airplanes window view of sky during golden hour

Although some travelers enjoy showing up somewhere new and seeing where the experience takes them, that isn’t the case for everyone. In fact, if you don’t put some thought into your vacation, you can miss out on a ton of great experiences that you could have had if you had just taken the time to learn about your intended destination and make some preparations beforehand. To ensure that you have enough time to do everything on your trip that you want to, consider the following suggestions for planning the perfect itinerary.

Book In Advance

The internet has made it possible to plan ahead and reserve tickets to almost any event or attraction you can imagine. Sporting event tickets, as well as tickets to museums, amusement parks, and tourist attractions like the Statue of Liberty, can usually be purchased in advance online.

The more you can book in advance, the easier it will be to plan your trip around these events – you’ll know where you need to be and when. However, there is a fine balance to be struck; if you plan too much, you might overdo it, and that can be a problem, as you’ll see in the next point.

Be Realistic 

The next thing to consider when planning the perfect getaway is whether or not your proposed schedule is actually feasible. If you try to fit too much into your break, you risk being disappointed if you don’t complete everything on your list, or you end up feeling more exhausted and stressed than before you left, which defeats the purpose of a vacation. Incorporate some downtime into your itinerary so that you can relax and take stock of your new surroundings.

Your Budget 

Your budget is another thing that can be affected when you try to do too much. You just might not be able to do everything because you need to save money for food, hotel rooms, or travel to other places if you’re going on a trip with more than one stop. So, figure out your budget ahead of time and add up how much you’ll be spending before you go. In that way, you’ll know you won’t run out of money.

Be Logical 

The plan you make for your travels should make sense. If you have your heart set on seeing a specific landmark, research other attractions in the area to maximize your time and see as much as possible in a single day. You don’t want to map out your day only to find out that you have to go to opposite ends of town to do everything. This will help you save money and time, and it will make your day feel much more productive.

Be Flexible 

Even if you have a plan for your trip, you don’t have to stick to it no matter what. Plans change sometimes, and if you can be flexible, it will be much easier to deal with those changes. Depending on what happened, some of the visits you had planned might have to be moved to a different day or even canceled. If you’re flexible, you won’t have to worry or stress about this while you’re away.