Planning ahead with a travel advisor lets you set up your next vacation and safeguard your mental well-being.
Too much time in life is spent waiting. Waiting for work to get less crazy. Waiting for when we’re not so tired. Waiting for tomorrow. The problem is that, while we wait, life starts to escape us. Time, as the Steve Miller Band famously said, “keeps on slipping into the future.” And the vacation you’ve promised yourself keeps slipping away.
What suffers most when we procrastinate is our mental health. After more than two dragging years of the pandemic, burnout is practically unavoidable. Exhaustion creeps in little by little. Pressure presses in from all angles, but the more overwhelmed we feel, the harder it becomes to focus and, eventually, to bring ourselves to care.
Before you get to that point, grab the reins on time. Refuse to put off putting yourself first—a struggle for many of us—and take the break you clearly need. Give yourself permission to be present in the moment, just for a moment, and turn half-baked dreams of a beach somewhere and a few days off work into an actionable plan.
Here are our three easy steps for keeping your trip a source of anticipation, not anxiety.
- Book with a travel advisor.
Your advisor is your own personal travel advocate. Not only can they get you the best deal, but they take on all the work of planning. They break down the latest health and safety requirements for your destination and your hometown. They know all about the places and hotels you want to see and stay in. They have connections unavailable to regular travelers, which means if you find yourself in a sticky situation, they can resolve it in no time. To put it simply, with all the moving parts involved in a vacation now, travel advisors are essential.
- Plan at least three months in advance.
Spontaneous trips can be great … but they can also mean more tension. Planning your travels 90 days in advance or more removes the strain of having to make a decision now. The more time you leave yourself, the more you have to pool over hotels, talk to your advisor about tours, and save extra spending money. Plus, with most properties still under full capacity due to COVID, they’re filling up sooner. Booking even a year ahead is becoming part of the new normal as travelers refuse to compromise on getting what they want after waiting so long.
- Purchase travel insurance.
The top stressor for traveling by far is what happens to your vacation if you need to change your dates or cancel altogether. Adding insurance that allows you to cancel for any reason, like our Travel Protection Plus, to your package ensures that no matter what pops up, your trip won’t become another thing to worry about. Be sure to ask your advisor to explain—in detail—everything that’s included. You might be surprised how far your coverage goes; quarantine hotel stays, medical expenses, baggage delay, and hurricane credits are all bundled into our plan.
Stop living in the waiting line. Spend your time making memories you’ll value much more, and much longer, than the daily grind.
