Do you have a dream vacation or simply want to go home for the holidays, but never seem to be able to pull it off? There are ways to take your travel dreams off the back burner and make them into solid travel plans. Nowadays, people of all ages and financial levels are making the choice to travel now, rather than wait for the perfect time to arrive. Join their ranks and start creating travel memories with these four considerations.

• Choose Your Destination. Planning where you want to go allows you to line up all the other necessary details to make your travel dreams come true. You’ll want to have more money and time on-hand if you plan to travel overseas. Whereas, travel within the country can be enjoyed for as little as a few hundred dollars. If you want to build up your travel confidence and feel secure in the fact that you can indeed enjoy traveling, start off small and work your way up to bigger vacations.
• Your Homework. Before you request time off, plan a sabbatical or sell off your possessions and embark on long-term travel, do your homework to learn more about your destination. For instance, you can enjoy a driving vacation up the East Coast, but the best time to go is in autumn when the colors are ablaze. Read up on or conduct internet searches on your chosen destination so you can avoid potential vacation disasters, such as monsoon season in Thailand, and capitalize on special seasons, such as wine season in Napa Valley.
• Pad Your Budget. Lack of money is often the one single factor that prevents people from traveling. This is where a little bit of creativity can go a long way. Save money for travel by earning extra income. Host a monthly garage sale to earn the cash needed, or sell unwanted items on Craigslist or eBay. You can also take on a seasonal job or participate in paid clinical trials to help you fund your next vacation.
• Travel Light. Those who haven’t traveled much often make the mistake of trying to bring everything but the kitchen sink. Although you should bring the essentials—such as proper clothing, toiletries and any special gear needed for your trip—try to abstain from bringing too much. Plan to mix and match your clothing so you can wear it multiple times, instead of bringing a fresh outfit for every day. Not only can this add up to a heavy suitcase that you’re stuck carting around, it can also cost you an excess baggage fee.

More than likely, you’ll enjoy your time away so much that you’ll want to do it more. Some people have achieved this by negotiating with their employers to work remotely, allowing them to travel more often and take their work along. Even if this isn’t an option for you, you can still get your travel fix with mini-vacations throughout the year, as well as exploring your hometown like a tourist. However you do it, make travel and exploration a regular part of your life, and you’ll find the rewards benefit you in more ways than you realized they would. Happy travelling!

It has always been my dream to travel to some world’s exotic location and pen them down in my travelogue. But my busy schedule forces me to limit my thoughts. Way back in 2006, my parents planned a tour to Andaman and Nicobar Islands as they would get one paid holiday from the Company they worked for. This was once in lifetime chance for an average middle class family because the vacation is sponsored. They asked me to join them as it had been years that I spent vacation with them.

This vacation was exciting because it was first time that my parents would board a flight to Andaman and Nicobar islands. The Company had chosen the national carrier of India- Air India for its employ. Most families were excited about this air journey because some of them had never experienced this.

The employees were expected to join this tour in small batches with their families. Since we were from eastern India and from steel city of Orissa, our nearest airport was Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose international airport, Kolkata. From here, we had catch the flight to Andaman and Nicobar islands.

The flight journey was funny because most men from our batch were amazed to see beautiful air hostess. For them this was a rare seen where a smartly dressed young lady would come up to them for service. They could not keep their eyes off as they started instructing the flight rules.  I was laughing out loud from within but had to control it. Since I was on a holiday , I was waiting for the plane to land in Port Blair as soon as possible.

I had Googled the previous night that Andaman and Nicobar islands nestled midway between Burma and India in Bay of Bengal. It has an archipelago of 572 pristine emerald islands, out of which 36 are inhabited. These islands were virtually cut off for many years, therefore its history has always been shrouded in legend and mystery. It has an epic connection and said to be the stepping stones used by Monkey God ‘Hanuman’ to head towards Sri Lanka in order tom save Sita- Lord Ram’s consort.

Popularly, Andaman and Nicobar islands are also known as’ nature’s paradise’ and ‘Veritable Garden of Eden’. It is an abode to endless varieties of flora and fauna along with long stretches of marine life.  These pristine white beaches are covered with lush green coconut palm trees. Its breathtaking beauty, thrilling water sports, pollution-free environment and warm hospitality attracts thousands of visitors every year from all over the world.

My experience was memorable because I could not expect more than this. We had number of splendid adventure opportunities including number of thrilling water sports like scuba diving, snorkeling, swimming and others. Adventure enthusiasts can enjoy some beautiful and arduous treks to lush green pastures of this island. On first day of our journey, we visited Port Blair which is quite and laid back city of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

It has sole entry and exit point. Our day was spent by walking around the city and relish on mouth –watering seafood. Then we headed to see some of the best places of Port Blair like The Cellular Jail, Ross Island, Viper Island, Andaman Water Sports Complex, Chatham Island& Sawmill etc. For me this was most unforgettable vacation of my life.