Preparing For Your Holiday: Top Tips Before You Travel

Image Credit 

Holidays can be some of the most exciting times, but they can be the most stressful too. You will probably have been looking forward to getting away all year, and you don’t want one small mistake to ruin everything. 

With holidays being such a significant expense, we want to get the most enjoyment from them, without anything going wrong. Obviously, there will occasionally be things that are out of our control that can cause us problems; however, the majority of issues can be avoided if we think about everything before we go and plan accordingly.

Planning

Forward planning can remove a lot of the stress and worry, and will allow you to relax once you set off. Nobody likes to spend their entire flights anxious about every little thing. The earlier you can start planning for your holiday, the better. 

Once your holiday is booked, find out if you need a visa to visit the country. Apply for your visa as early as possible. You may need to provide information, or identification to support your visa application, and gathering all of this might take you some time. Different countries operate in various ways. For some visas, you may need to visit the nation’s embassy in your country, and for others, you can apply online and get the visa immediately.

Check how long you have on your passport too, and go online to find out if there are any minimum lengths you need to have on your passport to visit that country. Again, if you need to update your passport, this can take quite a long time, so apply straight away. 

Book your insurance early. Shop around for the best quote, but be sure you know what you are covered for. Check with your bank too, as some offer travel insurance as part of the benefits of having a current account with them. 

Check if there are any recommendations for vaccines for the area that you are visiting, getting sick when you’re on holiday can be a huge expense. 

Find out if you will need any insect or mosquito repellent. Some places can be a thriving hotspot for them, while others less so. If the area is known for them, take a plug-in for your bedroom too as this will stop you getting bitten in your sleep. 

If you are off somewhere hot, you will need sun cream. Take a higher factor for the start of your holiday, and then move to a slightly lower factor later. But take plenty with you. Often in tourist areas, sun cream can be much more costly than back home. 

If you plan on using your phone whilst abroad, check with your provider to find out what the tariffs for the country you are visiting are. Roaming charges can be very expensive, and you wouldn’t want a nasty surprise in your phone bill to look forward to when you come home.

Don’t forget useful essentials such as travel adapters

Make a list of everything that you will need. Start making the list a week or so before you go, and that will give you time to think about anything that you might have forgotten. Packing the night before will send you into a panic when you get on the plane. 

What Clothes To Take

Find out what kind of weather and temperatures to expect during your stay, and start planning your outfits accordingly. Look at the average conditions for the season that you are visiting. 

Think practically about the clothes that you are taking. If you need to take a lot of items, then look at finding lighter materials. If you are off somewhere cold, look for materials that provide warmth without being too heavy. 

Shoes are an important part of any outfit, and you don’t want to just wear the same pair for the whole of your holiday. But when you are thinking about what to take, consider how much space shoes take in your luggage. They are often oddly shaped, and take up a lot of room. Try to pick a couple of pairs of shoes that will go with as many of your outfits as possible.

Tips To Save Space In Your Luggage

Firstly, buy yourself the largest, lightest case you can find. Do remember though, t

Baggage costs can be excessive, with some airlines only offer quite restrictive luggage allowances, charging a premium for increases. You don’t want to incur the charges for going over your baggage allowance.

Packing all of your essential items within your weight limit can be quite a challenge, but it is possible to go on holiday with enough outfits to wear something new each day. 

Firstly, buy yourself the largest, lightest case you can find. Do remember though, that baggage handlers may throw your case around quite a bit, so it does need to be strong enough to make the journey. 

Saving weight on your case means that you’ll have weight to use on the essentials. But you also need to think about the space in your case too. 

Rolling clothes is better than folding them. You will be able to squeeze a great deal more in.

If you’re thinking of taking lots of guidebooks, why bother? You can download plenty of apps that will be able to help you find your way around your destination.  This will save you lots of space. 

If you are thinking about reading on the beach, but are not sure which books to take, remember, taking several books can really weigh you down. Why not take an e-reader instead, and you can have lots of ebooks stored.

Make sure and weigh your case before you set off. Allow a little extra space for any souvenirs that you might pick up, and don’t forget to check with your airline to find out about any restrictions of the types of items you can pack in your cases. 

Once you’ve packed, the only thing that you need to remember to do is to relax!