There’s no better way to celebrate a special occasion than by spending time with your friends and family on a celebratory trip.
While you might typically associate special occasion travel with destination weddings or honeymoons, there are many other moments in our lives that should be celebrated.
A sweet-16 birthday, college graduation, family reunion, or a retirement can be cause for a special vacation. Multi-generational travel is growing in popularity, attracting millennials, gen Xers, and baby boomers alike.
7 Tips for Success
No matter what your special occasion is, planning is the key. Here are seven tips to help your special occasion, be … well, all that more special.
- Don’t do all the planning. Get everyone involved and find out who can help in the planning stages. A daughter who wants to create a group Facebook page or maybe an uncle who has time to do some online research. Listening to everyone’s needs, concerns, and desires will go a long way towards ensuring a successful vacation.
- Set a date and stick with it. Once you know everyone’s preferred travel dates, pick a date and don’t change it. You may not be on target with everyone, but with advance planning, hopefully there will be enough time to rearrange schedules, if necessary.
- Create a budget. Be sensitive to individual travel budgets and settle on an amount that everyone can manage. Avoid hurt feelings by including a variety of activities that take into account differing income levels.
- Pick a location that everyone says “yes” to. What does your group prefer? Somewhere outdoorsy or do the lights of a big city have more appeal? Are you traveling overseas? If so, then add passports, Visas, and any required inoculations to your checklist. The date you select can also determine where you go. Paris in spring is going to be more crowded and expensive than Paris in the winter, for example.
- Include activities for all travel styles. Are there history buffs in your group? Those who want nothing more than to be pampered? Does your party include adrenaline junkies? Knowing everyone’s travel style can help you include activities that will connect with everyone.
- Plan for free time. One of the most successful things you can do when planning a group trip is to include free time – that time when everyone can go off on their own. A little alone time can be a good thing and strengthens the time together.
- Start planning well in advance of your trip (six months to a year is reasonable). You don’t want to base your special occasion on availability – center seats on planes, interior staterooms on cruises – or risk events you want to attend being sold out.
Staying Connected
Since everyone may not be together all the time, being able to stay in touch is important. Not everyone in your group may have a cell phone or if they do, it may not be an unlocked smart phone that can support a SIM card. Not to worry, we have you covered.
For those with cell phones, we recommend downloading the Wireless Traveler WiFi app on each person’s phone. Calls are free app to app and it is only 2 cents/minute to call back home – as opposed to the higher charges you’ll experience with U.S. carriers.
And, for those who don’t own a cell phone, Wireless Traveler offers rental phones. You can rent a basic or smart phone for as low as $25 for up to 2 weeks, plus whatever prepaid airtime you would like. Text messages are free to receive.
If you, or someone in your group, does have an unlocked smart phone, we offer global SIM cards starting at $19.95 with $15.00 of additional free airtime once you have activated your phone.
