Its an extremely exciting time planning your next adventure and as a travel consultant for over 10 years the main question I always get “where do I start?” or “how much is my trip going to cost”… This is where I come in to help make this holiday a reality!
Here are some of my important tips and tricks…
- Make a list (THE DREAM) – Write down every single place you want to see, every sight you want to visit, approximate dates you want to travel, how long you want to go for and also how much you are willing to spend.
- Narrowing the list down – So in a perfect world you would have 1 million dollars, no work commitments and be able to spend 6 months travelling but that just isn’t real life. Once you have list we can make amendments and know your priorities – firstly what on the list is the most important (you don’t want to miss), what is something that you can cut out should we need due to time or funds available.
- Being realistic about the travel plans – With my job I know that you want to try and incorporate as much into the trip as you possibly can but 1 thing that a lot of clients forget is about travelling days – example travelling to Italy for 9 days can take at least 24 hours to reach your destination so two of the 9 are spent as travelling days, adding in some local travel throughout Italy also can cut down time. When travelling with children or if you have injury (bad knee/hip) then you also need to try and incorporate some rest days as some trips can be quite exhausting on the body
- Working out the itinerary – Once you have looked at travelling days and the must dos, working out then how much time you need in each area with the things you want to do comes next. My suggestion is look at the map and see exactly where everything is located. You don’t want to do any backtracking. WHY? Because if you can do things in an order, then this will not only save you time but also money!
- You pay for what you get – Depending on the standard of accommodation or tour you are after, its right you pay for what you get. So please do take this into consideration when planning your trip. A term I hear a lot is “your not in your room all that often, you are just there to sleep” yes this is correct. However if your hotel is located 1 hour out of the main city then travelling in and out (and the money you will pay for that extra transport) and the time spent doing it is also needed to be taken into consideration. I suggest something clean, comfortable and in a good location
- Booking early – please try and take advantage of availability and book in advance. The reason is some companies offer early payment discounts of up to 10% or the other really important note would be that you get the availability for the tour/cruise you are after. People say you can get last minute deals and YES sometimes you can, but its never for the time you ever want it. If you are retired and looking at cruising, by all means – please take advantage of the last minute deals but for those who have work commitments or children do book in advance
I hope my quick ideas will help you all on your next adventure and just remember to MAKE THE LIST, it will save you so much time in the long run and you won’t come home and need a holiday to relax after your trip.
After working with Tabitha and Simon, we have come to see many similarities with how we independently help clients, and that is being the guide to help navigate what can be a tedious process, ensure that every ‘I’ is dotted and ‘T’ is crossed. Professional advice is vital!
Bethany Garland
italktravel
Mobile Consultant
bethany@thejunction.italk.travel
https://www.italk.travel/newcastlewest
