You see me? I loveeee a holiday. Personally, nothing beats exploring a new country, learning about a new culture and attempting to try something new. If you’ve read by Get To Know Me post, you’ll knowww that I’m trying to do #25By25 (which I am currently miserably failing lmao).
Travelling can be very expensive, stressful and busy (especially if you’re going during major school holidays), however, this shouldn’t stop you from having the time of your life. Whether you’re flying out with a sweet one, or with your friends, or better yet, by yourself for a relaxing time, it’s always great to get some inevitable problems out of the way asap.
So you want to go on holiday.. You’ve rounded up your friends, which is more time the most difficult task out of all of this. You know what outfits you want (or you’ve saved people’s insta posts, cos same!) and you’re sure that the country you chose is the one..
Now I’m no professional travel blogger (yet), but I sure do know a thing or two when it comes to booking a holiday that will be one to remember. From friends, to currency to accommodation, there is always so many things to consider when trying to plan a holiday, so here I give you a few tips that I use when I am booking a holiday.
- Avoid Busy Travel Dates
It’s a no brainer that holidays during school times are undoubtedly going to be more expensive, so if you can, aim to avoid school holidays. Now if you’re still in school/sixth form, this can be real awkward as you think you’ll have to miss out.. but if you plan in advance, you can still secure reasonable prices for great summer destinations.
Bare in mind, some countries are always pricier, regardless of the time of year and hence I suggest booking at least 8-10 weeks in advance if you can in order to get a better deal on your holiday.
- Look Around for Flights
Before this year, the Easyjet app was my best friend. That, and lastminute.com, was all I knew. But this year, I got put onto SkyScanner (btw if you’re my friend and you knew about SkyScanner and didn’t tell me? you’re fake). SkyScanner literally does all the work for you by comparing all flights to the country of your choice with all airlines flying out around that date.
Always try to look for flights midweek, like Tuesday to Thursday, and during the day. My mum told me that prices are always cheaper when people are at work, and ngl for some reason, it’s actually right.
- Pack in Advance
First of all, this 10 x 100ml rubbish will always irritate me because decanting products is just a waste. However, if you’ve got moneyyyy then by all means do up hold luggage. If you’re doing beauty, short EU destinations, a hand luggage is always the way forward. Remember you’re going to a beach, so what are you really filling your case with besides shorts and tops? Trust me you can get a weeks worth of outfits and swimsuits in a hand luggage (I’ll soon show you anyway)…
Packing is the most time consuming part of the holiday, once it’s booked anyway, and if you don’t pattern it sooner rather than later, you’ll most likely leave something really important out. Try to get a checklist (Tiger do great ones for £1), or better yet make one yourself so that you have one less thing to worry about.
- Research the Country You Plan to Visit
This one may seem like a real obvious tip, but you’d be surprised at how many people know next to nothing about the country they’re visiting. Always try to look into the country you intend to visit to find out if there are any important things that could impact your holiday (e.g. Dubai has certain rules about how you dress). It may seem silly, but it’s better to respect the culture of the people who’s country you’re visiting.
Research doesn’t only come in handy in regards to culture, but it helps to know what transport is like there and what fun things you can expect to do when you’re out there. This definitely helps when it comes to budgeting, because if you have an idea of how much things cost, you can bring money accordingly (nobody likes being the broke one on holiday).
Even though these tips are real real basic, trust me these are the things you’ll often forget. But I will definitely have more tips, and I will cover more of the trips I do in the next 5 years.. stay flying with me..
love,
S♡