maverickbirdHolidays are great fun – when you arrive, you can relax and spend some valuable time unwinding from the normal routine. But before you can chill out, you need to book your holiday. To do so, you’ll have to do a bit of research. It’s not the most enjoyable part of holiday planning, but it’s essential for having a stress-free and fun trip. We’ve made the task a bit easier for you by outlining five things you should consider:
- Up-coming destinations
Where do you want to go? If you’ve got somewhere in mind, you can skip this step. But plenty of people struggle when deciding where’s best to visit – whether it’s down to too much choice or a lack of information about where is suitable, it’s the first thing you should research.
A good way of narrowing down the choice is to research up-coming destinations. Rather than choosing the same places as all your friends, find out where is set to be popular in the years to come. Chile, Canada, New Zealand and Denmark are amongst the suggestions for 2017 from the Telegraph.
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- Reviews
Once you’ve narrowed down your destination, start to look up reviews from bloggers and travel magazines. The idea is to get an honest view of whether a destination offers things you’d enjoy so try and find reviews from people with similar requirements to you.
- Average prices
Next up, find out roughly how much it’s going to cost you. It’s not just about flights and accommodation, but general costs. Is food expensive? What about the key attractions? How much do they cost? You should accommodate for spending money in your travel budget.
Is it somewhere you can haggle? If so, that’s great news because it can save you at least 20% off the original asking price. Start small, get practicing your poker face and check out these top tips for becoming a master at haggling.
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- Book attractions
Investigating how popular key attractions are is worth a bit of your time. Some places get booked up quickly and you could miss out. Getting tickets or reservations in advance ensure you’ll be able to visit all the places on your must-see list.
- Check your passport
Last but not least, check your essentials. You need a passport to travel – so make sure it’s in date before you book your holiday. It can take a while to renew your passport and the last thing you want is to book somewhere and have to stress about your passport. What’s more, be aware that there are also some countries that require your passport to be valid for a period from your date of arrival.
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What do you research before travelling? Share your suggestions with us.