For me, vacations are the icing of life. You don’t have to have one—it’s not a “need” but they certainly are a delicious way to spend your time.
Now, we’ve all had vacations that didn’t turn out so well—hotel wasn’t what you expected, choice of location left something to be desired or rental car charged more than you got the quote for—while all consumer purchases should be carefully researched, I would argue that choosing/planning a vacation is one of the consumer choices that absolutely can not be done with research. Not only is it your money at stake, it’s your precious time and quality of life.
If you plan to book your travel yourself versus using a travel agency, start researching possible locations by looking at general websites--just do a search on Travel Tips and you’ll have get a ton of resources--narrow it down to a type of vacation—beach travel or city; an area of world you want to see—Europe, South America—or an activity that you love to do—ski or hike. Make a list of what’s important on the vacation—to everyone traveling—it may be that some want to relax and others are dying to be on the go. Once you have some focus, check review websites—keep the reviews in perspective however, you don’t know if hotel staff are leaving them or really individual consumers. Decide how you will get to your location and where you want to stay—is a suite critical since you have a large family or is a bed and breakfast perfect for you?
Additional Tips:
• Check prices on several different websites and then call the airline/car rental company/hotel to see which price is the best.
• Use those points you have from credit cards.
• Try to find a car rental location away from the airport—these can be dramatically less costly.
• Compare one way and round trip travel--they are often very different prices.
• Be careful when purchasing—there generally is a “No Refund” policy on airfare once you have purchased that ticket.
• Decide if you want to plan out your activities before you go or are fine with planning once you get there. Either way, do some checking around online to see what the options are and if there are any online coupons.
• Always check the US State Dept’s travel alert website if you are traveling out of the US.
• Be sure to call right before you leave to confirm the travel and hotel.
For more tips, see the FTC’s webpage on travel tips.
For tips of choosing a travel agency for planning your vacation and protecting your Identity while traveling, check back soon.
