No doubt you’ll be excited to take your kids and loved ones on the holiday of a lifetime, but the rule of life is that if it involves family, it involves stress. And kids have no filter. If they don’t like what’s happening, they’re going to tell you about it. So, how do you0 avoid such a harsh critique of your holiday choices and keep your holiday as stress-free as possible? We’ve got a few tips that could help you to get started.
Get your travel insurance
While you’re booking your trip, it might be worth having a look at some travel insurance options. There are already a multitude of things that go wrong on holiday but when you put kids into the mix, the chances of needing travel insurance go through the roof. The chance of needing a trip to the hospital, losing a bag or purse, or catching covid all seem to go up with children in the picture. You can find many travel insurance providers on most insurance comparison sites but for specialist policies for something like a medical condition you may need to look at specific companies such as Staysure insurance. At least that way, if something does go wrong, an insurance provider will be around help you out.
Read reviews
It’s always the worst thing to get to a hotel you’ve booked, that looked like heaven on the site, only to find a glaring flaw that wasn’t mentioned. Hotels aren’t going to tell you if there isn’t a decent restaurant for miles, or that there is construction in the next lot over. They want you to buy rooms.
Do you know who will tell you? Reviewers. Get really cosy with TripAdvisor to be sure the hotel or resort you’re choosing suits your needs.
But that also begins with understanding what your needs are. If your little ones aren’t so little anymore, they might not be impressed with the waterslide and paddling pool resort and might appreciate a resort that’s central enough that they can wander and not get lost. Maybe they’re not the type for sun worshipping and want to go hiking/paragliding/cave diving. Think about what you’re looking for in a holiday and tailor your hotel decisions around that rather than if the hotel décor is nice.
Pre-book and package
A great way to relieve stress, especially if you’re looking for a beach holiday, is to go package. You’re really ultimately paying a couple of extra hundred pounds for the convenience of getting an all-in-one trip: hotel, flights, transfer. It means no searching for a taxi rank you trust so you don’t get ripped off, no hunting for legless seats on the cheapest airlines, no trying to match hotel room dates to airline dates. Buy it all in one. Simple.
But whether you go package or DIY, start booking months in advance. You can get better deals in advance, and you will have the time to really search for the best deals, rather than stressing at the last minute. Compare everything. Yes, flights and accommodation, but also activities and rental cars.
Research and prepare for your destination
We’re talking about a family holiday, which means you want to keep your family safe. No one likes to think about what could happen, but they could happen, so do your research. Look up your destinations of choice on the UK Gov website to get an overview of the criminal and societal climate of your destination. Maybe there are pick pocketers and scams to be aware of, freedoms that other people consider crimes, or even vaccines required to enter the country. If you are aware of these problems, you can then take steps to avoid them.