Planning your family's next vacation cam be fun, exhilarating, exciting or nerve wracking. Whether you do you own online reservations or use the services of the travel agents at VacationKids.com, it really helps to focus your facts. There are certain factors that will effect pricing and availability for airlines and hotels. Without these basic facts, travel shopping is basically a waste of time. Being organized makes the job of planning a family vacation SO much easier. Make sure you're ready with all the following information. I call it the 5 W's of travel planning....

• Where do you want to go? Read travel magazines, ask the advice of your vacationkids travel agent, search the web, talk to your friends and family and try to zero in on where you want to go. “Some place warm and sunny” or “We want to visit Europe” is a bit too vague. If you're not sure exactly where you want to go, at least focus on the type of trip you want to experience or the activities your family members enjoy. Do you want to do something educational, maybe learn to play tennis, swim with dolphins or simply sit on a perfect beach? Asking yourself some of these question will help narrow your choices. Your travel agent can help offer suggestions regarding specific resorts, locales or age specific activities for your kids. If you can't decide what you want to do, then focus on things you definitely do NOT want. This can also help your travel professional steer you in the right direction.

• Who will be going on this trip?
In order to see if there are enough seats on the plane or enough rooms at the resort, it is important to know exactly how many people are planning to travel when you start making your plans. This means how many adults and how many children plan on traveling. When it comes to the kids, it is also very important to include their ages at the time of travel. The rates for a 2 year old can be extremely different than the rates for a 16 year old. Also, if you are planning ahead, be sure to note the ages of the children AT THE TIME OF TRAVEL. If you're child is 11 now but will turn 12 in November and you are trying to plan a trip for next spring, this may have an impact on the price of your trip. Also, if you are traveling with a large family or group, it is a good idea to organize this information according to how families will be sleeping in their hotel rooms and by what airport they will be traveling from.

• When do you want to travel?
Travel agents really need your exact or preferred travel dates in order to give you accurate pricing and availability information. It's good to be a bit flexible, this way you have better choices of flight times and prices but you do need to have some specific dates in mind. Flight prices vary according to days of the week, time of day, holiday periods, time until departure date, full moons...you name it. If you ask for rates on a vacation “anytime in the Fall” you can see where there would be a wide range of price variations. In most cases, special airline and resort sales often have very specific dates involved. Usually you have to purchase your trip by a certain date and travel within a certain period of time. Make sure you read all the tiny, fine print when reviewing newspaper or online ads. Deadlines and restrictions are posted here and it may save you disappointment later on.

• Where will you be leaving from?
If you will need airfare to get to your vacation destination, then your travel agent needs to know what airport your family will be leaving from. Airfares can differ from each and every departure city. This information is important for both pricing and availability. Usually you will get your best prices from larger airport cities. Larger airports offer more choices along with discount airfares due to greater competition as well as the chance of catching a charter flight. This is when a tour company “charters” their own plane to get passengers to a specific destination. Often charter flights offer the cheapest prices as well as direct flights. Let your travel agent know if you have the option of departing from a couple of different airport. Often this flexibility can lead to some better prices.

• What do you want to spend?
The obvious answer is...“next to nothing for a 6 star resort for a family of 10 for 14 nights”. Seriously, Your travel agent already assumes that you want the best value for your travel dollars. By having some idea of what your family wants to spend, your travel agent can work efficiently finding the right vacations that will suit your family and comfortable fit your travel budget. Flights and resorts can sell out very quickly, especially during school holidays and summer vacation. Travel agents and busy families alike don't like to waste time. Wasting time on vacations that are too expensive or not up to your family's standard can mean all the difference when searching for availability at the perfect vacation spot. So when your agent asks about your travel budget, it's not to be nosey. It is an important question to help find you the best vacation possible. If you've been doing some price shopping and have some quotes already...tell you agent. Your agent wants to help make you happy. A good agent will tell you right away if they can or cannot beat the price you already have. Again, this saves everyone time and energy.

By putting the 5 W's of travel planning together, you'll have everything needed to efficiently plan your family's vacation. Please know that availability and rates can change without notice. If your agent gets back to you with a vacation that fits your family, it is a good idea to act quickly before space sells out and you have to start the search process all over again. This means you need to confirm your reservation with a credit card deposit or payment. During peak travel times like spring break and the holidays, we agents see flights and hotel rooms selling out on our computer screens right before our very eyes. For travel during these times, you need to decide and act quickly to avoid disappointment. Most families like to have a bit of time to discuss the matter amongst themselves, verify time off from work, etc. Your travel agent can sometimes hold your vacation for a short period of time...usually 24 hours to a day or two. To put a vacation on hold, your agent will need the "legal" names of each traveler. Once a vacation is put on hold, your agent is often not allowed to change the names of the travelers. Courtesy holds give families time to decide without loosing their flight and hotel availability.

Being decisive and organized can make travel planning much easier for everyone. Use the 5 W's as a guide to make sure you're ready with all the right information as you start making your travel plans.