You may have heard frequent vacationers raving about how they had the time of their lives on a completely spontaneous travel plan. Before you start dreaming of switching lives with them and going on an unplanned trip, note these things:

  1. They might be young and accompanied by friends when they did that. You might have to travel independentlyor with your kids.
  2. They may have a bigger budget to play around with. You may be strapped for cash and have to make economical choices.
  3. They may travel frequently and know the do’s and don’ts of traveling at the back of their hands, so spontaneity can work for them.

Unless you check all these requirements, you need to plan a vacation before you book your flights. It puts your mind at ease, minimizes minor errors that can become major, and prepares you for emergencies. Otherwise, there’s a lot that can go wrong.

Forgetting Travel Documents

This is the most disruptive consequence of not planning well in advance. Let’s say the airport is 20 minutes away from your home, with traffic the commute could take you about 45 minutes. Forgetting your passport or identity documents at home can do a lot of damage.

It’s hard enough to race against time by making a quick trip back home and reaching in time for your flight. And even if you miraculously do, you might forget something else in the cab in a hurry to check-in. Best case scenario, you might not get the seat of your choice, be it a window seat or one by the aisle.

This may seem like a minor inconvenience, but if it’s a long flight, you can feel sick because of migraines, motion sickness, or sitting with a noisy family. If you had planned ahead of time, you could’ve stored all the essential documents in one place and only picked them before leaving the house. It would save you a lot of time and trouble, allowing you to start your trip the right way.

Check Flight Schedules

If you’re flying from one holiday destination to the next, you’ll be traveling from your hotel to the local airport for the first time. This is a new experience if you’re visiting this country for the first time. There can be many delays and detours if you don’t know the shortest way to the airport. On top of that, if you forget to check flight schedules before checking out of your hotel, it can become a big hassle.

You don’t have a home or friends to go back to if the flight is delayed by more than a few hours. In the best-case scenario, you’ll have to wait in the airport lobby. And worst case—if the flight gets canceled—try your luck finding rooms at local inns until you can book the next flight. All of this trouble multiplies by the number of dependents who are traveling with you. Three kids can mean three times the trouble, so plan wisely!

Spending Too Much and Running Out of Money

You’re allowed to have a YOLO holiday mood but not when it comes to money. You might have saved for months, maybe years, to plan a trip to your favorite country. Blowing off all that money on unchecked shopping and other expenses can leave you stranded penniless in a foreign country.

It’s crucial to have a spending plan in mind before you reserve an amount for your holiday expenses. Make sure you keep track of daily expenses and keep your accounts clear. Hold back on buying souvenirs if you’re short on cash, and reserve some extra dollars for emergencies.

Looking for a travel agency that can help you plan? We’re a Polish travel agency that offers guided independent tours to Poland and other holiday destinations. We provide escorted tours to Poland, Baltics, and Lithuania along with car rental service for easy transportation. Call us at 413-747-7702 if you’re interested in planning a trip soon.