It’s almost time for that break from reality and a chance to escape into summer for a well-earned respite from the day-to-day nonsense.
Not only does a good summer break give you a chance to rejuvenate, but it’s also a great chance to catch up with old friends, reconnect with loved ones and give your life a bit of a dusting off. However, what if it all goes wrong?
The best-laid plans can often go awry, and whether it’s your fault or the fault of others, making sure that you can adapt to any sudden changes to your plans is the only way to prepare for the best summer holiday possible.
Having a solid range of what-if scenarios in mind is a good way to start your getaway planning, but these tips will help you to prepare for the most unexpected of issues.
Preparing For Every Holiday Eventuality: Sometimes the Best Laid Travel Plans go Awry
Hotel Nightmares
Even with the best planning in the world, it can be all too easy to start your holiday badly if your hotel isn’t exactly as advertised.
There are vast numbers of news reports and documentaries showing families who were shown the top of the line accommodation, only to arrive and find that the hotel hasn’t even been built yet! Likewise, tired couples arriving to find there has been fire damage, a flood or any number of issues that they should have been notified of before they set off on their travels.
The good news is that, more than ever, the hospitality industry is incredibly reliant on reviews and online comments. As a result, most places will bend over backward to ensure that you have a good time.
And you should be able to check review sites for up to date information from travelers who have just been there.
Problems with Planes
Flying is one of those parts of the holiday that you just need get it out of the way. Unfortunately, planes can adversely affect your travel plans when there are delays, and these could cause you to lose out on vital relaxation time.
While you’ve no doubt planned and prepared your travel itinerary, the best schedule in the world isn’t going to help you if your flight is delayed for hours, and you end up stuck in a terminal when you should be on the beach.
There is good news, however, as airlines are required to compensate you for delays, and using resources like FairPlane will help you to recoup some of your losses. You may not get the lost time back, but you might just end up with a little extra money in your wallet.
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The Importance of Research
Whatever you choose to do on your well-earned break, always make sure that you do some research first. Look at online reviews of your destination, and keep an eye out for negative testimonials of restaurants, hotels, and beaches.
Plan your holiday well, and even if the very worst happens, you will move forward comfortably, meaning that you can spend more time relaxing in the summer sun.
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10 Comments
Can’t say I’ve ever rocked up to find the hotel hasn’t even been built yet – that’s a bit crazy … and perhaps fake advertising?!!!
Me either! Quite incredulous isn’t it! I don’t know whether it was a scam, or if the hotel booking system messed up by selling waaaaaaay too early – I’m going with scam though!
I think everyone has problems with planes – show me a traveler who hasn’t been delayed. I think everyone needs to plan their travels with extra time on their transit days because it’s pretty much a guarantee now that you’re going to encounter some form of delay. Transit sucks. We deal with it!
Totally agree with you Janine, and I’ve found as travel has become a larger industry and the airports have seen their traffic increase, it’s only gotten worse – I can’t see it getting better anytime soon. So yes, giving yourself extra time and planning for delays is a great way to approach your travel days :)
Your last line was the most important line of the whole post to me – “plan your holiday well”. Research is always the most important thing – I don’t know how other travelers do it when they rock up to a place without having looked anything up.
We were in Naples in summer last year, and pretty much everything in Europe is sold out over summer – a couple of backpackers rocked into the hotel to ask if there were any rooms available and it sounded like they had pretty much wasted their whole day going from hotel to hotel because they hadn’t set anything up for themselves. Spontaneity is great, but I’ll stick to my research thanks.
My dad instilled in us as kids the concept of the 6 P’s: “Prior planning prevents piss poor performance” – I’ve always loved the idea of spontaneous travel and showing up in a destination with no plans, but I’ve never been able to bring myself to travel without some sort of plan in place, and having done at least a little bit of prior research. I agree with you, you end up wasting time otherwise, and time is the one thing you don’t want to waste!
We always try to travel with what-if scenarios and back up plans – helps know what to do. We’ve turned it into a fun game of “what if” with the kids and they each have to come up with their own scenarios.
Fabulous to hear Erin! And a great approach to making travel planning fun for the whole family by turning it into a game they can play :)
Read reviews and you’ll be fine. There are so many independent review sites now that we don’t go anywhere near a hotel or tour company if they don’t have reviews from other travelers. We haven’t had any problems.
Totally agree with you – Tripadvisor is our review site of choice :) If it’s not on TripAdvisor it’s usually a sign to practice caution.