We are
always being bombarded by holiday companies, with adverts for
relaxing holidays on some foreign shore, languishing on some sun-kissed beach. The adverts will always show people with young, nubile
bodies nonchalantly strolling hand-in-hand against a backdrop of sun
and sea.
We all
know that holidays can be quite a stressful time, where you can often
wonder why you bothered in the first place. Have you packed the right
clothing? Will there be enough things to occupy the kids? What if the
hotel is half-built or next to a building site, the list goes on! You
even start to worry that you may not have turned everything off at
home before you set off, leaving you with that feeling that the bath
may still be running, and you are currently 36,000 feet in the air unable
to turn it off! You know the drill: if you booked the holiday then
it's your fault! It's your fault that the taxi to take you to the
airport was late! It's your fault that the French air traffic
controllers went on strike. It's your fault that the little one has
developed diarrhoea and you haven't even left Heathrow yet! It's your
fault that the hotel doesn't serve the exact beer/wine/spirits that your
other half likes!
All
this can be avoided! Just book the holiday, and unless any of your
party suffer anything serious just treat the whole episode as a new
experience.
There
are many ways to book a holiday, online sites, and the tried and
trusted high street travel agents are the most popular. Online sites
often look always the cheapest, but be careful, lots of them don't
show 'live' prices, so a holiday offered at £300 per week may end up
as £500 a week and more expensive than your local travel agent.
Having said this, the old-fashioned local travel agent is usually the
most expensive way to book a holiday. But if you want someone to do
all the work for you and look after you while on holiday, then they
are your best bet.
Online
sites often seem to be selling package deals, but are really just
selling you individual parts of a holiday so you don't have the same
protection with them that you would with the high street agent
selling package deals. You may also pay what you think is a bargain
price for a holiday only to receive a phone call to say the price has
gone up - this is because they couldn't get the flights they promised
or the hotel rooms they originally priced for have been sold. This is
a very common occurrence with lots of the cheap and cheerful sites. I
must point out that they are completely legal and as long as you read
their terms and conditions, you may get a bargain. I have tried every
which way there is to book a holiday, I have used the high street
agents, online cheap and cheerful, booked direct, booked villas and
flights and cars: you name it, I've tried it. But I think I have found,
for me, the cheapest way to book.
Firstly
when you have decided which country, resort you would like to visit,
go online and type in hotels then enter the name of your chosen
resort, add a star rating if you wish. When you find a hotel that you
like the look of, look it up on Trip Advisor or other such sites. Read
the reviews with an open mind, as some of the negative ones are written by people
who are merely after their money back. Once you have decided that you have found your
perfect hotel in your perfect resort in your perfect country of
choice, look up a variety of hotel room booking sites, there are
lots to choose from. You can of course book direct with the hotel, but
this will usually be more expensive, as the room booking companies
will have booked lots of rooms at a competitive price. Try to book
your room about five/six weeks before you go as the price will be at
its lowest then. You will hear lots of horror stories about using
bed booking companies but in my experience when you get bed-bumped
(room not available) it is usually the hotel's fault through double-booking, though they will never own up to it. I have used bed booking
companies many times and have never, as yet, ever had the slightest
problem. My son uses them on a weekly basis because he travels a lot
with his work, and he has only ever had one problem after hundreds of
bookings and that was his fault! He booked the correct hotel on the
correct day on the correct month but typed in the wrong year, so in
effect he turned up a year early! I think he gets this from his Mother's
side! Before you book, type into the internet "promo codes for..." then
type in the company you are choosing to go with, and you may save even
more money.
Book
your flight direct with the airline, there are lots of good sites you
can go on which will show you who is offering the best prices out
there. The low-cost carriers often get a bad name but again if you
read their terms and conditions they are often the best to travel
with if you are only going short-haul. Remember that if they say it
will cost you extra if you exceed weight or bag size, and you do
either, don't be shocked and outraged when the charge you extra!
Again, I have travelled numerous times with a certain low-cost airline
which has a reputation for being outrageous with certain policies, as
of yet I have had no problems. I would go as far as saying that they
are always my first port of call when flying short-haul. Long-haul
flights are different: don't go for the cheapest price or you might
find that you have three of four stops before you reach your
destination which could add another day to your flight! Flying to
Asia seems to be the worst for this.
When
you reach your destination you will need transport to your hotel.
Unless you know of a cheap car hire or taxi firm personally when
you arrive, always book before you travel. Again, go online and look
up car rentals/ coach or taxi transfers. When you find a
company offering what you want at a price you are happy with, again
type into the internet "promo code" for the company and you may get
even more money off. I have just come back from Spain and got my
transfers for half price by doing this.
You
will also need travel insurance, DON'T BUY IT FROM A TRAVEL AGENT!
This is ALWAYS the most expensive way. Your bank may have cheap
insurance deals, or you can use the online comparison sites. ALWAYS declare
any long-term illnesses you may have, because if you don't and you
fall ill it may make your insurance void.
Finally,
have fun, relax, and charge your batteries up, after all it will soon
be Christmas!
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