If you’re tired of small weekend trips and long to see the sorts of sights and destinations you’ve only dreamed about, perhaps it’s time to rethink your future travel plans.

Think about it: wouldn’t you rather enjoy an awesome, epic vacation where you see everything that you want to see versus settling on second best?

The benefits of planning a long-term, epic vacation are well-documented, including…

• The ability to truly “get away from it all” rather than take small trips which can be the source of major stress
• Exposing yourself to new experiences and insights: it’s difficult to grow personally when you never venture far beyond your own backyard
• Making the most of life: perhaps it sounds dramatic, but oftentimes our window of opportunity for long-term travel closes as we get older

In fact, one of the most common regrets of the elderly is that they didn’t travel or see the world to the extent which they would have liked. So, if you have the chance or financial means to go on a once-in-a-lifetime vacation, what’s holding you back?

Maybe you don’t know how to make your dream vacation a reality. If so, keep the following four tips in mind to make it happen.

Pick Some Epic Destinations

Everyone’s different in terms of what they want to see, right. Perhaps you want to go on an epic RV vacation across America, or maybe you’re interested in backpacking across Europe. Either way, it’s up to you to pick out an amazing destination and crunch the numbers in terms of what it’s going to take to get you there.

Likewise, you’re going to need to figure out how long you plan on traveling and how long you expect to stay in any given spot. Once you understand this, you can iron out your budget.

Find a Travel Partner

Whether a friend, family member or your significant others, it always pays to have a travel partner. Both for the sake of safety and splitting the cost of food and lodging, having someone else join you on your adventure is a good move. If you prefer solo travel that’s totally fine; however, bear in mind that you’ll be footing the bill on your own.

Pick the Right Time of Year

Timing is everything when it comes to travel. From avoiding tourist crowds to understanding when you can realistically take time off work, don’t ignore the calendar while planning your trip. Also, you may need to book certain accommodations or attractions months in advance (campsite and tours, for example) and don’t just assume you can “wing it” once you’re there.

Start Putting Money Away Today

The more money you have in your pocket by the time your trip rolls around, the better. This doesn’t even account for expenses you should account for beforehand such as potential airfare, lodging, fuel and food. As such, you need to get your spending habits under control sooner rather than later and start saving immediately in some way, shape or form.

Whether by automatically depositing a portion of your paycheck or putting cash away in a jar, an extra money you have on hand in a huge plus. Even something as small as $20 a week can make a difference if you end up saving over the course of months.

Don’t assume that you don’t have what it takes to go on a truly memorable vacation that’ll stick with you for a lifetime. With these tips in mind and the right game-plan, your epic vacation may very well be a few months away.