A Plan & A Budget

Objectives......deciding what is most important to you.

Charlie and I are starting to enjoy traveling since we are both retired...time to spend together, after all we are best friends.  I treasure the pictures we come home with!...a lot of humor and a lot of pictures!

BUDGET....We can travel more if we don't blow our budget.  We want a nice hotel, great island view, and beach front for a week.  We do not give food a big budget...I pack as much in our suitcase as I can. We do not eat out, except may once or twice a trip....in Puerto Rico we got a car for a day and went to the grocery and got snacks and food for our fridge. We ate at a local kiosk once, and had lunch when we toured Old San Juan.  In St. Croix the Breakfast Buffet was included, and I again had snacks packed; no meals eaten out. We are very happy to eat a pack of tuna and crackers on the beach! It is very, very, very easy to run a tab at the hotel because all they require is your room number....until CHECKOUT!
SHOPPING..... This is my problem not Charlie's. I DO love to shop and am working on self control. When we traveled in Israel I spent way to much on family and friends and those grandkids. On last trip only a bracelet for our Rachel and some rum for our Todd....the rest was for us, and was not excessive. Charlie finds himself a hat and , well I find a few more things...Self Control on Shopping and Charlie keeps me in check...I may pout for a moment about it but I get over it.
CAR RENTAL... Not for a whole week....if you rent from 12 noon one day UNTIL 12 noon the next day it is only charged as one day! That is good....you get your shopping done and a little sight seeing. After all we are here to be beach bum's and sit under an umbrella or palm tree.
TOURS...We allow ourselves 1 tour....These are fun, a little costly but they give you a flavor of the island that you might not otherwise see. In PR we took an Historical tour which also allowed time in Old San Juan and in St Croix we took an island tour of the botanical gardens, Whim Plantation, and the Cruzan Rum Factory. Our trips to Israel were planned tours.
SAFETY FIRST.....as we don't get a car rental at the airport I do schedule transfer from airport to hotel before I ever leave home...PR drivers are crazy and St Croix drives on the left....so it is a gamble!
WRITE IT DOWN.....we write down all that we spend on the credit card...then there are NO surprises... it comes in handy at the airport if you must fill out customs forms.
ASK for  room UPGRADE....I am 3 for 3.......being the talker that I am, I ALWAYS ask for a free room upgrade. Kindness is so important and genuinely being glad to be at their hotel goes along way...."I was raised on a farm near a small town in Ohio; now live in Kentucky....you bet your bottom dollar I appreciate their hotel...and all that I will receive....."Remember out of all the hotels on the island you have chosen them and they are glad about that".... If you don't ask you won't receive But if they can't accommodate you, be thankful for their effort.....so be it..."""you are on an ISLAND""""