[ 2012 ] How far ahead are your trips planned?

Luvstotravel · Dec 2, 2012

I have a trip planned for Feb., that I booked in August 2011. (Silver Lake, Orlando, Fl.)

We have one booked for June of 2013, we booked it in May of 2012. (Smuggler's Notch, Vt.)

I booked one for the week after Christmas 2013, and booked it this past October. (Massanutten, Va.)

And finally, in July, I booked a week for June of 2014. (Hilton Head, Sc.)

How far ahead do others plan? We exchanged a week 51 timeshare for this year to get the Feb. trip, and also exchanged the same week for 2013, and squeezed out the other 3 trips from it. We will use our timeshare in 2014! I like having my trips planned out far in advance, but almost no one I know plans that far out. Most people I know don't plan for more than a month in advance.

phyllispsu · Dec 2, 2012

I try to book as far out as i can. I'm looking for a getaway for thanksgiving in 2013. I've already booked my summer vacation (Palm Springs,Ca) for June 2013.I wont to go somewhere in March 2013. I'm trying to get an exchange for Hawaii in 2014.I don't have any school age children so me and my husband plan around what deals we can find.

Passepartout · Dec 2, 2012

We usually start the process 6-to 9 months out but sometimes over a year- like taking the school-age grands to Hawaii- and the planning gets more detailed as departure gets closer. By 45 days out, a trip is pretty well mapped out. We usually have 3-4 trips in various stages of planning.

'Course there are exceptions. Sometimes one pops up 'last minute' that we just slip into the lineup and go. Cruises are like that. They don't take a lot of planning, and there are such huge last minute deals that it's no hassle.

Jim

talkamotta · Dec 2, 2012

Sometimes I will be looking for one vacation and another place will grab my attention. A place that I have always wanted to go to but could never get in. It happend a couple of years ago and I was able to get 2 weeks back to back in Banff. I booked that resort 2 years ahead of time. I just booked one of my weeks for July 2014 tonight. That can be a good idea as I think some resorts will just dump vacant weeks into rci or II.

Im retired now, but when I was working, we did our vacation schedule in October for the next year. So I did it a year in advance then. Now Im more flexible. If you use ff miles then thats usually a year in advance.

I combined a bunch of odd points and 2 resorts and came up with 89 RCI tpus. That was like money in my pocket or better yet my favorite ice cream in the freezer, it kept calling to me. Booked a week in May and a week in November last week. Im always looking, its my thing, others arent so interested. My family thinks Im crazy until they get to go on one of the vacations.

heathpack · Dec 2, 2012

We book as far out as possible. My schedule at work determines that of a number of other people, so things are easier on everybody if I can determine my schedule way ahead.

We have a week book next June, 2 weeks next Nov & 2 weeks in May 2014.

It also helps to book before FF tix are available (so that we can try to book FF seats on the first available day).

H

x3 skier · Dec 2, 2012

Anywhere from two days to a year. Being retired has it's advantages.

Cheers

Elli · Dec 2, 2012

heathpack said:
We book as far out as possible. My schedule at work determines that of a number of other people, so things are easier on everybody if I can determine my schedule way ahead.

We have a week book next June, 2 weeks next Nov & 2 weeks in May 2014.

It also helps to book before FF tix are available (so that we can try to book FF seats on the first available day).
H

I even set my alarm clock and booked FF seats the first day they became available - got super saver miles, later that aft., those weren't available any more, so I was glad I got up at night to book them. Now I have to do the same with the return trip.

MuranoJo · Dec 2, 2012

Passepartout said:
'Course there are exceptions. Sometimes one pops up 'last minute' that we just slip into the lineup and go. Cruises are like that. They don't take a lot of planning, and there are such huge last minute deals that it's no hassle.

Jim

I'm curious if you run into huge air fees going the last-minute route?
One of my early retirement dreams is to do a Mediterranean cruise, and I'd love to hear about your last cruise, but perhaps a different thread.

Elli said:
I even set my alarm clock and booked FF seats the first day they became available - got super saver miles, later that aft., those weren't available any more, so I was glad I got up at night to book them. Now I have to do the same with the return trip.

That's how I've done it all these years...get up at 1:00 or 2:00 a.m. my time, just as the seats are being loaded.

Unfortunately have burned through most of my big FF miles, so either need to get into the card sign-up game or find another route.

scotlass · Dec 3, 2012

We have 5 trips planned into July 2014, but that's mostly because we use our timeshares and know for the next 20 years what our dates are. We also use FF miles for our flights and play the credit card game as often as possible. We have not paid full price for an airline ticket for years unless we have to go to a place where we don't have enough miles accumulated. I love having the trips lined up ahead as it gives us a lot to look forward to. Hawaii is next, January 2013, first class and two weeks of exchanges.

BevL · Dec 3, 2012

Heading off to Palm Springs in February, back to Lawrence Welk in Escondido in October and am currently waiting for my searches for early 2014 to hit for Hawaii - hopefully before award tickets for the dates are available so I can book them the first day the come out.

We just don't travel near as much but still love it.

BobDE · Dec 3, 2012

x3 skier said:
Anywhere from two days to a year. Being retired has it's advantages.

Cheers

I have to agree! LOL

We normally travel twice a year. Once in the spring and again in the fall. We usually keep 3 booked in advance.

The only thing we have to verify, is if our house sitter is available to watch our spoiled little dog!

Bob

eal · Dec 3, 2012

I have our trips for 2013 all set up, and two trips booked for Feb and July 2014. I am working on a November 2014 trip to Hawaii now

talkamotta · Dec 3, 2012

Elli said:
I even set my alarm clock and booked FF seats the first day they became available - got super saver miles, later that aft., those weren't available any more, so I was glad I got up at night to book them. Now I have to do the same with the return trip.

Thats the only time you should set your alarm. :hysterical:

gnorth16 · Dec 3, 2012

Booked through to Summer of 2014, which was booked at 23 months out. Depends where you want to go, Orlando, Vegas and Cabo are loaded into RCI and II a long time ahead. If you book 18 plus months out, the savings are there in RCI for TPU's. I can probably squeeze out one extra vacation with my TPU's by being organized.

The latest I have ever booked is four months out and that is for Westin Keirland in February. I planned on going down for a week of golf with one of my friends and everyone is busy. I may be staying in a 2BR all by myself.

(Maybe my friends don't like free vacations :shrug:

:hysterical

Travel when you can, when you have the time (or can make time) and you are healthy...I don't want to be the guy that wished he had traveled more....

WinniWoman · Dec 4, 2012

I plan 1-2 years in advance, sometimes 3!

AnnaS · Dec 4, 2012

1 - 2 years in advance.

nursie · Dec 4, 2012

Really depends on where I want to go and if a specific resort is in high demand area's that are hard to get into and what season.
Ex. Minnesota in summer months, I used to book a year in advance, now I bought some units during the summer months so not a concern to exchange.
Disney anytime would be best to put ongoing search in place. I put my search in for a second trip before I even took my first one. So, over a year out.
So, to answer your question, most of the time 1-1 1/2 yrs in advance.
But, we still grab extra vacations for last minute trips only 2 months out like over New Years. :whoopie:

Elli · Dec 4, 2012

talkamotta said:
Thats the only time you should set your alarm. :hysterical:

You are so right - isn't it nice to be retired?

Conan · Dec 4, 2012

I have an August 2014 trip to Greece already booked, and an ongoing search running for a place in the American Southwest for October 2014.

Judy · Dec 6, 2012

When we travel internationally, we put in our exchange requests 2 years to 18 months in advance. The idea is to get a confirmation before the airlines release their frequent flier award seats, starting around 360 days in advance.
When we travel domestically, we put in a request in time to get a confirmation before our Worldmark booking window opens at 13 months in advance. That way we can coordinate our Worldmark ownership stay with an exchange.
Sometimes we decide around 6 months in advance that we want to go somewhere. Usually this happens when we have expiring TPU's. We've found it much harder to get what we want within that time-frame.

LannyPC · Sep 27, 2015

Luvstotravel said:
How far ahead do others plan?

We usually start thinking about where we want to go early in the calendar year. During the year, I check out prices (eg., airfare, car rental if needed, accommodation costs, costs of activities). Then, about two months before we're ready to travel, we start to see more clearly where we want to go. Due to work reasons, we usually travel late autumn (Nov. or early Dec.) before the high costs of Christmas time travel kick in.

We usually like to wait because we never know what "bumps in the road" could occur between early in the year and late in the year (illness, loss of job, other more important events, etc.). And BTW, we no longer own a TS so we do not worry about exchanging or scheduling our travel schedule around TS availability. Besides, last fall we were able to get a smokin' deal on TUG's LMR section.

rickandcindy23 · Sep 27, 2015

We plan a year out for Hawaii, mostly because we need to book our weeks a year out, exactly to the day, or we don't get our weeks. We go twice a year to Hawaii, Kauai and Maui mostly.

We booked a train trip from Denver to San Francisco for May. We booked it 9 months out. Had to use some points before Amtrak changes the program in January. Because of the changes, we probably won't do it again, but we have never done it before. Hopefully we are satisfied with the one trip. We got a bedroom with the private bathroom. Burned only 50,000 Ultimate Rewards Points at a cost of about $350 for the entire thing.

DeniseM · Sep 27, 2015

Please note that this thread is 3 years old.

[ 2012 ] How far ahead are your trips planned?

Luvstotravel

phyllispsu

Passepartout

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talkamotta

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heathpack

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x3 skier

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Elli

MuranoJo

scotlass

BevL

BobDE

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eal

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talkamotta

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gnorth16

WinniWoman

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AnnaS

nursie

Elli

Conan

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Judy

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LannyPC

rickandcindy23

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DeniseM