We remember taking summer road trips with our family, crammed in the back of a minivan with our siblings, and constantly fighting over the window seats as our poor parents tried their best to tune us out. While those are certainly fond memories that we would not trade for the world (obviously the trips were full of a lot more than the perils of driving), as adults we want our summer trips to be even better. Whether you plan on taking a road trip or you plan on hopping on a plane to jet off to somewhere cool, there are several ways that you can ensure to have the best summer trip ever.
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Those Family Road Trips
Since we started this article by spilling a little bit about our family road trips, it only makes sense for the first tip to be about traveling as a family. It can be especially challenging to travel with kids; and possibly, beyond challenging if you are traveling with a baby. Thankfully, it is 2018 and that means that there are tons of solutions out there that make it easierβlike the travel bassinet by Guava Family. You might not think you need one, but if you have a baby, and plan on going anywhere, you will need somewhere for that baby to sleep. After all, it is not recommended that they sleep in the same bed as an adult and they can’t just be plopped onto any bed without safety measures in place. Save yourself the hassle and get a travel bassinet so your little one can sleep the night through (meaning you get to sleep too). Find the right one and you will end up with something super portable and easily packed away.
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Plan, Plan, Plan!
We literally cannot stress enough just how important it is to plan your summer trip. While spur-of-the-moment travel can be great, what is not great is landing in Europe and realizing that you have no idea where you will be sleeping that night. So, start planning your trip months in advance. Getting a jump start on everything will allow you the time to find affordable hotel and transportation deals, research the coolest spots to see, coordinate where you will be when, and figure out what paperwork you might need (such as visas and passports). While you certainly do not have to have every single minute of every day accounted for (in fact, you shouldnβt do this, because allowing room for spontaneity is key), you should definitely have the biggest things figured out ahead of time. Plus, planning in advance means that you will have a pretty good idea of how much money you will need for your summer trip; in addition, you will have some time to save up a bit.
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Prepare Your Boss
If you have a full-time job that requires more than just showing up, you should ask for time off well in advance and prepare your boss and coworkers for your absence. This seems silly to be on the list, but you will be able to enjoy your trip a lot more if you are not having to field emails and phone calls from the office. So, do whatever you can to lessen the load while you are gone and then peace out when your vacation starts!
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Take a Risk
Vacations are designed to try new things, so make sure that you keep an open mind during your summer trip. Take our advice and use this trip as an opportunity to come out of your shell a little; do things that you normally wouldnβt doβwhether the thought of doing the activity makes you nervous or itβs not something that you would normally take the time to experience. When you are planning your trip, take the time to discover what the must-do activities are in the area where you will be. If you are going somewhere like Banff in Canada during the winter, you have to ski and/or snowboard. It doesnβt matter if youβve never done it before and are convinced you will tumble down the mountain, sign up for lessons and do it. You donβt want to be that person who goes somewhere amazing and chooses not to do the one thing that amazing area is known for.
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Think About the Come-Back
So, you have planned the most amazing, life-altering summer trip and you cannot wait. Fantastic! When do you plan on going back to real life? We understand wanting to squeeze in as much vacation as you possibly can, but you probably should rethink booking your return flight for Sunday if you have to be at work the very next morningβespecially if you are doing an international trip. Giving yourself just one day as a cushion between landing and getting back to work can be life-changing. You can sleep in, get your vacation laundry done, run any errands that you need to get over with and meet up with a friend to dish about your trip. It will make going back into work Monday morning that much easier.
