How to Plan Travel Arrangements

Planning a trip can be exciting because you get to think about escaping from the work place and relaxing. Sometimes planning a trip can end up being more stressful than work itself, though. To prevent this, follow a few guidelines the next time you plan to make travel arrangements. By doing this you can avoid having your dream vacation turn into a disaster.

Instructions

1

Make sure that you have a valid passport. Go to the post office and apply for a passport if you do not have one. It could take a month or more for your passport to arrive in the mail, so give yourself plenty of time to apply.

2

Book your flight. Often you will get a better deal if you purchase the tickets early rather than at the last minute.

3

Look for flight and hotel packages. Hotels are offered at a discounted rate when they are bought with a particular destination package. Go to a discount travel website such as Expedia or Travelocity to see which packages are offered.

4

Decide whether you need to rent a car. If you will be spending a lot of time driving to different sites, then a rental car is necessary. Although you can rent a car when you arrive at your destination, you could save a lot of money by purchasing and packaging it with your airfare and accommodations.

5

Tell your post office to hold your mail for the amount of time that you will be gone. You can do this by going to the local post office or visiting USPS.gov. If you have flowers or plants ask your neighbors to help water them. Ask a close friend to take care of any pets, or look into kenneling your pets while you are gone as well.

6

Make sure you have maps of every state you will be driving through if you are planning a road trip. Plan a route on a map and book accommodations in advance. Remember to factor fuel costs into your travel budget.