Time is fleeting, and it will pass you in a blink of an eye. With that in mind and a yearning to travel the world, why would you not go on such trips with the mindset to maximize the time spent? Even with the digital nomad life that could buy you more time, visas and tax laws only allow a specific period you are allowed to stay. So, let’s explore how to maximize your vacation time (or, as I often refer to it, adventure time).
Having an idea
Having some ideas and dreams is essential before you start doing anything else. Think deeply about where you would like to visit in the world. A famous tourist landmark, a bustling city, a world-famous play, etc. Do some initial research and get some ideas of popular things to do surrounding the prime attraction. You start forming a cluster of ideas and shape better in your mind what it is you want to do and how much time off you’ll need. Then, you’ll have to budget the time and calculate the costs accordingly.
Travel-Wise’s template itinerary search engine was built for this exact purpose. Try it out and search for your ideas. This can quickly help you identify pre-built itineraries others have created and used on their travels. It is designed from the ground up to help you form your adventures faster.
Building the plan to meet your goals
From there, this idea soup can form into an actual travel plan. You can think of the primary attractions clustered together by geo-locations as blocks of events that you’ll budget out with your available days. You’ll have to take special notes on events that require good weather, a specific schedule, or gear you need to bring, as these will help ensure you are prepared. From there, moving events around and planning your days becomes relatively straightforward.
Travel-Wise’s Travel Planner will help with this exact activity. It is designed to quickly add other community template itineraries into your travel plan and allow customization. As a result, you can move activities and days around quickly to form a plan exactly as you envision it. Further, invite your friends and family to the plan and use the tooling to coordinate the schedule appropriately.
The value of having a plan
Planning may seem awkward and a burden to some, but aside from traveling to countries with strong economies, I don’t see your adventures going too far. Travel is an expensive affair in time and money. It crosses cultures, laws, and belief systems. Without some forethought and some idea of what you want to achieve, you will find some countries turn you around and send you home. Many activities require pre-registration and acceptance before you are allowed to travel and do that activity. A lot of the world is opening up to world tourism, and things are getting easier to travel, but you will miss a lot going with canned vacation packages, and don’t go armed with your schedule.
A plan is your golden compass
A plan is just a plan, though. It is your golden compass and helps you navigate your adventures within some time frame. However, plans change dynamically, whether it is your desire or not. Weather changes, natural disasters occur, and political tensions heat up.
The plan sometimes needs to shift. That is okay! You may think to yourself, why plan at all? It is the comfort of having that plan that will relieve some stress. Sometimes, you’ll adjust the plan and get right back to it. If your safety is threatened, abandon the plan early. Maybe you can finish the rest at a later time. Regardless, the plan helps you convey your intentions to others and gives you a strict schedule to adhere to. With the plan in your hands, you can maximize that vacation time and see many things. You can make your own pace too. It can be tuned to your exact liking.
We hope you enjoyed this article and encourage you to plan your next adventure! Start planning your trip now with Travel-Wise’s free trip-planning tools to have you on your way to your destination faster than ever!