How To Plan Your Summer Vacation

Planning your summer vacation can be one of the best parts of a trip. But as fun as it is to plan, there are many people who struggle with it. How do you you do this right? And don’t just go to a beach! I know everyone wants to go to the beach, but have you ever considered visiting some new places?

You spend your workdays dreaming about the weekends and vacations you get to enjoy during the summer months. Whether it’s relaxing by the pool on Friday afternoons or exploring a new state with friends over the July 4th weekend, summer vacation is an opportunity for you to unplug from your hectic life for a little while.

We all have dreams and one of the biggest ones for a majority of people is a summer vacation. You’ve got to get out of the busy schedule you’ve been in for the past year and get some rest. Look back on your childhood years and remember that magical feeling you got when you looked at clouds, heard the sound of water, saw animals, and thought on how awesome summer plans were. Summer is here, and if you’re anything like me, you got a week or two off. That’s the opportunity for you to take some time away from your normal daily routine and have some fun. There are plenty of destinations that provide you with places to relax and get in touch with yourself (or other people…that depends on how extreme you become). Some of the locations I might recommend would be: Wisconsin Dells, Orlando Disney World, Las Vegas, or Disney Land – also known as Anaheim, California. If those locations are a little much (or out of your price range), there is never a bad time to visit a beach house. I’ve helped many groups find inexpensive vacation spots to those looking to travel abroad but not ready to carry around foreign currency. I hope this helps…oh yeah…and Happy New Year!

It might be cold, wet and windy outside the uni library, but it’s never too early to start planning your summer vacation.

One of the major perks of university life is the long summer breaks, and it’s important to take advantage of them before you enter the real world, whether that means backpacking around South America or lazing on the white sands of Ibiza.

How To Plan Your Summer Vacation

Read on to discover our top tips for how to make the most of your summer vacation and plan the best trip ever.

What sort of summer vacation do I want?

Before you start planning for anything else, you should decide what kind of summer vacation you want to take – or even how many trips you want to take! As a student with a long summer vacation, the world is your oyster, provided you plan for it effectively.

If you’re the adventurous type, think about travelling with a company like Real Gap Experience, Outlook Expeditions or World Challenge. Group travel with a company takes away a lot of the hassle of planning an itinerary, with much of your trip organized by local experts.

This is particularly useful if you’re travelling to a far-flung, unfamiliar location as the company can advise you on visas, currency conversions and vaccinations.

Most of these companies base trips around helping local communities, whether through wildlife conservation, teaching English, or helping with building projects. Not only will this mean you’ll be giving back to the place you’re visiting, but it’ll also give you valuable life experience.

Groups are usually formed of about 10-20 people, meaning you’re likely to make lots of new friends. It’s also a great way of travelling independently but not alone.

If you’re living or studying in Europe, consider InterRailing. This is where you buy a ticket that allows you to travel around Europe via train for a set period. It’s more environmentally friendly than travelling via plane and allows you to see multiple countries in a much more scenic way.

InterRailing is budget-friendly – tickets start at €185 for travel to over 40,000 places in 33 countries, making it perfect for those of you who want to fit in as much sightseeing as possible. You have the freedom to customize your own itinerary and aren’t strictly bound by travel arrangements, provided you stick to the terms of your ticket (you can see more about various ticket types here).

You could also combine travelling with working and learning new skills. Workaway connects travelers with individuals, families and organizations around the world who provide bed and board in exchange for voluntary work. This can range from childcare in Italy, helping to run a surf hostel in Namibia, to farming in Nepal – there truly is something for everyone.

How should I budget for my trip?

As a student, budgeting for your summer vacation (and everything else, to be honest) is a necessary evil. But with some careful planning and clever bargain hunting, you can have an amazing trip without breaking the bank.

Plan your itinerary smartly. If you’re visiting cities, many attractions like museums and galleries will offer reduced or free admission at certain times (in Europe, this is often the first Sunday of the month). Bring your student ID along to get discounted rates at other times – some countries even do reduced rates for under-25s, regardless of student status, so make sure you have proof of age.

Eat away from the main tourist drag to get cheaper, and often far superior, meals. The same goes for accommodation – if you’re visiting somewhere with good public transport links, consider staying outside of the city center to save money. Try Airbnb or Couchsurfing to find cheap (or free!) rooms in cities across the world.

Hostels are a perennial favorite of the broke student – you can stay in dormitory-style accommodation for an extra cheap trip or share with friends in a private room if you want a bit more personal space.

Try and book hostels with shared kitchen facilities so you don’t have to eat out for every meal – using communal spaces can also be a great way to meet other travelers and socialize.

When it comes to booking travel, it’s no surprise that booking in advance is usually much cheaper. For flights, set up alerts on websites such as Skyscanner or Secret Flying to get the cheapest prices for your chosen dates. If you’re travelling within a country or continent, coach or train travel is often a lot cheaper than flying (and often much less hassle).

When should I take my vacation?

Students get long summer breaks (up to four months in the UK, for example), so you have a lot of freedom when it comes to deciding when to take your vacation. Flights and accommodation are more expensive in July and August as families take summer breaks, so you might be able to get some good deals at the start or end of your summer vacation in June or September.

You might want to take advantage of your long break to earn some cash to fund your holiday, and to get some valuable experience on your CV. It can seem boring to be working when everyone else is having fun in the sun, but more money means more mojitos on the beach when you do finally go away!

Get Everyone on Board with the Destination

I find that if there is someone in our family who isn’t keen on where we’re going, things can get a bit difficult. Make sure the itinerary includes something each person wants to do or make concessions accordingly.

We’re staying a bit out of the way in Crete because the resort we chose has a number of water sports and a cool pool for my daughter who at age 9 is not that keen on Greek history (yet).

Find the Best Flights

Be sure to clear your browser each time you search for flights. The airlines are sneaky like that and it’s not unheard of for prices to go up based on search habits in order to panic you into booking. It happened to me just a few weeks ago to the tune of about $100 per person.

In planning our European adventure, I found that Google Flights was able to pick up budget carriers that travel sites like Expedia could not. Perhaps it’s because Google is not a travel agent but rather directs users directly to the airline for booking. So, I now search routes for best prices with Google Flights.

Also, TSA airport lines are expected to be quite awful this summer due to an increased number of travelers and understaffing. Based on what I saw last weekend while passing through both San Diego International Airport and DFW, this is likely to be true.

Hurry up and apply for Global Entry to skip airport queues (truthfully, it might be too late but I’m an advocate of travelers having this so look into it anyway). Also, plan a decent layover to avoid missing a connecting flight.

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Chart Your Itinerary and Print Back-Ups

With seven sets of flights, six hotels, and four countries, staying organized is totally key and admittedly challenging.

I first go old-school by sketching everything out by the day on a piece of paper so that I can draw arrows, make chicken-scratch notes and other changes before inputting a final itinerary into a Google calendar as I book it. (Yes, there are travel apps for this but frankly, they’ve never worked for me.)

As someone guilty of running down phone batteries, I always keep printed copies of airline tickets and other reservations just in case I can’t access them digitally. It is also wise to securely scan and upload a copy of passports or other ID to a cloud for easy access anywhere in the world in case of loss.

Stay Healthy and Hydrated

I pack everyone’s usual daily vitamins and some healthy snacks like granola bars for each journey. I also make sure we stay hydrated in summer heat. During the times plain old water gets tiresome (when you need so much of it while hiking or on a beach), we opt for sparkling water like Sparkling Ice Essence of Water, which is comes in 4 natural flavors. Staying hydrated is also key for beating jet lag.

Sleep is critical to overall happiness and for keeping our immune systems in check during travel but can be difficult in hotel rooms. I always pack an eye mask to block out unexpected light (great also for adjusting to jet lag) and earplugs just in case.

Carry hand sanitizers and antibacterial wipes to quickly wipe down airplane armrests and things you might touch for long periods of time. Getting sick on vacation can ruin it (here’s how to stay healthy on vacation). I also pack pain reliever and fever reducer that is age-appropriate for all of us, just in case.

Make Lists and Use Packing Cubes

It’s a bummer to forget something important. I used to be a constant leaver of toiletries at home and in hotel room showers. Making a list of essentials that I actually keep in my makeup bag to tick off each time I depart somewhere has prevented me from forgetting expensive face soap and razors in showers more than once.

I’m also a recent convert to packing cubes, especially when bouncing from place to place. People use them to organize outfits by day, but I find it helpful to pack t-shirts in one, leggings in another, etc. to help keep my suitcase organized.

Find Packable Toys and Travel Games for the Kids

Headed to the beach? These days, packable sand and water toys can include collapsible buckets, small Waboba balls (they bounce on water… highly recommend for exercise), inflatable pool toys and much more.

I really do need to make a list of best travel games for kids to share, but my 9-year-old currently loves traveling with Mad Libs, Spot It! cards, Bananagrams and other compact games that are great for road trips and hotel rooms.

See also: Best Travel Games for Kids

Let (Some) Things Slide

It’s tough to keep some rules that are non-negotiable at home in force while on the road especially when kids are in tow. I let my daughter use the iPad for longer than usual while on planes and road trips. There might be a bit more dessert ordered and later bedtimes.

Flexibility goes a long way when people are out of their normal routines. Take a deep breath, have a refreshing sip, and let (some) things slide.