How to Pick the Right Vacation

So often we hear stories of people who return from a vacation disappointed that it really didn’t meet their dreams. This is especially true of people who book online without the help of a good travel advisor. IBM did a study that showed better than 50% of people who book online were dissatisfied with their vacation experience.

There are several questions to ask yourself when planning a vacation. The most important (and often overlooked) is “what kind of experience do you want to have.” A family reunion or a honeymoon is an event. The real question is what kind of experience do you want to have during your event.

• Why-what do you want to experience?

• Where-where do you think you want to go?

• When-when do you want to travel?

• What-what type of budget do you have in mind?

• How-how many people are traveling and their ages?

Picking the right vacation combines all of the questions above. Where and when are critical concerns when it comes to making your dream vacation a reality within your budget-Say you are looking for a beach vacation for a little R & R. There are many locations to consider. The more flexible you are in terms of location can make a big difference. The same is true with “when.” Flexibility is the key to saving money in the travel business.

There are traditionally better times to travel during the year to get the best value when the demand (crowds) is less. Pricing is a supply and demand game everywhere.

• Jan. 2 to 16-low season

• Jan. 16 to April 1-high season

• April 2 to June 7-shoulder season

• June 8 to Aug. 15-high season

• Aug. 16 to Dec. 20-low season

• Dec. 21 to Jan. 1-high season

Avoid holidays and be mindful of the public school calendars when demand can be unusually high like Spring Break. Remember Aug. until Nov. 1^st is usually hurricane season.

The key to the perfect vacation and the right price is a good travel advisor. He or she will match you with the right product and has the expertise to help you spend your money wisely.