Page 11 - MidWeek - January 18, 2023

My husband loves to travel. He can thank his aunties for sharing the wonder of exploration and instilling in him an adventurous spirit. As art and social study teachers, they took him on trips every summer to explore the world. On the other hand, my first out-of-state trip wasn’t until after I graduated from college.
For my first trip outside the state of Hawai‘i, I used a local travel agency. The process was easy, and it was comforting to know that all the travel details were taken care of. Since then, my husband and I have planned many of our own trips, and we have also used an agency. For complex trips in unfamiliar territory, we usually rely on a travel agency. We’ve found that for some destinations, using an agency and having an escort is extremely valuable. Escorted tours are great, especially in foreign countries where the guides help you with everything.
On a recent vacation,
we planned and booked everything on our own. It was familiar territory so we were confident with our plans. From the start, we were faced with delayed flights, canceled flights, lost baggage, no hotel and no transportation. We did a lot of calling, spent hours on hold, did Google searches galore, and probably spent more money than we needed to making alternate arrangements. Amazingly enough, the trip was enjoyable and we accomplished what we wanted to, but the journey was rocky from beginning to end.
Some of our extended family recently had their cruise cut short due to a hurricane, and they had to spend a few nights in a shelter. However, they were on an escorted tour so arrangements and accommodations were made for them on their behalf. Flights were tough getting out due to delays and backlogs, but they managed to get flights and return home
January 18, 2023 MIDWEEK 11
PAULETTE ITO
SVP Marketing
Hawaiian Financial Federal Credit Union
Travel Experience Paulette Ito
safely. Their tour company scrambled, taking care of the group and constantly communicating with them — as opposed to my vacation, where we had to search for alternatives and grab the first thing available. We certainly didn’t have access to hotel or flight databases, and we sure didn’t have travel expert insights to help us navigate our issues.
Travel is a truly one of the best ways to learn and experience new things. Some use travel to unwind and restore themselves, while others use it for adventure and excitement. Whatever your motivation, and wherever you go, you need to be prepared.
For simplicity, let’s use the “who, what, when, where, how and how
much” planning method. Who is going and what accommodations will be needed? What will we be doing helps determine what to pack. When you are going helps with scheduling for appointments, house sitters and even what airports you may or may not want to fly through. Chicago may not be the best connection during winter, so you may want to choose Houston instead. Where you are going is the reason for travel and the most important question. How you are going to accomplish your travel goals is based on the previous answers. How much is an additional question, but extremely important because for every question you already answered, you also need to ask how much it will
cost. How much, how nice will the accommodations be, how much should we pack, how much are we willing to spend, and how much of our travel goals can we realistically afford to meet? Answering these questions should enable you to determine what type of trip you will have and if you will need a travel expert.
Helping all Hawai‘i’s ‘ohana achieve their highest quality of life possible is the main goal of the “Get Your House In Order” campaign, while reminding everyone of the importance of sound life- planning decisions. When the time comes to travel, I recommend you prepare well and share your itinerary with those closest to you so they will be able to contact you more easily in case of an
emergency.
Ho‘okele is a personal
planning booklet that contains legacy wishes, employment and retirement information, insurance and bank document locations, and vital contacts. There are four phases of the “Get Your House In Order” campaign, with a new section of the Ho‘okele guidebook available from the HIFICU. com website during each quarterly phase. Ho‘okele 1.1 and 1.2 are now available. Download your copy today and start completing your booklet.
For more information about the “Get Your House In Order” campaign, email gyho@hificu.com. And don’ t forget to tune in to KITV at 7 p.m. every Saturday to watch Get Your House In Order.
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