Lots of people take their family vacations in the summer, so I thought I'd start a multi=post series on summer travel. This will be our topic for the next two weeks.

Today: planning.

First, you need to know what kind of traveler you are. Do you need to have every minute of every day scheduled? Do you like to wake up in the morning and wonder what you'll do today? Do you like to visit all the tourist spots or embed and live as a local.? Do you like to be active or do you want to be lazy? Do you enjoy roughing it or do you define roughing it as a hotel without a pillow menu? You may be a different kind of traveler on different trips. Only you know what you want out of your vacation, but it's worth spending time to think about it.

Knowing what kind of traveler you are will help you choose a destination. Since much of the planning will depend on the destination you choose, the rest of this post will be very general. Here are the things you need to plan:

• You need a way to get where you are going: plane, train, automobile, ship, camel. Whatever it is, plan a method of transportation and a route. Also, keep in mind that you will likely need to get around your destination. That may mean renting a car, hiring a driver, or researching local subway systems and taxi service.
• Identify a few things you wish to do and make reservations or buy tickets as needed.
• If you are traveling in a foreign country, decide if you'll change currency in the US or at the airport, or if you'll just use an ATM on arrival.
• Call your credit card companies and your bank and let them know you'll be traveling and where. Otherwise, they are likely to put a fraud hold on your card. Also, always leave at least one credit card at home. If your cards are lost or stolen, you'll have one card you can still use while your other cards are replaced. Also, always leave a copy of your passport with a responsible party not traveling with you — just in case.
• Make a list of chores you need to accomplish before you leave: mail and newspaper stop, asking neighbor to watch the house, cleaning perishable items out of the fridge, etc.
• Make arrangements for pets if needed.

Many of these tasks can be accomplished well before you leave or in small increments over several days. Try not to leave them for the last minute so that you won't start your vacation in absolute exhaustion.