Vacation planning has been part of my life for more than 30 years.
I started planning trips when I was 20, before the internet made travel information easy to find. At 24, I planned my first European vacation largely using travel books. Over the years, I became the person in my family who planned the vacations, then the person friends, family and coworkers came to with travel questions.
The question I hear more than any other is:
“Where do I start?”
A lifetime of seeing the world
- Countries & territories
- 66
- U.S. states
- 34
- Continents
- 7
- Cruises
- 31
From finding information to making sense of it
The vacation planning problem has changed dramatically since I started traveling. Back then, it was difficult to find enough information. Today, travelers have the opposite problem. There are endless websites, travel videos, reviews and recommendations.
People can spend hours watching amazing videos about a destination and still have no idea whether they should go there, when they should go, what flights will cost or whether that vacation actually works for the people traveling.
A process shaped by real family vacations
I have always been organized, and my work in my 20s included a lot of project management. Without deliberately trying to create a vacation planning process, I started applying those same skills to travel.
Over dozens of family trips, that approach evolved.
I planned vacations when my children were babies, then as they became teenagers. I traveled with older family members. I planned around school schedules, different budgets, different interests, different travel styles and mobility limitations. I planned for small groups and groups as large as 18.
Vacation planning works like a puzzle
Eventually, I realized the fundamentals of vacation planning work like a puzzle.
The major pieces are:
Where
Where are you going?
When
When are you going?
What type
What type of vacation are you taking?
Who
With whom are you traveling?
Wallet impact
What is the wallet impact?
The size of each puzzle piece changes depending on the trip.
For my family, "When" has often been a big piece because my children were in school and my husband is a teacher. "Where" is also important because one of the things I love most about traveling is experiencing somewhere new.
Once you start putting those major pieces together systematically, a lot of the noise disappears. Then you can spend more time on the most enjoyable part of planning: deciding what you want to experience when you get there.
Travel is also deeply personal to me
When I was a teenager, my dad told me I should see the world because it would change how I saw it. He passed away shortly afterward, but he ignited the spark that got me traveling.
He was right
Seeing the world changes the way you understand and experience it.
Learn a process you can use again and again
I do not simply want to plan vacations for other people. Vacation planning itself can be personal and rewarding. There is something special about researching a place, deciding what you want to experience and then actually standing somewhere you once only read about.
I want people to learn a vacation planning process they can use again and again so they can keep traveling.
I created Vacation Planning Help because I want people to experience all of the amazing things our world has to offer.