Searching for travel destinations can be a quick and easy process if you’re planning a trip to a popular destination, or it can take lots of diligent research and review if your destination might be a little off the beaten path.

If you’re contemplating taking a vacation for a long weekend or even a week, consider using these tips to make your holiday perfect.

* If you’ve narrowed down your destination, use the Internet for ideas by typing in keywords like “San Diego vacations.” You can find information on sites like Travelocity.com on special tours, lodging deals and even car rentals.

* Cruises are very popular trips to plan because of their economic and multiple port values. If you know you want to visit a specific port, you can quickly narrow down your trip to the cruise lines that cater to that port. From there, you can continue whittling your options by price, departure ports and services offered on the ship.

* Read other travelers’ reviews on destinations to help narrow down your trip. There are many sites online where you can discuss and read reviews on topics like hotels, beaches, tours, scenery, services and even the local people. You may discover additional places to visit, not already included on your list, which will help fill out your vacation plans.

* Check out travel books, the area’s chamber of commerce and departments of tourism for trip idea inspirations. The information should be free – either by renting books at the library or looking it up on the Internet.

* While you’re narrowing down the details of your trip, don’t forget to plan your lodging – which could make or break the trip. For example, if you want to visit Niagara Falls, you may want to look up bed and breakfast opportunities, or spend less money on cheaper Niagara Falls hotels. If you have no plans to spend much time at the hotel, then a less-expensive option might be a really good idea. But if you are thinking about sleeping in, are interested in enjoying a good breakfast or want a workout room to exercise in, then you should make sure you search for those options.

With all the efforts you put in to plan your own trip – including researching and figuring out all the details – you probably will start eagerly anticipating the vacation as the days quickly approach. And because it was personally planned and researched by you, it should be a very enjoyable experience.