So you’re headed down to Florida for the vacation of a lifetime — great! There’s so much to do and see in Florida. No wonder more than 100 million people visit Florida every year. A great Florida vacation will leave you feeling refreshed and recharged. You’ll be ready to get back in action at work or at school, and studies show that you’ll be more productive and more creative when you return. It’s all good news and happy times ahead.
Except, of course, that you’re not on vacation quite yet. And, actually, that’s for the best — because you still have a few things that you should take care of. Here are some things to do or double-check ahead of your once-in-a-lifetime Florida vacation.
Get tickets and reserve spots for popular attractions
Your vacation is supposed to be your chance to rest and relax. Don’t make it stressful by leaving any reservation-making or ticket-buying until you’re down in Florida. Now is the time to plan ahead and secure your spot at that hot restaurant in Jupiter or your spot on that beautiful sunset cruise Palm Beach.
Proper planning can take the stress out of your vacation, leaving only the good stuff — restful days on the beach, exciting moments playing water sports, and, of course, jaw-dropping moments at top attractions that you would never have seen if you hadn’t reserved a ticket ahead of time.
Head to the doctor (and consider travel health insurance)
You want to be happy and healthy on your vacation. You’ll get more out of your Florida vacation if you feel up to the demands of water sports and know that you can stay out in the sun for reasonable periods of time without feeling exhausted or sick.
So go to your doctor back home before you leave, get a checkup, and make sure that you have all of the prescription medications and other health essentials that you need before you leave.
Remember, your health insurance coverage is not likely to help much when you’re far from home. You should consider getting travel health insurance just in case. If you do need a doctor while you’re down in Florida, rely on high quality medical reviews to make sure that you get quality care. Ideally, you’ll be able to keep costs down thanks to your travel health insurance.
Care for your home, plants, pets, and more
When you’re out of town, the world doesn’t stop spinning. Your plants will still need to be watered, your pets will still need to be fed, and that food that you left in the pantry is still going to get older and go bad. So now is the time to make preparations to ensure that everything is in tip-top shape when you come back!
Reach out to friends and family members, or hire a professional, to make absolutely sure that your plants and pets are cared for while you’re gone. Then, run down a pre-vacation checklist to make sure that you’ve prepped your home properly. Toss out perishable foods so that they aren’t stinking up the place by the time you return. If you live somewhere much colder than Florida, make sure that you make preparations to prevent frozen and burst pipes — just because you’re warm in sunny Florida doesn’t mean that your house isn’t getting chilly back home.
Once all of your preparations are made, wrap things up with a nice thorough cleaning. Cleaning your home is always a good idea and will help combat things like pest invasions, of course. But it’s also true that coming home to a nice, clean house after a relaxing vacation is just a really good feeling, and that matters, too.