• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About/Hire Me
    • About Me
    • Hire Me
    • Contact
    • Family
    • Faith
    • FAQ
    • My Running Story
    • Recipes
  • Disney
  • Fitness
    • runDisney Information Page
    • Fitness
    • Races
  • Parenting
  • Travel

Through Heather's Looking Glass

  • Disney
  • Fitness
  • Travel
  • family
  • About Me

How To Make Your Next Trip The Best Ever

February 12, 2021 | Travel

I love to travel, and the last year has strengthened my desire to get out and explore as much as possible in a safe way. If you’re daydreaming about your next trip, and you’re on a mission to ensure it’s the best one ever, here are some tips to keep in mind as you plan!

Image from

Researching excursions and activities

When you browse brochures or scroll through online photos of deluxe hotels, golden beaches and swimming pools, it’s easy to get carried away with hotel and resort amenities and decadent rooms. While it’s important to choose a place that crosses all of the boxes, it’s also important to research the surrounding area and see what kinds of excursions and activities are available. From sea kayaking and snorkeling to horseback riding, rock climbing, learning to cook local specialties and taking dance classes, there’s time to enjoy all kinds of experiences during your vacation. Read reviews, get ideas from travel blogs like mine or search pins on Pinterest and see how the locals live and how they like to spend their time. Planning ahead enables you to discover and explore ideas and it will also save time and effort when you arrive at your destination. I do not recommend just showing up and “winging it!”

Finding the perfect accommodation

The range of accommodation options available to travelers now is impressive. Today, you can put down roots for a weekend or a couple of weeks in hotels, resorts, apartments, beach houses, tree houses, log cabins in the woods or even transparent pods that enable you to stargaze or try and spot the Northern Lights. Depending on your location and the type of break you’re planning, you can browse the best hotels with hot tubs in room options, luxury beach resorts, spa hotels, ranches, glamping destinations or city center lofts at the touch of a button. Think about where you want to go, how you want to spend your time and how much you want to spend. You may have to sacrifice in another are if the hotel or location of accommodations is really important to you. Make a list ranking things so you know what is more important!

Adding a personal touch

When you’re planning an itinerary, it’s always a good idea to personalize your plans. It can be tempting to copy and paste from somebody else’s trip, but we all have different interests. Spend some time researching places to visit and things to see and do and add a personal touch. If you’re organizing a weekend away for an anniversary or a vacation for a special birthday celebration, for example, you could arrange for the hotel to ensure that there are balloons or a bouquet of flowers waiting in the room, book a table at a restaurant your partner has always wanted to visit or even ask for a shout out if you go to a soccer or football game or you get tickets for a concert. Little things can often make a big difference!

Picture courtesy of

Many of us are longing to book a vacation and enjoy the freedom to roam. If you’ve started thinking about your next trip or weekend away, take these tips into consideration to make it the best trip ever. Plan ahead, research the area, explore unique accommodation options and add a personal touch!

Related: Packing for a Disney Trip

Like this:

Like Loading...

Sign up for my newsletter

Primary Sidebar

I am Heather Montgomery, a 30 something southern girl living in Knoxville, Tennessee with my husband Bobby, 10-year-old daughter Emma Kate, and our goldendoodles Dolly and Luna. I’m just a regular girl who likes to workout, travel, hang with my family, text, and eat chips and queso. Be sure to check out my “about me” page for more info!
Thank you for visiting, and feel free to contact me with questions, (or for PR inquiries or press trip invites) at Support@HeathersLookingGlass.com.

Please, no guest post requests. 🙂

More about me

Privacy Policy

You can also find me here:

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

  • 6 Tips for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party
  • Family Fun in Tuscaloosa: Your Ultimate Getaway Beyond Game Day
  • 5 Reasons to Try a New Way of Travel
  • Experience Superhero-Sized Fun at Gaylord Opryland DC Summer
  • Digital Nomads: Safely Working Remotely While You Roam

 

Search

How to Start a Blog

How to start a blog
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
  • Disney
  • Fitness
  • Travel
  • Family
Watch as we surprise Emma Kate with a DISNEY CRUIS Watch as we surprise Emma Kate with a DISNEY CRUISE! ✨ 🚢 

This kid is truly the best and is so deserving. (She did laundry, dishes and cleaned the bathroom today without even being asked!) 

Her birthday is towards the end of September and we will be sailing ON her actual birthday! How fun is that?  We had never sailed on the Wish so this truly is a dream come true. 🥹

Have you sailed on the Wish? Any tips? 

#disneycruise #disneycruiseline #disneywish #disneysurprise
✨Step inside one of the top-rated spas in the wo ✨Step inside one of the top-rated spas in the world 

The Spa at Omni Grove Park Inn is 43,000 sq. ft. of pure relaxation — complete with mineral-based pools, eucalyptus-infused steam rooms, contrast pools, and cavern-like rock walls with twinkling starlight ceilings. 🌌

Guests can book signature treatments, massages, and facials, or enjoy the amenities with a spa day pass for the ultimate getaway. Whether you’re floating in the therapeutic pools, lounging by a fire pit, or just soaking up the mountain views, this spa is truly an escape like no other. 🧖‍♀️💆‍♂️

#OmniGroveParkInn #GroveParkInn #AshevilleSpa #NorthCarolinaMountains #LuxurySpa #SpaDay #WellnessTravel #TravelAsheville #ResortAndSpa #RelaxRecharge @omnigrovepark
The spa said ‘find your center’… so I center The spa said ‘find your center’… so I centered myself in the mineral pool. 💦 

Not your average spa day… step inside a 43,000 sq. ft. underground oasis. ✨ 

With cavern-like rock walls, mineral pools, eucalyptus steam rooms, and waterfalls around every corner, the Spa at Omni Grove Park Inn is truly one of the most unique spa experiences in the country. 🌿💦

Have you been to @omnigrovepark? Share this with the person you want to visit the spa with! 

#groveparkinn #omnigroveparkinn #omnihotel #spatour
🎨Public service announcement: Don’t save th 🎨Public service announcement: 

Don’t save the good stickers. 🫟
Don’t save the good candle. 🕯️ 
Don’t save the good wine. 🍷 

Life’s too short… and my Lisa Frank collection proves it. 😂 🌈 🦄 🐬 

🫟Share with  fellow sticker hoarder! 

#lisafrank #lisafrankstickers #stickerhoarder #millenialproblems #millenialmom #millenial
🎨Public service announcement: Don’t save th 🎨Public service announcement: 

Don’t save the good stickers. 🫟
Don’t save the good candle. 🕯️ 
Don’t save the good wine. 🍷 

Life’s too short… and my Lisa Frank collection proves it. 😂 🌈 🦄 🐬 

🫟Share with  fellow sticker hoarder! 

#lisafrank #lisafrankstickers #stickerhoarder #millenialproblems #millenialmom #millenial
Some call it nosey, I call it highly informed. 💁🏻‍♀️

Send to someone who gets it! (And don’t lie and tell me you never wonder or look closely!) 😆👀

#disneyvip #viptour #disneyfunny #disneymeme #disneyfamily #disneypics
#doordashpartner So busy with back-to-school chao #doordashpartner  So busy with back-to-school chaos that dinner almost didn’t happen? 🍎📚 

DoorDash saves the night! Between basketball practice, work, and everything in between, @doordash makes dinner simple. From family favorites to new cravings, it’s all at my fingertips—delivered fast, so I can focus on life (and maybe a little me time 😏).

 ✨ Special Offer for New Customers: 40% off (up to $10) on your first order of $15 or more. Minimum subtotal: $15. Alcohol orders excluded. 

Use code LOOKINGGLASS40NEW AND use it at the 🔗 in bio for the discount! Must do both. (OR comment the word dash and I will send the 🔗 to your DM’s!) 

What’s your go-to order when life gets hectic? 🍕🍔

#DoordashPartner #BusyLifeMadeEasy #DinnerSolved #MomLife”

Copyright © 2025 · Through Heather's Looking Glass · Theme by Bella Creative Studio

%d