The key to having a terrific time lies in the planning. It can be done on the spur of the moment, but infrequent travelers may want to start three to four weeks ahead of the travel date.

Who’s Traveling with You?

Decide if you want to go with one friend or a group. A getaway with several girlfriends can be livelier and more fun, but make sure you have an even number of gals – it usually works best for hotel accommodations. If you can get eight friends together, you can get a group discount from your airline.

Where Will You Go?

You may have an idea already, but poll your group to make sure everyone wants to go to the same place. If you want warm weather, narrow it down. Choose a seaside or desert location like Ft. Myers, San Diego, Scottsdale or Las Vegas. If skiing is your love, plan for Denver, New Hampshire or even outside Los Angeles at Big Bear. If you just want to get away to “somewhere warmer,” try Atlanta, Dallas/Ft. Worth, or San Francisco.

What Will You Do?

If you travel with just a couple of friends, you’ve got to be sure everyone is onboard with the same activity schedule. However, if you travel with 4 or more friends, the group can easily split up to see different sights, then regroup for dinner. For example, cities like Las Vegas or New York offer a multitude of options. In Las Vegas, you can choose from casino gaming, headliner shows, museums, art displays, spas, shopping, desert tours and even Grand Canyon tours. New York has dozens of museums, Fifth Avenue shopping, bargain shopping in Chinatown, ethnic tours, garment district tours, Broadway shows, uptown, downtown, midtown, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and so much more. The most important thing is that you nail down two or three things that you absolutely don’t want to miss while you’re on your getaway. Lock those into your schedule and then add other activities more spontaneously.

How to Start Planning.

The Internet is absolutely your best friend for travel planning. Google the visitor’s bureau for your destination. It’s a great starting point with links to loads of choices for hotels, restaurants and events. Send for a visitor’s guide. Call and ask questions. The job of a visitor’s bureau is to help you find what you need so that you have a good time when you visit.

Picking a Hotel.

I recommend starting at kayak.com because it gives you all the hotel rates for a given date and destination. Then visit each hotel’s own website. Sometimes these offer an even better rate. Take a good look at the accommodations, where they’re located and how many people per room it allows. Read the reviews carefully. I only recommend priceline.com if you bid for a 4-Star or 5-Star hotel and you have no preference for location. In NYC, for example, that could mean you’ll be cabbing, walking or catching the subway more than you may prefer. But it could be well worth it. Check tripadvisor.com for honest recommendations.

Good planning really does help make your getaway a success. Everyone can share in the online research, but delegate one person to make all the reservations. Then everyone can share in the getaway fun.