Planning my first-ever vacation. Need help.

Post Reply New Topic

I have never gone away for vacation, and it's a major goal for me to be able to do this. I am pretty clueless about how to plan a trip and overwhelmed by the options. I could really use some help or I don't think I can make it happen.

I am thinking about Southern California, for a week or so, in February. (I am on the East Coast.) I chose this just because it's someplace warm to go in the wintertime, really no better reason. Maybe San Diego. I have some friends in Palm Springs as well.

So, I have never booked a flight in my life. The last time I was on a plane was over 20 years ago when I was a kid. I have never rented a car. Don't know what kind of timing to allow in arriving for a flight. Don't know how much I should spend on a hotel room, etc. etc. I feel like these are stupid questions, but like I said, I am clueless.

I have gone on sites like virtualtourist and kayak, but they overwhelm me with choices. Where do I start? Is it better to talk to someone in person?

Ideally, I'd like to be part of a group and have each day's meals planned out rather than run around looking. I don't like real touristy things, though. Then, activity-wise, I have no idea what I'd want to do on my own. I worry that I'd get there and just sit around. I would like to have some reason to be excited for the trip.

I guess I should decide by the end of December whether to go through with this. Is this realistic? What advice do you have for me?

Vacation, sounds like fun . I haven't been on one in about 6 or 7 years, but at that time, I found sites like expedia and orbitz to be quite helpful. I liked the all-in-one convenience of flight/hotel/car so I could more easily figure out the budget. I didn't personally try a travel agent, but then again, I knew where I was going (Vegas!! !). I'm not sure how much more expensive it is to use a travel agent, but it might be money well spent if you're not quite sure where to start.

I definitely think you should go for it, though. The opportunity doesn't always present itself and I've never regretted going on a trip!

I often drag my AS hubby on vaca with me. If you need guidance on deciding on where to go then I definitely recommend going to a travel agent. They work off of commission mostly from what you book through them so it's not much more expensive. You will only be charged an additional $25 fee for booking the flight through them compared to expedia.com.

San Diego is wonderful! We stayed on Coronado Island for our honeymoon. There is a lot of public transportation so you could probably get away with not renting a car at all. I know we just parked at the hotel and didn't drive for a few days.

Good luck!

Go on the internet and find a "package tour" for where you want to go.

Do you want to go on a camping trip or a bus trip or an ocean cruise? Do you want to go to a Western "Dude Ranch" and learn to ride a horse?

When you pick a "package" everything will be easy and you will meet lots of people with the same interest who will become your new friends.

Well, I guess I can try to talk to someone next week. I don't really have the energy to deal with this right now. I am not feeling like I'll go through with it.

"Wherever I go, there I am."

I don't think you will enjoy a vacation if you are not sure why you have put yourself into such an unfamiliar environment. Try a mini-vacation, such as turning up your thermostat, going out to watch a storm, and returning to a really warm place. There are probably many tourist destinations close to you that you have never sampled, and you can run right home if they are not fun. Winter isn't tee shirt time in California anyway.

I also recommend bicycle touring and other very low-impact ways to vacation, for the sake of the future, and others who hope to enjoy vacations. The point of a vacation is to change your perspective to provide a sense of renewal. It does not have to be at all spectacular or expensive.

My last favourite bit of received wisdom is to have fun - maintain a mental age just sufficient to make your connections, and do things kids like.

I have tried to convince myself of that for years. "Decide you want happiness and peace and you'll find it wherever you are..." Sorry, it's just not realistic. It is damn hard to find renewal. It is hard enough to even find something I enjoy doing.



I used to be a proponent of this as well. At a certain point, it's still sitting in front of a computer, amusing myself. I can be a kid all I want, it won't get me friends, it won't get me happiness. It's just not enough anymore.

Trust me, you hardly need any help at all!

Just pick a destination, google the name of an airline and its website will walk you through everything.

If the price is too steep, or the airline doesn't fly there, try a different airline.

For accomodation, just google 'accomodation in [place name]' and take your pick. You then need to phone/email them with your dates.

think of it this way: 50% of the population has below average intelligence, so these things are designed to be pretty fool-proof

I went to AAA today and talked with an agent for about 15 minutes. She said a package-type deal is best for first-timers like myself. I took some travel guides home, so I'll go through and see if anything looks good. Probably this winter isn't realistic as I had hoped, but I guess these things take time to plan.

So, while you wait, do stints of a few hours as a tourist in your own town, and find out what you like, and if there is any need to travel far for more variety. Niagara Falls and NYC have tons of tourist attractions if you like that sort of thing. Bike touring can also be started on any scale. My friend Steve had a couple of trial rides out of Columbus, OH, and then spent years on the road. How much you see depends on how much your look, not on how far you go. When I flew to California for a bike tour there, the most amazing change from Ontario was the roadside vegetation. After many moves, I still feel most comfortable with terrain similar to that which I grew up around.

Hi Green!

Im a travel agent so if you need any help let me know. I cannot make the reservations for you since I am not currently working for a travel agency but i can certainly guide you on how to make your own reservations and perhaps choice of destination.

Package deals... well, remember this: They are package because they let the agency make more money off you that way. The so called savings to you are rarely present.

December is a terrible time to travel, particularly on short notice. Hotels and flights for high season are usually booked full and what's left goes for high price.

I finally looked through these travel brochures from AAA. Everything is so generic, it doesn't excite me at all. For instance, "Southwest Discovery," 11 days that goes through LA, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, and San Diego. Over $3000 when you include single supplement. This isn't what I'm looking for.

If I'm going to travel, I want it to be meaningful and authentic. I guess I could look for other package deals. I know there are some groups that cater to single travelers. Someone suggested Lonely Planet in another thread.

I still remember this article I read last year about this little inn near Atlanta that's on a farm, and they cook meals for you, and you can feed the animals, and they have hayrides and bonfires at night. I'd like to stay somewhere like that for a week, not be shuttled from city to city.

You might want to consider participating on an archeological dig or other volunteer work. The conversation tends to be more interesting.

I travel all over the place. (I'm up to 4 continents now!) It was scary at first, and oddly enough, the first real vacation I went on was to San Diego, which I loved. Balboa park is da boss. Your original post sounded like you could use some generalized information Here's my tips:

Figure out your budget. Keep to it.

Buy a good travel guide. I like lonely planet and rough guides. Check the date on publishing and make sure it's as recent as possible. Read it, cover to cover. It is the best investment you can make if you're doing some real traveling as opposed to staying at a resort.

$300 RT for airfare across the country is good. $1000 is not. Get to the airport two hours early, and bring a book. Then you will not be stressed. Do not check your bags when going. Get up repeatedly on the plane and walk up and down the aisles and then go and do some stretches near the bathrooms. You will be highly disoriented when you get out of the plane so ask people what to do. There is always an information booth and people to point you where to go. Hotels can help you arrange your airport to hotel transfer, as can hostels and resorts.

If I have to rent a car, I usually figure $100 a day. However, I usually end up using public transport as it is CRAZY cheaper and then you get to see stuff you might not expect. And if that doesn't work, taxis are still often cheaper and then you can ask stuff from the driver.

Pack light. You can buy whatever it is you need and then you've got souvenir socks as opposed to souvenir knickknacks, and socks are better to have. Reduce your electronics. You can always do your laundry in the sink.

Hit a grocery store on your first day. You will have forgot something. And also then you can buy toiletries as opposed to bringing them, which is easier for going through airport security.

Choose somewhere with one thing you REALLY wanna do and invest some serious cash in that. I chose San Diego because I have a critter obsession, and the zoo is the greatest zoo in the world. So my main thing was to go to the Zoo, and then I added on a bunch of other interesting things. There are always other interesting things wherever you go, except for in Corbett, Oregon, which you really can miss. Yes, this is a joke.

Plan on some chill time. Otherwise, you will be like this-->

Something will go horribly wrong. Expect it and then when it's happened, you're home free!

Hostels can be found for $20 a night for a dorm bed, $40 a night for a private room. They're not as generic and nameless as hotels and often have group activities, like a movie night or group dinner. Some are skanky, some are fantastic. Look online and you'll get recommendations and can look at pictures.

Do not spend all your time photographing stuff unless you are a photographer.

I have never used a travel agent cuz I can always plan it better and cheaper myself. Ditto with the group tour. Never been on one where it wasn't mostly disappointing and shopping oriented. I wouldn't do a package tour, but the farm sounds like it could be cool. I've done a dino dig in Alberta too, which was great. I found a hadrosaur tooth!

This is beyond me. I'm staying home.

Oh, don't stay home! Just go on an overnight trip nearby. The world is so cool!