Start your planning early. There are activities that attract you to a specific location -- such as Disney World in Orlando, Broadway shows in New York City or the Coca-Cola Museum in Atlanta -- but knowing what is available is only half the battle. You must plan ahead to have the time to enjoy the many attractions available to you. Visiting aggregate travel sites that allow you to search for and purchase tickets for these attractions while you book your hotel, flight and rental car. You can also find detailed information on things to do and see near your hotel. For example, San Juan, Puerto Rico, offers the El Yunque Rainforest Tour. This may be an unfamiliar destination for those who have never been to Puerto Rico, but you can gather useful information on cost, time commitment, hours of operation and appropriate attire from the comfort of your home computer.
Simplify your planning. The good and bad of most vacation destinations is that they offer so many activities. Once you figure where to find them, it can be a daunting task to visit all of the sites you are interested in, especially if you want to make the most of your long-overdue vacation. Keeping in mind your time, budget, interest, location and partner or family, list the top three to five things you would like to do or see. Rank those sites from most important to least important and commit to visiting, seeing or doing all of them. Everything else, just ignore; you can put those on the list for a return visit.
Relax and be flexible with your plans. It can be easy to get sidetracked on a vacation, but be willing to change plans if it makes sense at the time. If the restaurant you were dying to try has an excessively long wait, it might be best to visit your second choice and try the first restaurant on another night. You may have the willingness and resources to do everything, but you probably won't have the time to do it all.
Communicate with your travel companion(s). You don't want to leave your partner or family out of the planning process, so make sure you communicate with them along the way. You may think that what you have in mind will be universally accepted, but that may not be the case. Communicate with your family about what is available to see and do and let everyone be a part of the process.
Pack what you will need. Whether you will be finishing your new book, traversing a mountain trail, eating marshmallows by a campfire or skiing in a foreign country, spend some time making sure you have everything you need for your vacation. Visit sites where you can print out checklists on planning, having the right gear, luggage restrictions and other information you need.
Enjoy yourself. Being productive on vacation is different than being productive while mowing your lawn; keep that in mind as you make the most of your vacation. Don't forget to have fun!
