included a return flight with two different connections. One of the connecting flights was delayed, I missed the second flight, and I ended up having to pay to spend the night in Chicago – and while I technically had travel delay insurance with an airline credit card, my claim was denied because my total the delay time was 11 hours 46 minutes, not the minimum 12 hours required to cover the cost of the delay.
What does this mean for your next vacation? Well, you might be asking yourself which flights you want to take – for example, direct flights that leave between 8 and 10 am – and then search for only those flights. If your search results include a super-cheap flight that departs at 5 a.m. and includes a four-hour connection, you’ll start asking yourself whether it’s worth spending the first day of your vacation tired at the airport just to save some money.
(And remember that at least some of the money you save on a longer flight can be spent, for example, on food at the airport.)
The same goes for hotels, sightseeing itineraries, and anything else you can plan. Ask yourself if your plan is more like a vacation or a hassle, and make adjustments accordingly.
Maybe that means spending more money on a conveniently located hotel and less on dining out (if your hotel is convenient enough, you can buy groceries and take them back to your room). Maybe this means narrowing down the attractions you plan to see so you can get more rest and less money / time running from place to place.
I’m not saying, of course, that you should overspend on your vacation budget – I’m just saying that you should spend both your money and your time wisely.
And don’t forget to plan your way back so you don’t come home tired. After all, you probably won’t be able to take another day off from work for a while.