- Make the decision whether to have a planned trip with scheduled reservations or an unplanned trip that just gets you to your destination with no reservations along the way.
Both approaches can be fun and stress free, but the two of you need to decide this before you leave.
- If you are having a scheduled trip, keep all the important reservation information and emergency phone numbers in a folder that you keep with you at all times.
- If you are having an unplanned trip, talk about the types of places you want to stop at, what you want to do and see, and how far you hope to travel each day.
- Gather information about the locale you are visiting ahead of time. If you don't have a GPS unit, as soon as you arrive, head for a drug store or grocery store and purchase a map of the area.
- Discuss your expectations of the trip with one another. Make sure that at least one of each your hopes is fulfilled. Don't tell your spouse at the last minute that you really had your heart set on walking through the largest mall in America.
- When going through the x-ray check points in an airport, plan so that one of you goes through first with nothing valuable on the conveyor belt. Let a few other people go ahead of whoever is left holding on to the camera, laptop computer, purse, carry on, etc. This is so that by the time your belongings come through the machine, one of you is ready to retrieve the articles instead of thieves.
- Pack light. You don't need the kitchen sink on the trip nor do you need the extra baggage charges now collected by many airlines.
- Be prepared for delayed flights or down time in airports. Bring along reading material, or walk through the mini-malls that are located in many airport facilities.
- If you are driving, accept that you may hit road construction delays. Don't let these ruin your trip by being irritated at detours, etc.
- Don't cram too much into your trip. Limit the number of activities and family visits so that you actually have time to have some fun together.
- If you are driving, plan your schedule so you have time to sleep in, have a nice breakfast, time during the day to stop and see sites, time to relax a bit and/or exercise at rest areas, and time to stop early so you can see the area, rest, have a leisurely dinner, and not feel overtired from the day.
- If you have a parking ticket from the airport, make sure you both know where you put it. Also make a note of where you parked. Many cell phones have a voice memo feature you can use to save this information for later retrieval. Digging through your luggage when you arrive back home to look for the darn ticket can put a negative ending on your trip!
- Plan on having at least one nice, romantic dinner on your trip. Plan for it in your budget./li]
