Lesson 3: Imagination Questions- The Basics
Now that you know your restrictions, you can start filling that framework with things you want on your trip. For every vacation, you will have to worry about where you will sleep, what you will eat, and how you will travel around.
Nonetheless, it is up to you what type of accommodations, food, and transportation you wish to have on your next trip. You have choices!
Thus, the next step to good travel planning is to define your basic preferences. In this lesson you will learn the questions to ask yourself in order to find out what accommodations, food, and transportation you’d prefer. Later you will learn organize this information into your existing framework.
Accommodations
The first basic is Accommodation. You will obviously require some sort of shelter on your vacation. The type, however, is up to you.
Take a piece of paper and write the title “Accommodations”. I have also posted a Basic Questions Form in the Exercise 1-Accomodation section of this lesson. Feel free to print out a copy of this form for your own use. Down one side of the paper write the following topics: Stay at Home, Relative/Friend’s House, Car, Tent, Travel Trailer, RV, Rent a House/Apartment, Hostel, Motel, Motor Hotel, Hotel, Bed and Breakfast, Five Star Hotel, Resort, Houseboat, and Cruise. Add any additional Accommodation categories that come to mind. Feel free to share these new categories on the discussion board.
Most of these Accommodation categories are self-explanatory. For example, the category "Stay at Home" is quite obvious, you stay at home. One word of caution for this type of vacation. If you want to actually relax on your holiday, don’t tell anyone you are staying at home. Otherwise, work will phone you to come in early, your mother-in-law will drop by for a friendly visit, and your friends will plan all your free time for you.
A few of these Accommodation categories may require a bit further explanation. There are slight but important differences between Tents, Travel Trailers, and RVs. Tenting, although requiring a bit more ruggedness, can be undertaken in campsites as well as off road and wilderness areas. Travel trailers usually have heaters and enclosed areas to cook, eat, sleep, and sit. Travel Trailers are welcome at almost all campgrounds. RVs are similar to travel trailers. They have heaters and enclosed areas to cook, eat, sleep, and sit. RVs do not need to be attached to a vehicle, as the RV is also a vehicle. RV’s are welcome at most campgrounds and in RV parks.
The differences between a Motel, a Motor Hotel, a Hotel, and a Five Star Hotel are equally subtle. Basically, in a Motel, each room has it’s own entrance to the parking lot. This is good if you want to leave early in the morning and don’t want to disturb other guests. However, if you want ice you’ll probably have to go outside to reach the Motel office. In a Motor Hotel, rooms face a hallway leading directly to the lobby or a restaurant. In this way, you won’t even have to go out into the cold until after breakfast. In a hotel, the rooms face a hallway. These hallways lead to an elevator. The ground floor often contains the lobby, a restaurant, a pool, a store or other facilities. A Five Star Hotel is a grander version of the regular hotel: larger rooms, more facilities, and more amenities.
Under the Accommodation title also rate your preferred accommodations. Rate each Accommodation choice between one and five. One on this scale means there is no possible way that anyone can force you to do put yourself through that torture. Five on this scale means you’d love staying at this accommodation, you’ve always dreamed of staying at this place. Exactly between these two extremes is a three on the scale. A three on this scale means you neither like nor dislike the idea of this accommodation type. A two on this scale means you’d really rather not stay here if possible. A four on this scale means that it sounds kind of fun to stay at this accommodation type.
Try to answer each of these selections as honestly as possible. Remember that there are no wrong answers. However, the more honest you are the more you will enjoy your vacation. If others are accompanying you on your vacation, complete this section for each of them as well.
There is also a section for comments at the end of each response line on the Restriction Questions form. Use this space for your general comments or to write any specific ideas that come to mind. For instance, in the Bed and Breakfast comment area you might write the name of your favorite B&B.
For further information on this topic refer to pages 53-59 of Buying Travel Services on the Internet and pages 147-164 of Travel Planning for Dummies.
