3 Factors that Influence Your Vacation Plan [And How to Plan Them Better]
Don’t make these common mistakes
The world has over 190 countries, yet people hardly focus on 10 to 15 countries.
As a travel enthusiast, I have traveled to more than 20 destinations, and considering these factors has enriched my experience.
Travel, in common parlance, is an expedition or a change to move from one geographical location to the other throughout some length. Includes activities such as discovering a new location, specialties, culture, and meeting different people.
These three influential factors, if planned better, can negate all the hassle and help you plan a better vacation.
Factor 1: Reason
The mere understanding of the reason to travel can help shape your upcoming decisions. People love to travel for two distinct reasons:
- Leisure
- Escape
Have you ever questioned your reason for traveling?
Taking a leave away from work often leads to a misconception that you are traveling for Leisure, but in reality, you are looking for an Escape. Planning a detailed outline and spending a lot of money if your objective is to escape does not make sense, as you will never be able to enjoy the experience. Your aim was never to experience the place but to take a break from reality.
Often, understanding this can help you plan better, as saving money for that leisure trip and just going away for the weekend when you want to escape can develop meaningful experiences.
Know your Why?
Factor 2: Budget
After finalizing your reason for traveling.
Deciding on a Tentative budget is pivotal as everyone within a group would have a particular budget in mind. This includes the Travel and Stay[50–70% of your budget].
This gives clarity on different topics:
- Deciding the Location: Browsing the web for different locations within the budget and giving yourself more options is always a good solution. Considering one location and not open to more options might lead to missing a few gems.
- Dates Flexibility: The simple choice of being able to move the dates around or traveling during an off-season can significantly reduce the expense and make traveling to exotic locations seem possible.
- Length of stay: Within the same budget, planning to stay at one location for three days versus spending a week at another is a personal preference. Give yourself room to enjoy the different excursions the place has to offer.
Factor 3: Food and Experiences
Food and experiences[15–20% of your budget] make the vacation memorable.
Organizing different activities based on your length of stay and not grouping activities assists in enriching the experience.
Simple steps like:
- List the top 5 activities/attractions you wish to cover and plan your day around them.
Tip: You will never be able to cover everything and accept that prioritizing certain activities is more important.
Solution: Always have a Gap Day(A day where nothing is planned/leisure day); this gives room to partake in different activities that couldn’t be part of your schedule. This solves the issue of just relaxing or just soaking in the day.
Every activity has some miscellaneous expenses[10% of your budget] which can not be accounted for. It may be an extra meal you splurged on, a delicacy you want to try, a personal expense, or a souvenir you liked. This can be avoided, but these small moments add an extra spice to your trip.
Conclusion
Keeping this small framework in mind while creating a travel plan can help you avoid common mistakes and incorporate an unforgettable adventure.
I hope this makes you think about travel in a new light and involve this framework the next time you plan your vacation.
I would love to connect on different travel stories. Comment if you found this article interesting and have any feedback to share. Follow for more and check out my upcoming articles.
