6 Tips to Turn Your Trip Into a Fun, Joyful (and Rejuvenating) Experience   

Travel can be an amazing experience. However, it can also be a burdensome process to turn vacation dreams into a reality: you’ve spent countless hours Pinning, Trip Advising, Googling and Kayaking…so now  it’s time to stop agonizing! Whatever stage of the process you are in, here are some tips to keep you sane.

Be Choosy
Be selective from the beginning, about your destination. This will help drive some major savings. When you aren’t bound by a specific destination, consider chasing the price – as opposed to the hottest locale. As an added bonus, you may come across destinations that weren’t even on your travel list. This works well when you have flexible travel dates, since you don’t know which month may have the best deal.

Carefree Travel Tip: Use a search engine like skyscanner.com. It will let you search from your city to “everywhere” — and instead of selecting specific travel dates, will allow you to search for the cheapest month. 

Embrace the Shoulder Season
This is all about the timing.  In the travel industry, the “shoulder season” (translation: the sweet spot just before or after the peak travel season) is considered to be April through mid-June, and September through

November, depending on your destination. Because it is a less popular time to travel, it can offer some huge perks such as fewer crowds, great weather, and deals on accommodation and airfare. The savings can add up fast.

Carefree Travel Tip: Reinvest that money toward additional travel, splurge for upgrades you otherwise wouldn’t have, or just save it for a rainy day. The choice is yours! 

Multi-City Travel is Your Friend
Consider looking into “multi-city travel.” It may seem counterintuitive, but getting from point A to point B may involve adding on stops anyway.  So why not take advantage of this? The purpose of travel is to see the world…thus, see as much of it as you can.

Carefree Travel Tip: Search sites often have a “multi-city” checkbox that will let you play with multiple destinations. If that seems too intimidating, try using a site that will do the work for you like tripmasters.com. The possibilities are endless.

Evaluate, then Re-Evaluate
When you holistically think about your trip, pick what you absolutely can’t live without — and then compromise on the rest. Whether you decide you can afford an all-inclusive luxury resort or prefer to spring for a cozy Airbnb, evaluate what your true needs are. When it comes to amenities, are you really going to remember that your hotel had one swim-up Tiki bar, not two? Do you even want a bar you can swim up to? What about fancy meals? Maybe street food will suffice; oftentimes, food-truck fare is as good as or better than sit down meals. Do you want to be close to local attractions or off the beaten path? Ask yourself these types of questions.

Carefree Travel Tip: Cut costs where you can, and don’t look back. What is one person’s “must-have” is another person’s “don’t care.” Pick what matters to you.  

Seek out Simple Activities
Get lost on purpose. Spend one day exploring with no goal in mind. This is both fun and free.  Grab a map and jot down your hotel info (in case you need to get a cab back) and start walking. Be mindful not to overlook everyday attractions such as local parks, libraries, and city architecture, all of which can be hidden gems.

Carefree Travel Tip: Get adventurous. As clichéd as it sounds, truly enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells around you. Explore shops, grab a coffee, or ask a local what they like to do.

Unplug
You’ve spent all this time getting to your destination. Now, it’s time to enjoy it. Really allow yourself to relax and digitally detox.

Carefree Travel Tip: Don’t become a slave to your Instagram or Twitter account. Just be.

At the end of the day, the goal is to have a getaway, and to get away. If you find yourself worrying, remember that there is no perfect way to travel.  Do what is best for you, your budget and your interests. Save where you can, and use it to further integrate travel into your life. Make it routine. Don’t let years go by before your next escape. Plan your next trip today!