How I planned & organized a think-free couples getaway.
Most of the time my husband is in charge of planning our travels. You have to admit, it requires so many aspects, financial budgeting, booking a hotel, looking into the best places to eat, activities to do, research… and then more research. Traveling in general is work in of itself, and can really take a toll on you mentally.
I’m a planner. I like to have things mapped out. When I go on vacation I don’t want to be overwhelmed from decision making, or feel anxious from being out of your element.
Don’t get me wrong I don’t mind going with the flow at times, but it’s much easier to enjoy the experience when you have an idea of where your day is going.
So I thought to myself, what do I need to do to make this experience as “think-free” as possible, that I may relax and enjoy it?
Plan ahead of time
Planning ahead of time is something you hear about frequently, but how many of us really apply that knowledge?
Most of the time planning ahead can be stressful when you’re working a full-time job, have family responsibilties, while trying to make time for your needs. I didn’t want to have the pressure to meet a deadline, so I chose to work on the details of our trip a little-bit at a time.
During a time of spontaneity, have you ever attempted to find a nearby restuarant while your hangry?
Have you ever tried to Yelp a restuarant right before going out to eat? Trying to see which one has the most reviews with a four star rating or better.
Taking up time reading the most recent reviews. Sometimes it works out, but who wants to do that every day of their vacation.
As a part of outlining your trip, always look into booking reservations for the restaurants, or activities.
Nobody really likes waiting in long lines, but during this pandemic the lines have gotten longer and things book up fairly quickly. When I’m on vacation I want to make the most of my time.
Research
Once we decided on a timeframe, I started researching our trip about a month and a half before. You’ll want to do your due diligence of course! Ask yourself, What is the purpose of your trip?
In my case it was to RELAX, I knew I wanted to go to the Spa. So I looked around the geographical vicinity that I wanted for different Spas. Once I booked an appointment for the Spa, I then began looking for hotel accomodations, restaurants, activities and any other interests nearby.
In order to organize all of my research and keep track of everything that I was looking into, and prevent double work, I created a Google Docs Table just like below:
| Restaurant | Reservations | Miles | Hours | Address | Phone | Website | Cost |
| 1. Gravity Tavern | Yes Booked: Tuesday, June 8 @ 5:45pm | 0.7 | Dinner | 38 Miller Avenue Mill Valley, CA 94941 | 415-888-2108 | https://www.gravitytavern.com | $$$ |
| 2. Le Garage | Yes Booked: Tuesday, June 8 @ 11:30am | 5.2 | Breakfast/Lunch Tue – Fri 11:30-8 Sat/Sun 10-2:30 Dinner 5-8 | 85 Liberty Ship Way Suite 109 Sausalito, CA 94965 | 415-332-5625 | https://www.legaragesausalito.com | $$$ |
| Activities | |||||||
| 1. Spa Resonance Marin | Booked: Wednesday, June 9 @ 13:00am-17:00 | 7.4 | Wed – Sun 10am – 6pm | 26 Tamalpais Dr Corte Madera, CA 94925 | 415-891-3328 | https://resonancemarin.com/pages/medical-massage | Massage: 60 min/ $150, 90 min/ $225 + Cupping Facial: 60 min/ $150, 90 min/ $225 |
| 2. Muir Beach |
I organized the restaurants/ activities in ranking order so I would know which place was most reviewed on Yelp, as well as Google Reviews indicating a definite place to visit.
- This helped me to really narrow down what I really wanted to do.
- It helped me to know what to expect financially.
- How to schedule each activity for each day we were there.
It was important to me that we weren’t spending most of our time driving or getting lost, so I arranged our Vrbo to be within walking distance to downtown. Wherever we went it was no more than a 10-15 minute drive.
Researching all of the local places in this way benefitted our first night there when the restaurant I orignally picked for dinner was closed. I was able to pull this baby up in no time and be like, Where else can we go?
It had the hours of operation, address, and how far it is all in one spot. Most importantly, I had the peace-of-mind knowing whatever we chose would be delicious according to reviews.
Create an Itinerary
I know to some, creating an itinerary may seem like you’re doing “the most,” but this outline really paid off in the long run. I’m a pen to paper kind of gal, but I knew I would need to take this document with me during our trip for reference and didn’t want to rustle through my bag to take out a crumpled up piece of paper.
I chose to use Google Docs since I have an email account with them already and it’s user friendly. I agree, this isn’t a special event, or company project, but it’s the stress-free experience you’re creating this for. Here’s a preview of what it looked like.
Couples Getaway
Mill Valley, CA
Hotel Accomodation: VRBO
| DATE: | Monday, June 7 – Thursday, June 10 | Location: | 28 Helens Ln Mill Valley, Ca 94941 |
| Time: | 16:00 CHECK IN 11:00 CHECK OUT | Cost: | $000.00 |
Itinerary
| DATE | TIME | ACTIVITY | LOCATION |
| Monday, June 7 | 13:00 | Lunch Sam’s Anchor Cafe | 27 Main St Tiburon, Ca 94920 |
| 16:00 | VRBO Arrival Check-in | 28 Helens Ln Mill Valley, Ca 94941 | |
| 18:00 | Dinner Burmatown | 60 Corte Madera Ave Corte Madera, CA 94925 | |
| Tuesday, June 8 | 8:00 | Red Whale Coffee | 247 Shoreline Hwy Ste A5 Milly Valley, CA 94941 |
| 11:30 | Breakfast/ Brunch Reservation at Le Garage | 85 Liberty Ship Way, Sausalito, CA 94965 | |
| 13:00 | Walk around Downtown Mill Valley or Strawberry Village | ||
| 17:45 | Dinner Reservation at Gravity Tavern | 38 Miller Ave, Mill Valley, CA 94941 |
One of the main reasons I create an itinerary for our trips is for the babysitter and whoever may be house sitting. They’ll know where exactly to find us in case of an emergency, but they’ll also have an idea of how to plan their day for when we leave and return.
As you’ve noticed I use military time, I used to work at a hospital and I continue to read it this way because it prevents the whole A.M. or P.M confusion.
Scheduling your day out will also help when you’re packing. You’ll know what exactly to bring based on what you’ve planned.
Download and edit my actual layout down below. You’ll be able to see how I color code and arrange the entire week. Customize it to how your brain works and stays organized!
I really loved having our time scheduled. I knew what to expect each day. So if my husband asked me questions, all I had to do was refer to this document. I didn’t have to Google the name of the place and then click their website for more information.
We were able to take our time with whatever we were doing (wink, wink); Getting ready, browsing around, or going for a hike.
We didn’t have to wonder or worry about what we were going to do next, or what we were going to eat for dinner after a specific activity – it was already figured out for us.
My Real Flex 