Have you already developed your travel bucket list of those places that you know that you must visit before you die?
The article “From bucket list to ‘booked it’: A 4-step plan for making your travel dreams a reality” on Mashable provides a very useful checklist for those of us who are still in the process of compiling our personal bucket list.
The checklist is based on research carried out by Hilton Hotels and Resorts helping inexperienced travelers to visualize and achieve their travel goals.
The four steps discussed in the article are:
Step 1: The Planning Journey – discusses the need for proper advance planning and the enjoyment that this planning process can offer you well before your trip begins. The first stage of this step is to compile your travel bucket list.
Step 2: Figuring Out Financials – suggests ways in which you’re able to succeed in your savings plan to cover the costs of your travel experience.
Step 3: Just Book It – covers the next stage of your adventure – committing to your itinerary and booking your flights and accommodation. At this stage, you should also be locking in bookings for your “must-do” activities to ensure that you don’t miss out.
Step 4: Managing Your OOO – “out of office” time is an issue to be negotiated with your employer. It may be possible for you to come up with a plan where you can manage paid time off during your travels.
Once you have put your list together, then the time has come to plan your special trip.
There are several steps that you should go through if you really want to enjoy your travel experience as much as possible.
There are a number of websites that provide information that will help you in this process. However, it seems that many of these are heavily biased towards a particular product that they are promoting, and therefore the advice that they offer may well not be entirely unbiased.
However, a recent article by Lisa Jannucci entitled “Tips from a Travel Agent on Planning a Bucket List Vacation” offers useful advice that will help you to get the most out of your trip. Lisa recommends that you:
Use a Travel Agent – because you don’t know what you don’t know
Do Your Research – working alongside travel professionals to ensure that you develop a suitable itinerary
Ask Why? – to make certain that what you want to do matches with what you have planned
Do For You – keeping in mind your health and fitness levels so that you don’t push yourself too hard just to impress others
Start At The Airport – if possible try to make your trip special by traveling in a higher class to make the travel itself more memorable
Are You Sure – be clear about what you are going to expect at your bucket list destination
Make It Happen – make whatever sacrifices necessary in order to make your special trip happen
Budget It – be realistic about your budget, because you will often spend more on bucket list trips than on a shorter vacation
And of course, never forget about travel insurance.
To summarize, make sure that your “travel bucket list” trip is special and will remain as a highlight to remember always.