Travelling is something to be enjoyed and certainly not to get stressed about, but the corporate lifestyle we lead all year round can leak into into our personal lives causing us to worry about things.
People who work all year round and only get to take a couple of holidays per year often end up putting a lot of pressure on their international trip. Since they do not get to travel too often, when they get the chance they want everything to go according to plan!
If your one of these people then there are a plenty of things you can do in advance to ensure your trip runs smoothly. Lets take a look at ways to prepare for your next international trip to give you the perfect vacation experience.
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Knowing when to book flights
Air fares for an international trip seem to fluctuate all over the place these days, especially with the introduction of budget airlines. For example flights with Europe can range anywhere from £20 return to £200 depending on the destinations you choose and when you book.
My advise is to use sky scanners search tool to look for the best options. If your flexible with dates this is especially useful since you can compare the fares for the whole month and then select the cheapest dates. There is also an option to search from one destination to ‘everywhere’, you will then be displayed with all the destinations you can fly to from that destination in order of price. So if your flexible with both dates and where you would like to visit you can pick up some fantastic deals.
With regards to when to book your flights, according to hopper.com you should ‘Book your flight at least 25 days in advance, but not further out than 150 days’. The same theory often applies to booking hotels too.
Book Travel Insurance
The last thing you want is a problem abroad. But these things happen and its better to make sure you are covered before you leave.
Whether your bag gets stolen or you injure yourself you want to make sure you get covered and avoid the risk of huge foreign medical bills for example.
When booking your flight you will usually have an option to add on insurance to your international trop which is worth doing it. You might also want to check with your bank or other financial providers who may actually offer free or discounted travel insurance through your current account policy.
Have you ever been sick on holiday? Your Legal Friend may be able to help, even without insurance it might be possible to claim.
Research your travel destination
I think it is unnecessary to book up any tours prior to your international trip and better to decide what you want to do when you arrive based on how you feel.
However it is worth doing your research before you travel to give yourself a rough idea on how you would like to spend your holiday.
Website like Trip Adviser, Lonely Planet and Travel Blogs can give you some ideas of what to do on your holiday. Look up the museums you would like to visit, nearby points of interest that you can visit via excursion and any activities that you can do like diving or paragliding. This will help you prepare mentally for your trip, get you excited and also help set your budget in advance so that you do not over spend.