How to Have a Great Vacation

Are you already thinking about what to do for this year's vacation? Despite all your planning and expectations, your vacation is too important to take a chance on having it ruined. Follow these simple steps to make sure you, and your whole family, have a great vacation.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Plan your budget first, then set your plans and expectations accordingly. If you don't already have reserves, plan far enough ahead to save the money you'll need. Nothing can spoil a vacation like running out of money. Kids will be especially disappointed if you can't afford to do things they find once you arrive at your destination. Adults will be uptight and irritable if they're worried about money and have to pinch pennies or miss out on fun to have a decent time. In addition to the usual hotel and airfare pricing, find out as much information about admission prices, food costs, transportation and side excursion costs before you go. Then, add another $100 per day to use for the important spontaneous adventures that make a vacation. If you have children traveling with you, be sure to give them a daily pocket allowance that they can decide how to spend with minimal interference from mom and dad. Decide on your destination to fit your budget, and set your expectations and explorations firmly within the boundaries that your money sets for you.
2. Set your expectations and know what your traveling partner's are, ahead of time. There's nothing like looking forward to a quiet week of rest and relaxation, then, upon arriving at your destination, discovering that your travel pals want to party every day and dance the night away.
3. Speaking of dancing the night away, be sure you get the sleep you need while vacationing. You mood will be better if you've gotten the rest you need. That doesn't mean you can't boogie until you drop. It just means that if you do, don't plan on covering the local theme park starting at 8:00 a.m. the next day. Sleep late if you can--after all, its supposed to be a vacation.
4. Along with sleeping, getting the right nutrition while your away is the best thing you can do, once there, to have a good time. Unless your trip is to a health spa, you'll probably be getting plenty of empty calories and dietary no-no's, without even trying. Make sure you try to get protein and complex carbs into your diet at least two to three times a day. Taking your vitamins along for good measure is a good idea too.
5. Make sure your whole day isn't spent waiting in lines, watching, shows, and riding rides. Even though you'll be having fun, (well, maybe not standing in line), those shows and rides don't use up a lot of physical energy. You'll need an outlet for all the excitement and stimulation your brain and body are experiencing throughout the day. Taking walks, swimming, hiking, playing sports, even dancing, can all help your body release pent up energy and help you recover to have another good time the next day.
6. Anytime you're away from home, you should have some options that bring a little familiarity to you, even though your away. Let your children bring along something that reminds them of home. Try to eat a few meals in a non-restaurant setting so manners won't be the focus over a good time. Schedule at least one morning or afternoon to do nothing at all--maybe even take a whole day. Remember, the point of vacationing is not to fit all the things in you can't do while you're working and living in your daily world. Vacations should be a time to relax. Relaxing means being yourself and lowering the need to self-regulate or live up to someone else's rules. Setting reasonable boundaries and expectations for acceptable behavior ahead of time will stop the guessing and allow everyone to relax and have a good time.