What I Did on My Summer Vacation

How does wine tasting in Argentina sound to you? Dune surfing in Africa? How about Six Flags over Texas? Whatever your interest, now is the time to firm up your summer travel plans, to get the best ideas and even better deals.

The most popular time to travel, summer is a great time for families and singles alike to visit national parks, seaside resorts, theme parks, historic sites, and major cities, locations that are consistently named as “perfect destinations” by the American travel industry.

Or, if you seek excitement and adventure, you can find trips and tours that will immerse you in a foreign country’s local culture, providing a more “authentic” experience.

Trip Tips to Get You Started
Whether you are planning a weekend getaway or a month-long trek, here’s a few things to keep in mind.

1. Don’t procrastinate! Start planning now. Summer is high travel season, and many of the best deals will book up early.

2. Fly early, if you can. Early flights are least likely to be cancelled due to storms or other delays.

3. If you are flying to meet a cruise, fly out the day before. Give yourself a time cushion, in case of delays.

4. No matter what mode of transportation you choose, make sure you bring plenty of snacks and diversions, just in case.

5. If you have Internet access during your trip, remember using Wachovia Online Banking with BillPay is like having your own financial center at your convenience. Whether you are checking your account balance, transferring funds, or paying bills online, banking can be at your finger tips.

6. Don't forget to check the weather reports before you set out and tailor plans accordingly. And so you don't have to worry about access to cash, bring along your Wachovia Visa® Check Card. If you haven’t already enrolled in our rewards program, visit Visa Extras to learn more.

Travel-advice Sites
Many people turn to Travel-advice sites, such as TripAdvisor and Epinions, to get ideas of where to go, stay, or dine while there. These types of sites offer a lot of free travel information, and quite a few of them post unbiased reviews submitted by travelers not paid to report. TripAdvisor even goes as far as to compile a Traveler’s Choice Award Winners’ list annually. Typically a Travel-advice site will review traveler remarks to ensure their content is credulous before posting. The trick to gauging anonymous feedback is to read several comments regarding the same topic and look for the most common experience.

Family Fun
If you’ve done Disney to death, and can’t bear the thought of another camping trip, consider visiting one or more of the nation’s many minor league ballparks. Affordable and chock full of amenities, minor league teams are courting traveling families with cheap tickets, picnic tables, playgrounds, and games in between innings. Many, such as Brooklyn’s KeySpan Park, are located near beaches, downtowns, and major attractions such as zoos and museums.

Or, consider a farm stay vacation, ideal for children who think milk and eggs come from the supermarket. Kids love to feed the animals, gather eggs, and help with the morning chores. The hardest part will be getting them to leave!

Summertime is the best time to find deals in the Caribbean, particularly when traveling with children. Resorts offer water sports, giant aquariums, and plenty of kid programs to keep them occupied while sneak a few moments at the pool for yourself.

Adventure Travel
Luxury travel networks support “eco-tourism,” part of the newest trend in adventure travel. Eco-tourists travel to countries such as Nicaragua, Guatemala and Panama, whose natural resources and wildlife are big draws for American travelers. Many of these countries have introduced resorts built with renewable resources like clay, bamboo and wild cane, and that use sustainable energy, like solar panels, and bio-digesters to clean waste water, in order to mitigate the impact of human traffic on their rainforests and animal habitats. No worries, though, they don’t skimp on the luxurious amenities.

Whatever else you do this summer, remember, it’s your time to unwind and relax. So don’t delay, start planning now and you’ll reap the rewards later.