People love to go on vacation. Who doesn't, the sun, the ocean, the relaxation. But how do you decide where to go, make the right decision, get the best price? This can be a bit overwhelming, but with some research and guidelines, you can be confident that you will have a wonderful experience.
The most important step is to narrow down your parameters as much as possible. When dealing with a travel agent or booking your own vacation, the more specific the easier this will be for both of you. I receive calls everyday with people who "just want to go somewhere warm" or "somewhere in the Caribbean." Please realize that the Caribbean is a very big place with dozens of islands. Your travel agent probably wants to do you bodily harm right about now with statements like that!
First, decide on a budget and be realistic. This may help you to narrow down your choices of places to visit.
Tip: The smaller the island, the higher the price. This happens for two reasons: airlines and competition. The smaller islands such as Turks and Caicos, Aruba, or St. Lucia have small airports. The airlines have a harder time getting into these places, do not have multiple stops everyday, and therefore a much higher fare. These islands also do not have the competition resulting from dozens of resorts operating in the same area that tends to drive the price down.
On the opposite end, you have places like Cancun, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic that have every major airline flying several times a day and tons of resorts all competing for your business. So, if you are on a tight budget, try to pick a resort at one of the larger destinations.
Next, decide on when and how long you wish to stay. Contrary to popular belief, resorts operate on a nightly rate. You do not have to stay 7 nights to get the best deal.
Tip: If you are flexible in your dates, try to leave on a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday opposed to a Friday, Saturday, Sunday. The air rates tend to be much less when leaving mid-week. Try to leave out of a major airport rather than a small local one. Even if you have to drive a bit, it may be worth a substantial amount of money.
Tip: Look into charter flights. Charter flights are operated out of most major cities. They run one scheduled route, are direct flights, and are very inexpensive. And no, you do not fly on "puddle jumpers." They are major airlines full size planes that are operated by a charter company during high seasons.
FYI: Traveling over certain times of the year will be much more expensive. These times are over Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Presidents Day Weekend, Spring Break, and 4th of July. Everybody wants to go away for the holidays, the airlines know this and make you pay for this. Try to leave several days before the holiday rather than just a day or two, it will make a big difference in the airfare.
With your budget and destination in mind, you now have to decide on a resort. Your budget will help you narrow your choices down. It is good to research the resorts and make sure they have the activities and amenities you are looking for. Pay attention to star ratings on the sites you are researching. They are a good indication of the resorts, but can be very subjective. Every site will have different ratings for the same resort. Don't get too hung up on this, but if a resort you are interested in has about the same rating everywhere you look, you should feel confident that it is accurate.
Tip: When staying at an all-inclusive resort, the more restaurants it has, typically the better the place is. You are going to be staying at this resort for a good amount of time. The food is very important! You do not want to be stuck eating at the same two restaurants for a week. Talk about getting burned out real quick.
Be compromising! If staying for as long as you can within your budget is most important, pick a 3-4 star resort. There are some very nice moderately priced resorts in the Caribbean that will allow you to stay for a longer time while staying within your budget and having a fantastic vacation.
If staying at a 4.5-6 star resort is most important, stay for a shorter amount of time. If a week at a 5 star resort blows your budget, see about staying 4 or 5 nights. You will still have an amazing vacation at a high scale resort, but not break the bank doing so.
So now you have a resort in mind, how do you know you are getting the best price? Several places advertise "last minute deals." These really don't exist for resorts. Resorts have no problem selling their rooms and don't need to drastically cut their prices. Of course, they have sales and reduced rates, but you are not going to stay at an all-inclusive resort for a week for $100. I like to compare it to a cruise. A cruise is going to sail regardless if they have sold all their cabins or not. They might as well sell the cabin at a lower rate. Something is better than nothing right?
My clients always ask me "when should I book this?" I always recommend the same thing. If you know what you want, book it now. As the departure date gets closer, the availability goes down at the resort and the price goes up, especially with airfare. This will avoid being disappointed if the flights or resort you spent all that time choosing is not available anymore.
Most public websites that allow you to book your own vacation are not quite as forthcoming with their prices as others. Be careful when using these sites. The prices you find should include all the taxes and transfers to and from the airport. Some sites give you an inital price that looks great, so you proceed to book it and once you get to the last screen to enter your credit card information, the price is several hundred dollars higher. Not such a good deal now huh?
Tip: Be sure you are comparing apples to apples from various sites. Any deviation such as dates, flights, or room categories can severely adjust the overall price.
Of course, it is always wise to seek out a travel professional that knows the industry and can help you make sense of your research. However, to quote Jerry Meguire "help me help you." Please at the least have your dates, budget, and destination in mind when speaking to a travel agent. You have no idea how much that helps us find the perfect vacation that you have in mind.
I hope this will help you on your journey of choosing the perfect vacation. More to come later!
The Happy Traveler!
