Vacation planning

What It Means

Vacation planning is everything that happens between deciding to take a trip and walking out the door: choosing where and when to go, setting a budgetBudgetA plan for a set period, usually a month, that lists the money you expect to receive and how you'll spend or save it. See more, saving toward it, booking, and handling the paperwork and health steps a destination needs. For travel abroad, the State Department's checklist starts with the destination's Travel Advisory and entry rules, and your passport's expiration date. Planning early leaves time to save in monthly amounts instead of paying for the trip from one paycheck.

How People Say It

• "If we want to go in June, we need to start saving now."
• "Check the kids' passports before we book anything."
• "Let's pick the dates first, then the place."

The Breakdown

Worked example. A family wants a $2,400 trip in six months and has $600 set aside (example numbers):

What the result means. If $300 a month doesn't fit, you have three levers: move the date later, trim the trip, or find a cheaper version, such as traveling just before or after the busiest season.

A planning timeline (steps credited to an agency come from it; the timing of the others is Buhata's suggestion)

1. As soon as you start planning. Pick dates and a budget. For travel abroad, read the State Department's Travel Advisory for the destination and its entry requirements, and check every passport's expiration date.
2. Several months out. Book transport and lodging, and start the monthly savings. Renew or apply for passports now if needed; Buhata's passport for kidsPassport for kidsA U.S. passport for a child under 16. The child applies in person on Form DS-11 with both parents' consent, and it's valid for 5 years. See more page covers children under 16.
3. At least a month before a trip abroad. See a health care provider familiar with travel medicine about recommended or required vaccines and medicines, as CDC advises.
4. Before you leave. Enroll in the State Department's free SmartSave More TomorrowA savings plan by Richard Thaler and Shlomo Benartzi in which you agree now to raise your retirement contribution each time you get a pay raise. See more Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP), gather your travel documents and make copies.
5. For a national park trip in the U.S. Check the National Park Service's fee-free days, which in 2026 are for U.S. citizens and residents.

Good to Know

STEP is free and sends you alerts from the U.S. embassy or consulate where you're traveling, including security, demonstration, health, and weather or natural disaster alerts, Travel Advisory updates and routine messages about embassy services, and it helps the embassy reach you or your emergency contact in an emergency. The State Department suggests making copies of your travel documents, which helps you replace the originals if they're lost or stolen.

Related Terms and Categories

• Travel budget

  A plan for how much a trip will cost in total, split into travel, lodging, food, activities and a cushion, set before you book.

• Family vacation

  A trip taken together by a parent or parents and their children, usually planned around school breaks, the children's ages and a shared budget.

• Passport for kids

  A U.S. passport for a child under 16. The child applies in person on Form DS-11 with both parents' consent, and it's valid for 5 years.

• Travel insurance

  A policy bought for a trip that can repay prepaid costs if you cancel for a covered reason, and pay for medical care or evacuation while away.

• Packing list

  A written list of everything to bring on a trip, ticked off as each item goes in a bag so nothing important gets left behind.

• Shoulder season

  The travel period between a destination's peak and off-peak seasons, just before or after the busiest weeks, when fares are often lower than at peak.

Travel and outings with kids