AD | Collaborative post
Planning a summer holiday can be a massive task, especially if you’re going away with children. We went on our first holiday abroad earlier in the year and there are some things I wish I had done to make the whole trip a lot easier and a lot less stressful.
Choose Clothes Wisely
When I packed for our holiday abroad this year I don’t think I did a very good job of it, which isn’t really like me at all. We ended up taking so many clothes for Erin, most of which she didn’t wear but not nearly enough for me and John. I’m not really sure what happened. The key to good packing is making a list quite some time before you actually want to pack and revise it a couple of times to make sure you do have everything written down.
Take More Snacks
I thought I was being really clever and I took what I thought was a lot of snacks away with us. As we didn’t know what the all inclusive food would be like, and the fact that Erin is quite picky, I took a few bags of snacks I knew Erin liked with us. Unfortunately, it really wasn’t enough and as Erin was spending all day running around or swimming, she got hungry a lot! She also really wanted cheese and onion crisps! Even if you think you have packed enough snacks, throw in another bag just in case… you can always eat them yourself.
Travel Insurance
You would think that travel insurance would be right at the top of people’s lists for holiday planning. Normally this is something I get sorted as soon as I book a holiday but for our holiday to Majorca, I actually forgot all about it. Apart from when I lived in Canada for a year I have never had any issues while on holiday but typically, this was the holiday where things went wrong. John decided to get in the pool while forgetting that his phone was in his pocket and I had an issue with my camera on a day trip to the beach. Of course, these things happened the one time I didn’t have travel insurance. We were very lucky that the phone dried out and my camera seemed to fix itself but the next time we book a holiday I’ll be going straight to Bupa Global Travel to book my insurance.
Contingency Funds
You never know what is going to happen on holiday so it’s worth having some extra money set aside in case things go wrong. Flights can easily be delayed and you may find yourself in the airport for a much longer period of time when you’ll obviously need extra food and drink. If you’re on an all inclusive holiday you might find yourself away from the hotel for longer than planned and again, need extra food and drink for everyone. You might also find your child’s inflatable or arm bands pop and you need to buy replacements from a local shop. All sorts could happen on holiday so having some extra cash set aside is a really sensible thing to do.
What tips would you give for planning a summer holiday?
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