Perhaps you think that the last thing you want to consider on vacation is time management. After all, you can sleep later and choose your activities. While that’s true, there are still ways that positive time management can help you to pack the most enjoyment into your vacation travel.
Air travel gets you to your destination faster and fresher, but only if you consider travel times. Avoid flying during the morning business travel times. Airplanes are crowded and you’ll spend an hour just getting thru security check at many major airports.
Better to take a mid morning or afternoon flight and sleep an extra hour or go out for brunch on the way to the airport. If you are traveling to a major city, check online for the status of your flight. You can activate a flight time alert sent to your cell phone or computer so you know instantly if your flight is delayed.
If you prefer to drive and explore small towns on the way, your trip will include long periods in the car. Traveling with children means that you need to prepare plenty of in-car activities so that you can avoid the whiners, “Are we there yet?” Allow extra time for several rest stop breaks so the children and run and play. Spending twenty minutes at each rest stop is worth more than making that extra hundred miles.
Whether you drive to your vacation destination or fly and then rent a car to get around town, bring city maps of your destination. Getting lost wastes time. Using your computer you can map routes to your hotel and nearby tourist attractions. The computer maps also give an estimated time between locations.
When you arrive at your hotel, ask the desk clerk to tell you the prime traffic times in that area. Explain where you plan to drive to and ask for suggestions on the best time to leave. Locals know the traffic flow and can suggest that you wait fifteen minutes to avoid the worst traffic jams in a certain area.
You also want to ask where to find the best gas prices. If you rented a car, make sure to note the location of a gas station nearest the airport so you can fill up on the way back. Typically gas prices go up on Friday for the weekend.
In a tourist town, gas prices may be higher than what you would pay a few miles away from the main hotel row. Don’t waste time driving around town to save a few cents, just plan ahead and get gas on the way back to the hotel in the evening.
Rather than eat at the hyped tourist oriented restaurants, ask where locals eat. You’ll find the most interesting, out of the way places that reflect the local character. Plus you usually find fantastic food at popular prices. You can also ask about restaurants that offer lower priced menu at the early bird dining hours, 4:30-6pm. So go to dinner early, save money and then plan an activity for the evening.
As you decide which theme parks or attractions to visit, you would be smart not to go to more than one per day. Exhausting your family or getting group sunburn will ruin the rest of the trip. Enjoy what you do, and build in time to relax. After all, it’s your vacation.
