5 Travel Mistakes You Don't Realize You're Making

Planning trips and vacations can be a very fun and stressful process. My favorite part of vacation is the packing, I love the feeling of knowing that I am getting ready to get on that road trip, or on that plane in just a few days and knowing the relaxation that is ahead of me.

On the other hand…what about all the things leading up to the vacation, and I'm talking about the things you think you covered…and then when you get to your destination, you remember you forgot. Here's a list of the top 6 travel mistakes you don't realize you're making.

1. Booking flights too far in advance. It is always important to keep an eye on your flights and buy when you think it is cheapest, but sometimes booking flights a year in advance or even 6 months in advance is too far. The airlines know that people will book their big vacations way in advance, so most of their sales or $49.00 flights will be a couple months, if not weeks before your vacation. I have done this several times where I have booked a flight and then a month later the prices decrease and I am stuck with my expensive ticket. I use an app on my phone called 'Hopper.' You add where you want to travel and the dates you are looking, and it keeps track of the prices and suggests when you should buy and if it will be the lowest prices until your trip. This has been a savior on different occasions.
   
   
2. Not alerting your bank you are travelling. Oh, man! I just made this mistake on my last trip to Texas and Las Vegas. I completely blanked and thought, it is not international, why would my credit card tag me on that? Nope. I was completely wrong. After I came home from Texas, my credit card company shut it off and said there was fraudulent charges and while in Vegas, my card got shut down after trying to pay for the taxi. Needless to say, no matter where you travel to…even if it is just across the state, tell your card companies!
   
   
3. Overpacking. Simple as that. We have all done it, we probably most likely still do it. I do it all the time, and then I have to pay for a bag and then I get irritated. Even on my most recent trips, I still have packed WAY more than I even care to admit. Most of us, need one nice outfit, two comfortable outfits, and maybe a couple of pairs of shoes. We could really all fit that into a carry on…and hey, more room for souvenirs! ;)
   
   
4. Not keeping track of your reservations. As silly as this sounds, it actually happens more often than not. After working in a hotel for 10 years, I would love to count the minutes it took 85% of my guests to find their reservation or what name it was under…etc. Always print out your confirmations, or have them handy on a separate folder on your phone, that way it is easiest to grab them, and you are not scavenging around for them at the front counters.
   
   
5. Packing too many activities into one trip. Don't overload yourself. This is vacation! As much as you want to see everything and do everything, you just won't be able to. You will find yourself even more stressed out and when you come home, you will find that you were to focused on vacation to really even remember the trip. I have been to Vegas on multiple occasions, and I always say…that will be another reason to come back again! Sometimes you can fit everything in one trip, and that is amazing, but don't stress out if you can't…there is always another trip waiting for the next year!

Do not forget why you are going on vacation…to RELAX! Enjoy the time you have with everyone that is going with you, and take these tips to really enjoy the trip that you have planned.

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