Are you dying for a holiday? Do you constantly have a travel website open in a tab in your work computer? Are you daydreaming of a week of culture, or a week of nothing, anything to get away from the dreary day to day? Who isn’t?
But before you hit “book” on that travel brochure, you might want to take a look at our suggestions. Things might have changed since the last time you travelled. So, make sure your long overdue holiday is as perfect as you’re imagining and read our guide.
Research your destination
If you’ve chosen a destination and you’re ready to start looking at accommodation and flights, take a pause. You might want to look at the cultural and crime problems in the country or area in case you have to tweak your attitude to fit. How you dress and compose yourself might be an issue depending on where you are, but even the “safest” of places have petty crimes. Paris – and a lot of European cities – is riddled with pickpockets, for example, which means you might want to invest in some clothing with a lot of pockets. Different etiquette can range from just making you stand out to being insulting or even having you arrested depending on where you are. Look up the common crimes and cultures to be ready.
Get your travel insurance
Travel insurance is a great way to keep yourself safe from the many trappings of travelling. Baggage lost? Travel insurance will cover its contents. Same for a stolen purse. If you eat the local cuisine and it doesn’t agree with you, or a sports activity goes wrong, your medical expenses will be covered. And, if you get the right policy, your holiday will even be covered if it’s cancelled or cut short due to Covid. You can find travel insurance from providers such as staysure as an example, just do a bit of research!
And speaking of that pesky little worldwide pandemic.
Get your Covid passport
Unfortunately, we’re still in a worldwide pandemic, which means you will need your Covid passport to enter certain countries. You can check whether your destination is demanding a Covid passport to enter the country or not via their or your country’s government website. The problem here is that as things have calmed, it’s hard to know what countries are actually checking for a Covid passport and which aren’t. Some countries, like China, are taking it more seriously than others, like some European countries. You might have it for nothing. But it also costs nothing, is little hassle (if you’re up to date with your vaccine) and is stored either in your phone or a piece of paper. It’s better to be safe than sorry. Don’t get stopped at the baggage claim.
Read reviews
Before you book anything, however, you should get really familiar with TripAdvisor. Look up every potential hotel and restaurant. Why restaurants? Well, if you’re looking for a holiday where you’re enjoying a night on the town and you end up at a resort where restaurants, bars, etc. are few and far between or not up to your standards, you’re going to feel like you wasted your money.
Similarly, you should read reviews not because the hotel looks bad, but it might not be to your taste. If you’re away for a week with the girls and the word “Wild” keeps coming into the conversation, you’re not going to want that “family friendly” resort with a noise limit and curfew.
So, you don’t necessarily need to read reviews to find flaws in the hotel or resort you’re staying at, but more to get the resort that suits your needs – and spot deal breakers of course.
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Meg is an author at Cinnamon Hollow. She writes on a variety of topics sharing tips and ideas for daily life.
