Set Your Travel Goals and Work on Achieving Them

Set Your Travel Goals and Work on Achieving Them 
With another year in the bag and already a quarter of 2018 already gone, you tell yourself that this is the year you’re finally going to realize your travel plans. Whether they are part of your bucket list or a dream destination, you need to stop putting it off and get planning. As we’ve mentioned previously on Absolutely Amazing Travel, the best way to start is to set a goal, start saving, and provide shape to your plan. Once you start visualizing what you’d like to do and where you’d like to go, the pieces will fall into place.

Set a Destination Goal
It’s always difficult to pick just one place to see every year, especially when most people have limited vacation time, alongside work and family commitments.  Daring to Live Fully recommend choosing one place and making a solid commitment to visit that specific place. Think about which trip might be the least expensive right now if money is tight, or which destination is geographically closer. Perhaps you have a relative in a country you’ve been meaning to visit or a friend who can guide you around. When you start thinking about some of the things that may seem like obstacles, you’ll find that they really aren’t.

Book Time Off
Seems like a no-brainer, right? Well, sometimes we forget to do the most obvious things. One of the priority tasks when planning your getaway is booking your vacation time at work.  Travel Savvy Gal explains that you should start blocking off travel time as early as possible in the new year. Many people keep putting it off, weeks end up turning into months, and they find that they’ve accomplished none of their goals. It’s never too early to start getting organized and marking your travel plans on your calendar.

Start Saving
While money is essential for your travel plans, as it can be exchanged for goods and services, some destinations may not be as expensive as you think they are. Early on get a general idea of what your trip might cost you; include flights, accommodations, transportation and food. One way to ensure you have enough is to start a dedicated savings account, according to this how-to by the Work Away Blog. This way you can make sure you’ve put away dedicated funds for your trip, without the temptation to spend it on something else.

More Bang for Your Buck
Now that you’ve set a goal, booked your time off and have money, what's next? How can you maximize that money and stretch it as far as possible? Always look for deals on flights and accommodations. When booking your flights online make sure you compare prices from different websites; sometimes identical flights will be cheaper on some sites compared to others. Accommodations are notorious for fetching wildly different nightly rates depending on the provider, so make sure you shop around.

Whether you’re fulfilling your bucket list or scheduling an annual trip, planning all the details can be a little daunting. So, whether you plan to do a cross-country trip, relax on a tropical beach or visit a new country, the time to plan is now. An article by Lottoland entitled ‘The Cost of Completing a Bucket List’ details how much you should be planning to save in order to visit ionic landmarks like the Taj Mahal in India. Don’t let the cost put your off either; as we’ve already mentioned some destinations may be cheaper than you think. A flight to India might set you back $1,500 depending on the carrier, but once you get there, food, accommodation and transportation will cost you very little. So, stop making excuses and go plan your getaway. Why are you still here? Go now.