Travelling is one of the best activities that life has to offer. There are so many new sites, sounds, foods, languages and cultures to explore and experience that it can be wonderful and overwhelming at the same time. Culture shock is a real thing that can happen when visiting unknown destinations, but there are several things that you can do to prepare yourself for the trip. 

Being prepared can help you spend more time on things that really matter, which is, of course, having fun and seeing the most of the destination.

If you do not know how to use your time wisely, your vacation can become really stressful, and you will most probably end up doing 10% of the things that you would do if you were prepared. In order to spend good, hassle-free vacations, you will have to make a lot of decisions beforehand, as well as some research. Doing so will help you make the most of your vacations' time, and see most (if not everything) on your wishlist. 

Here are some things you can do to make the absolute most out of your vacation:

Plan Ahead

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This might sound boring and tedious at first but it will result in one of the most exciting things about your vacation when you get it right. There is not a ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to traveling and travel planning. There are certain subjects that everyone will have to consider when travelling, however, it's only up to everyone's taste, so do not feel bad if your likings differ from your travel partner.

The first thing you will need to consider is how you would like to spend your vacations. Do you want to spend all of your time running around doing activities or would you like to spend your days relaxing and without a particular plan? Talk it out with whom you are traveling with and see if you can all come up with a compromise. If you are travelling with a group, you won’t have to worry about as many planning items.

Next, you have to think about the logistics. How are you going to get around once you get to your destination? What do you want to do when you get there? Will you need to rent a car for your vacation? 

After figuring these out you can move onto the more exciting aspects of your trip; what you are going to do! The activities can include food and restaurants you would like to try, architecture wonders to see, and maybe some activities such as hiking or skiing to do. You can do some research by reading books, watching videos, reading reviews and listening to podcasts.

To collect your ideas you can create a Pinterest board, make a bucket list of things you want to do or bookmark your favorite internet articles.  

Type of Travel

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At some point you will have to decide how you would like to travel. Airplane is usually the most common method of getting around. After that you can decide on renting a car, calling a taxi or other car service, bus, or public transportation. There are also different cruise options and I highly recommend you to consider the European cruises. You can take different kinds of boats if you want to go island hopping.

Budget Your Money

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There are several different ways to travel when it comes to money. There is the mentality of trying not to spend any money while travelling and on the other end of the spectrum is staying at really expensive hotels and visiting five star restaurants during the trip. There is usually a happy medium that most people find that is perfect for their situation. The best thing to do is to have an estimate for how much your vacation will cost. Try to avoid using credit cards and build up savings before you leave so you won't be completely broke when you get back from your vacation.

Prioritize

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Let’s say you are visiting France. You cannot do everything and see everything there is to see in one trip. Even if you stick to one city or area, say Paris or Avignon. Even if you woke up super early and stayed up until super late you would not be able to absolutely everything you want to do when you are there. Also you will be stressed and realize when you get back that your vacation was not as fun or as relaxing as you wanted it to be. 

If you are really into food, pick out several restaurants or even a food tour that you absolutely have to experience. Next choose out what museums or buildings you will want to see. If you are going to a museum that is huge, such as the Louvre, pick out what pieces of art and what galleries and wings you would like to see. This allows you to see the highlights of the museum and allows you to go do other activities within the city.

So, would you like a relaxing and hassle-free summer vacations' experience? Just follow the four tips above and you will be rewarded!