Life begins at 40! The kids are quickly flying the nest, or at the very least gaining more independence, and suddenly you have lot more time and energy to do the things you’ve always wanted to do. As such, you think it’s the perfect time to go on that dream getaway you had always envisioned. Whatever your ideal holiday looks like, whether you want to jet off across the Caribbean or sail through the Adriatic Sea, planning your own holiday can be a difficult undertaking. In fact, it is often the case that the better the holiday is the more of a headache it can be to put together.
Let us offer you some advice to help you plan the holiday of your dreams, after all you deserve it!
The first questions you need to ask is, who you are going to take with you? Are you in the mood for a family retreat? Or is this just for mum and dad? The company you keep can greatly affect the quality and focus of your holiday experience, knowing this information in advance is fundamental to planning the best holiday possible for all.
If this is the first holiday you’ve planned in a while it might be best to make it a small affair as large groups can create more hassle!
Secondly, you should consider what you want to get out of this holiday. Too many holidays are planned around an activity alone, guided by little more than the thought that ‘’jet skiing sounds fun’’ or ‘’you can never go wrong with an all-inclusive spa’’.
Instead consider planning your holiday around the feeling that you want to be left with after your stay! For example, if you want to de-stress from your busy work life a yoga and spa retreat would serve you better than a fitness bootcamp!
Even with a cosy business class seat, long haul flights with multiple layovers are never fun, especially if you’ve got kids to keep entertained. Look around you at all the fantastic options available right on your doorstep. Yearn for a warm climate and a beautiful sea? Greece might have what you’re looking for. Want a luxury skiing holiday? You can reach Austria in under four hours by plane from London.
Not only can travelling closer to home help to reduce a lot of the stress that comes standard on long flights, but it can also save you quite a bit of money.
If it wasn’t already clear enough, booking a holiday from scratch can be a daunting task. Consider enlisting the help of professionals to aid you in finding the perfect retreat to suit your needs and let them do the heavy lifting.
That dream retreat is out there and we here at Health and Fitness Travel are dedicated to helping you find it. Whether it’s a refreshing detox retreat in India that you thirst for or an energising all-inclusive adventure holiday in New Zealand.
There are lots of things we can’t account for, if your holiday unfortunately does not go as planned, you’ll want to make sure you have travel insurance to cover you just in case.
Packages vary but, most travel insurance can help protect you against financial burdens incurred from the lost or theft of personal items, missed or delayed flights, the cancellation of your holiday for reasons outside of your control, and personal injury. It’s best to make sure all personal health issues are insured under for peace of mind.
There are many providers of travel insurance, but some of the most popular websites for getting a good deal are: Comparethemarket.com and Moneysupermarket.com
Now that you know where you’re going it would be wise to check the Government requirements for that destination, as well as to talk to your GP about recommended vaccinations to protect yourself and others while you travel.
Depending on where you intend to travel, your GP may recommend that you receive vaccinations or booster vaccines for a number of diseases including cholera, hepatitis, meningitis, polio, etc.
See further information on travel vaccinations on the NHS website or contact your GP.
One of the most important steps in planning your perfect holiday is making a clear and easy to follow budget, regardless of whether your holiday is priced at £500 or £5,000 having a reasonable budget during your stay will give you peace of mind to spend your money how you want without feeling guilty!
To help you stick to this budget we’d also recommend withdrawing and converting some of your cash before you set off – withdrawing cash beforehand can also help you to avoid fees on cash withdrawals abroad.
Your younger self may not have minded a few hours of cramped seating and less than edible in-flight refreshments, but your wiser self knows that convenience isn’t worth the back pain and claustrophobia that come complimentary in the cheap seats.
Maximise your comfort while flying by bringing along personal items such as a compact neck pillow and eye mask. Extra legroom seating can be purchased for a little as £50 on some British airliners, so if you feel like splashing out, we recommend paying for an upgrade to a class with more leg room, your knees will thank you!
Holiday are great for getting you on your feet, however that’s not to say we want to spend our whole holiday boring holes in our shoes. Try to book your hotels and other accommodations within a reasonable radius of the key locations and activities you wish to visit.
Or, if a holiday on your feet isn’t your style consider booking an all-inclusive holiday and enjoy all the amenities you could ever want within one easily walkable luxury resort!
We’ve all left the house in a rush and then panicked with intrusive thoughts of leaving the oven on or a tap running. Now that’s bad enough when we’ve just popped to the shops, imagine the sheer inconvenience of this happening when you’re relaxing on a beach thousands of kilometres away.
To ensure everything is in an unspoilt condition for your return, make prearrangements for house sitting, dog walking, and/or plant watering for your time away. This could be as simple as asking an acquaintance to stop by periodically or by hiring a private house sitter!
Holiday planning can be stressful, can’t it? Well stress no more, we have given you a fantastic jumping off point through these simple tips to help take some of the burden off planning your dream holiday. Naturally there are so many moving parts and intricacies to planning the perfect holiday that everything can’t be accounted for, but with that being said you can now build upon these helpful tips to make an informed decision about how you want to spend your holiday and how you can make it the best it possibly could be!
Talk to one of our Travel Specialists on 0203 397 8891 or contact us here to discuss tailor-making your perfect wellness holiday.
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