The year is slipping by us and we’re already in March! It’s semi-crazy to me how fast the time is already going in 2015 but that makes it all the more important to cement your 2015 travel plans in the coming months. Once the time starts going, it’s often hard to really make plans, as life gets crazy and busy, we tend to push things aside. So now is the perfect time to take a weekend and sit down and plan out your travels for the rest of the year! Here’s the travel plans you should be making now…
Book Your Summer Escape
Now is the time to cement those Summer travel plans. With schools out and so many people opting to travel during the Summer, you should be booking your hotels and flights now to get better deals and to make sure you get the selection you want. The longer your wait, the more expensive it will be.
Sign Up for Global Entry
If you haven’t heard of Global Entry, I did a post on it a while ago and you can read it here. In short, this is a government program in the US that basically pre-screens your for security and immigration, so when you go through security, it’s the quick line without having to take off shoes and coats and such. It also allows you to go to a Kiosk at Immigration when returning to the US from overseas, which saves a tremendous amount of time and you never have to wait in the long Immigration lines. It’s saved us so much time over the years, I love this program and more and more airports are becoming part of it, so now is the time to do it!
Plan a Fall Getaway
If you’re looking at a Fall getaway later this year, start figuring out where you want to go and researching flights. We’re looking at a New York escape for our 10 year anniversary in October and I’m beginning to do all the research so I know how much flights are looking like. Now is the time to start planning any getaway you want to make later this year.
Start Looking at Holiday Plans
I know this seems super early, but in all honesty, if you’re going to be traveling over Thanksgiving and Christmas, now would be a great time to figure out where you think you’ll be headed and start looking at prices. If you can get a good baseline of flight costs for a few months now, you’ll know later what you should be paying. Also, if you’re traveling and will need a hotel over Christmas, start planning that now. Hotels book up fast around Christmas time, especially in popular spots, so start looking!
Start Thinking About Spring 2016
It’s never too early to start thinking about next years’ destinations as well… so start brainstorming and making mental lists of destinations you might want to consider for Spring 2016! Let the inspiration flow…
Kristin says
Yes, yes, yes to Global Entry! It will save you so much time and annoyance at the airport, especially when you’re going back and forth from overseas! I’m doing all of this, and looking at the best times for award travel. I have a ton of points racked up and it would be terrible to not get to use them on something fun!
Casey says
Isn’t is amazing… saves us so much time!!! And I can’t wait to see where you guys end up using all your miles 🙂
Kristin says
It’s hard to choose, because we have about three not-yet-booked trips we’re trying to plan. I’m hoping we can get to Japan this year, and ideally during cherry blossom time, but we’ll see what happens!
Casey says
I bet! And that would be amazing to do Japan for cherry blossom season!!!
socalledhomemaker says
These are some really great tips! I cannot wait until I have the money to travel more.
Casey says
Thanks! Saving definitely needs to happen before these! 🙂
Macy Gutermuth says
I am going to look into Global Entry, that sounds perfect! I pretty much have 2016 planned, we just need to wait for a deal to Japan to come up!
Casey says
It’s such a great program and has saved us so much time over the years! And love that you’re headed to Japan… that’s high on my list!
Kaelene @ Unlocking Kiki says
I will definitely have to check out Global Entry!
Casey says
Yes! It’s such a fantastic program… not sure if you have to be a US resident or not… so you should definitely look into it!
Maria Larsen says
Slowly but surely, I’m trying to plan my travel out for basically the next year. I totally agree with planning now more so than later.
Casey says
Nice! It’s so much easier to get the planning started and going… so much less stress later!
nearly30 says
Good list! I always try to plan as much as possible in advance!
Casey says
Me too! It makes things so much easier later!
Jennifer @This Off Script Life says
I’ve booked my travel through June, but it’s good advice to start looking into Thanksgiving now (especially if you’re returning to the U.S. from abroad). And congrats on your upcoming 10 wedding anniversary! I love New York in the fall.
Casey says
Yes! Start looking at your holiday plans because they can get so expensive later on!