From Idea to Out the Door

With the continuation of dreary weather in the PNW, dreaming and going to warmer places keeps me sane. I was encouraged by a friend to post my secret to taking my vacation “dream” and getting out the door.

1) Set a Budget

Doesn’t matter how big or small, there are destinations for everyone. If you’re hoping to go somewhere warm and sunny, my advice is to plan at least a year in advance. It’s February now, look at destinations that are currently warm and sunny.

2) Do your Research

Starting in November I start looking around at best places to go. I like small towns that aren’t super touristy. Beaches are nice, but not a must. Outdoor activities such as hiking are a necessity

3) Book a Place

Depending on my research, I make a pretty quick decision on the town I want to explore. From there I go on Airbnb a year to 18 months in advance, and make my reservations. I opt for the pay 1/2 now and pay 1/2 later. I find that booking early allows me to grab current seasons rates and often the host hasn’t increased the following years rates for high season.

4) Google.flights and set a price alert.

Airlines won’t let you book more than a year in advance, but you can put in your dates and destination and Google will send you price alerts so you can track your flight and grab it when it falls into your desired price range.

5) Rent a car- or not.

We’ve found if we’re traveling in the US we use the app Turo.https://turo.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=gs:br:brand:root::usa:m+233125473&utm_term=root::exact+aud-494358416765:kwd-1383426951+289272756857+25200930873&gclid=CjwKCAiA767jBRBqEiwAGdAOr4kSjktpnSXD9mnYCjWEC0Auq8kf0X8x5omXUzwGMEyUmNE7Gv3gmBoCM3sQAvD_BwE

Much like Airbnb, it’s a sharing platform for cars. We’ve rented luxury vehicles at a fraction of the cost of Corporate rental companies. The rates are super competetive and in my opinion it’s nice to grab a convertible in Palm Springs in January.

We’ve also found that we enjoy not renting a car. We went to Phoenix last year and took great joy in having our short 3 night vacation be dependent on our getting around via foot or Uber.

Some of my favorite destinations have revolved around the following:

Least amount of travel time for swimming pool temps.

Great Food

Possible options for moving to.

I’ll be posting my favorite findings soon so keep checking back.