List Your Destinations in Europe
Make a list of some; any or all of the destinations in Europe you would like to visit in your lifetime… and then plan to get to at least one this year!
Like anything else in life, travel needs to be planned for somewhat. It is almost like setting a short-time ‘SMART’ goal for leisure and vacationing. Marketers of time-share and destination vacations, often refer to this as an argument to invest in a travel solution.
People often suggest that we treat travel or vacationing, like any other planned financial decision in life. This is all irrespective of whether this includes house, car, tuition, health, insurance or other life-expense. Travel and vacation is justified and ’sold’, as just another important item on the list to think about and budget for.
That’s why it’s important to set these goals. You can get a lot of motivation from looking at this list of places you want to see in your lifetime. The famous Napoleon Hill who wrote the book “Think and Grow Rich” wrote about the importance of writing down your goals, and a lot of scientific study since has proven his point. People who write down their goals are more likely to achieve them.
Out of the list of dream destinations you just made or have in mind, you cannot possibly achieve visiting all of them, and nor should you perhaps. One can but wish and dream … Going after these dreams in a planned fashion, will mean a significant investment of time, money and energy. That is why you will have to set priorities.
Prioritizing should include travel items, trips, goals and destinations that you really desire to explore. Too many people settle for just watching other countries on TV. I know some people when I told them about places I went, they were like: “Oh, I know this place, they have this beautiful old church there.” And I’m totally happy that I found somebody who also was there and then they reply: “Oh no, I’ve just seen a documentary about it on TV.” If you’ve seen that movie with Matt Damon titled “Good Will Hunting” you might remember the scene were the psychologist tells the boy that he can’t possibly tell what it smells like in the Sixtine Capell because he’s only read it from the books, and that there’s a big difference between “knowing” and “experiencing” - and that is very true.
Realizing of course that these ‘dreams’ though, might not all be achievable immediately, or at all. You need to view this as a wish list, shortlist eventually becoming checklist! (Another great movie is “The Bucket List” with Jack Nickolson and Morgan Freeman). Then, move on to making at least the first goal or location visit on the list happen this year! (Alternatively, as soon as funds allow and you are able to make it happen).
Hands-on work, defining and planning for travel in such a way that it will convey actual goals, destinations, budgets and periods.
A goal, in order to be effective and drive people towards it, should have the following characteristics. The goal should be Specific, Measurable, Action-oriented, Realistic, and Time-constrained. In other words, it must be a SMART goal, (as referred to earlier).
SPECIFIC: The travel goal(s) should be specific. Detail is what matters here. Professional sportspeople do this all the time - they visualize and imagine, because it helps them to achieve their best results. Avoid generalizations; get to the point and crux of the matter. Specify your immediate travel needs and means. Then plan to go after it pro-actively. Specific also means, that you write down the exact locations, like “want to travel to Rome”, “visit Sicily”, “art galleries in Berlin”, “clubbing in London”, “diving in Greece”.
For example, take that tropical island, destination dream vacation: “I have always wanted to …” seems a little general when compared to ‘I will travel, with my family to Hawaii for a vacation of two weeks within the next six months.’
MEASURABLE: The SMART travel goal must be measurable. This goes along with being specific. A goal defined specifically might already be measurable. The abovementioned goal stated intention, involved parties, location, purpose and a timeframe - all measurable elements. For example you could write down “three nights in London”
A measurable travel goal, like going to Hawaii, with a family of four, including two children under the age of five, within the next six months helps you identify, plan, execute and track more efficiently and increase your odds of actually making it there! Considering the logistics in this fashion, makes it that more realistic to enable your family to take the planned trip of a lifetime, as opposed to just dreaming about it!
ACTION-ORIENTED: A SMART goal must also be action oriented. It cannot merely be stated. You must relate the goal to doing something, to indicate what needs to be done. An action verb will indicate what needs to be accomplished. “I will travel” is a good example of an action statement, stated intent and implies preparation and planning, will and persistence.
REALISTIC: For any goal to be motivational and get you committed to reaching it, it must be realistic. When a goal is not realistic and the person does not really believe it can be reached, then the commitment is lacking and the effort will not be there to permit the goal to be realized.
Choosing realistic goals are based on your present status. What jumps to mind right away in our example, is whether and how you can afford it and make it happen! (Hopefully this guide can also offer some tips to get your there).
TIME-CONSTRAINED: In order for a goal to move people towards it, it must be time-constrained. A timeline needs to be associated with it. It will entice people to move towards the goal. The timeline set, will be based on the goal itself and the present status. Six months is stated here as a realistic timeline, leaving enough time to save for, plan, book and take your well-deserved vacation to Hawaii (as in our stated example),OR anywhere else YOU have chosen to go!
With these SMART goal insights in mind, the 101 TIPS are divided into four perspectives if you will, for an easy reference-framework. These ‘categories’ almost are marked by the following keywords, sometimes stated explicitly, sometimes implied and self-explanatory, inferred and or assumed. They will appeal to the money-conscious and budget-savvy would-be and seasoned travelers alike.
SAVE MONEY, shares suggestions on hotels, car rentals, airfare, destination travel, food, maximize discounts, comparison-shop, special offers, insider-tips and more to put more hard cash in your travel pocket.
AVOID COST and costly mistakes, deals with impulse buying, un-reputable travel service providers, traveling without insurance, always read the fine print, buyer beware and other insights that will help you hold onto your travel dollar or spend it appropriately on what you want.
ENSURE DETAILS , involves paying close attention to confirming details, fine-print, insurance and other travel-related issues
BE SMART, will be offering travelers, general travel tips, as not only formulated in SMART goals, but also translating well into being an informed consumer, making wise choices and decisions on all their travel endeavors. Our acronym below summarizes the advantages and of budget-driven, planned travel for your inference and reflection:
S - Smart, well informed and structured
m - Memorable, miles
a - advantage
r - Rigorous and regular
t - Thorough
In short, “Europe Budget Travel” strives to be a travel companion and tool. The intention with this guide is to assist and enable world explorers and bag-toting travelers everywhere, to becoming frugal, informed, happy, innovative, creative, spend-thrift-averse and prepared travelers. Even when traveling on a limited or shoestring budget!
