Getting away can mean recharging your batteries and getting back to work with renewed vigor and creativity. More importantly, taking a vacation can give you the time you need to reconnect with family. Regardless of whether you’re driving a few hours away or you’re flying across an ocean, planning a vacation can be tricky. With these five tips, however, you can make planning a vacation both fun and easy.

1. Decide What Sort of Trip You Want

The first step in planning a vacation is to decide what kind of trip you want and need. Do you want one of those classic family vacations where the kids are playing in the sand while you relax with a mojito, or do you want one where hotels never figure into the picture, as you’ll be too busy hiking up the mountains your paradisaical retreat offers?

2. Match Destinations with Your Budget

Once you have an idea of what you want to be doing, you need to match the destinations that can give you what you want on budget. For example, if you’re looking to experience the vibrant life and culture of the biggest cities in the world, you should weigh the costs of each destination. As Travel and Leisure writes, hotel prices in Europe have dropped by 16% since 2009. London, for example, offers discount hotel rooms that are only £4 more expensive than they were last year. How does that stack up against other cities?

3. Use Hotel Booking Sites to Save

It’s no secret that the internet gives travelers amazing tools for planning a vacation. Travel websites not only offer an easy way to find hotels, airfare, and activities, but they also give travelers a way to save money. As CNN Travel writes, by bundling hotels and airfare together through travel sites, the average traveler can save 20%.

4. Sometimes, the Old Ways Are Best

Sometimes the old ways are best for planning a vacation. According to Real Simple, if you’re looking to take a cruise, then using a travel agent remains the best way to save. Travel agencies maintain professional relationships with cruise companies. In turn for bringing cruise companies your business, travel agents have unrivaled access to discounted cruise prices and freebies.

5. Don’t Wait Around to Get Documentation

Even though you can’t leave the country without it, many travelers forget to get the proper documentation before attempting to travel abroad. While many countries maintain visa-waiver agreements with others, many others will not grant you admittance unless you have a visa. If, for example, you’re an American attempting to visit China without a visa, you will be promptly turned away, no matter how much you’ve spent on airfare and hotel rooms.

Having a passport before planning a vacation is even more important; you can’t go anywhere outside of your home country without it. In the United States, for instance, it takes at least four weeks to get your passport, according to the U.S. Department of State, unless you’re willing to pay extra to expedite the process. Avoid the issue by planning ahead.

Planning a vacation can be tricky, but it doesn’t have to be impossible. With these tips, you can plan a great vacation, saving money and making sure you can get where you’re going in the process. To see more, read this.