How to Make Vacation Reservations for a Stress Free Trip

Vacations can be stressful, so to relieve some of this stress, make sure you have all your reservations in one handy location before you leave. By checking and double checking your reservations, you will almost surely travel with fewer mishaps. When making your reservations, it is wise to keep all your confirmation numbers accessible so that if your hotel or car rental agency can't find your reservation, you have the confirmation number needed to verify your transaction. Let's fact it, ugly things happen, and hotels, airlines, and car rental agency representatives can make mistakes, so it is best to take a minimal amount of time to be prepared.

When you first decide to head out for a vacation trip, you need to develop a travel plan. This includes figuring out where you are going, how you are going to get there, and your lodging information. Attention to detail will certainly pay off while traveling, and you will be more prepared if your plans go off base - especially if you vacation is located in another country. A frustrating and confusing experience can be at least partially averted with someone who doesn't know your language if you bring a printed copy of all relevant information, including your confirmation numbers.

Starting with your airline reservations, hang onto the confirmation email that you should have received shortly after paying for the flight. Many airlines have an e-ticketing system allowing you to print your ticket from home. Very nice! However if you receive one, print it out right away and keep it in a safe place. Make sure the confirmation email also has the total price you paid and all other pertinent information such as take off and landing dates and times. Double check all ticket details to ensure they are what you thought.

When making your hotel reservations, be sure to reserve a room with the specific number of beds required. Verify the bed sizes and total price (including taxes). Most hotels do not include tax in the room rate, so calculate that into your total price. Inquire of any further costs for additional room guests. If you are expecting breakfast to be included in the price, ask whether it is complimentary.

Finally, check all cancellation policies, and get them in writing. You must reserve most hotels and car rentals with a credit card, so you'll want to determine how much time before the trip you have to cancel if a change in your plans require this.