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The Savvy Scot

Personal finance and lifestyle blog

5 Tips for Planning a Holiday – £300 Giveaway

By savvyscot

Happy Friday everyone! I am delighted to announce that The Money Principle, Skint and the City and SavvyScot have partnered up with My Voucher Codes to bring you a fantastic giveaway with a prize fund of £300! The giveaway will last until the end of the month and one lucky winner will receive £300 (over $450) via PayPal. While the winner will receive cash to spend on whatever they like, February is the month for HOLIDAY PLANNING!! 

Planning a Holiday Vacation

courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

5 Tips to Plan a Successful Holiday

 

Prepare Financially

This one is an easy one… if you prepare financially, then you immediately remove the worry of overspending before you go, whilst you are there and when you return. As simple as it may sound, you need to work out exactly how much the trip is going to cost. Use TripAdvisor to research typical menu and drinks prices (some travelers upload pictures of the menus) and find links to enquire about activities / sight – seeing. Booking trips / expeditions in advance often saves a small fortune and you can get discounts at ebookers. Taking Disney theme parks as an example: The cost of a 5 day multi-park pass online (in advance) is not too dissimilar to a day pass for one park on the main gate. Use the time you have at home to negotiate with different dive operators / hotels / car rental companies etc. and get a deal. Often companies like to have guaranteed business (because they use a lot of freelance staff) and will reward advance bookings with a hefty discount!

Book with a Reputable Travel Company

In our recession deprived economy, lots of travel agencies have been going bankrupt. Ensure that you book with a respected and protected agency to ensure that your money is safe! Better still, book directly with airlines. ATOL (Air Travel Organiser’s License) offer fantastic protection against unfulfilled trips. Comparison sites are great; ensure that you don’t book with a small intermediary firm which doesn’t book your flights / accommodation immediately. Consider alternate methods of transport that I previously discussed.

Take Travel Insurance

Many people have protection through current accounts / other policies. The bottom line is, ensure that you are covered. Medical bills (especially those that include specialist procedures or services like air lifting, re-compression etc.) can be astronomical! A few pounds investment now could save you paying 10s of thousands and bankrupting yourself!

Research Your Destination

Obvious right? Considering that most people don’t bother doing this and rely on a single guidebook… not so much! The internet is full of social (largely unbiased) reviews which you can take advantage of. Travel forums, review sites, Wikipedia, lonely planet …. the list of resources goes on! While I understand that you might want your holiday to be a break and stress-free, that is not an excuse not to do some research. You can always make a list of the top places to eat out or the top attractions – even if you only visit a couple. While more uncommon these days, you may not have internet access readily available at the destination – consider printing maps and directions.

Choose the Right Type of Holiday

What type of holiday are you after? If you are an adrenaline junkie like me, a fortnight long beach holiday on a remote desert island will cause you to get very bored. Equally, if you want a bit of peace and quiet, a party destination like Ibiza is not the best choice! What I guess I am saying is don’t book a holiday just because you are getting a deal. Last minute savings are only savings if you would have spent the money in the first place! Sometimes it is cheaper to book a holiday and arrange the ‘theme’ yourself. For example, it is often cheaper to make the arrangements for Ski holidays yourself (flights, hotel, lift pass, lessons etc.) rather than book a package through an agency – sometimes not. Take the time to do the maths and work it out!

 

If you won the £300, what holiday destination or activity would you put it towards?

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Filed Under: Competitions, Travel Tagged With: £300 giveaway, 5 top holiday tips, giveaway, tips to organise holiday, top holiday tips, win money

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Lovely comments

  1. Tracy Ross says

    February 8, 2013 at 11:03 pm

    Ireland!

  2. Canadian Budget Binder says

    February 9, 2013 at 12:02 am

    One tip that you pointed out was being prepared financially when planning a holiday. I’ve been on many holidays in my time and one thing I always did besides planning is saved the cash to go. There’s nothing worse than going into debt for a vacation but that’s my opinion where others may well not care.
    Canadian Budget Binder recently posted..Mr.CBB’s Personal Finance Reading List #6 ~Worrying and Complaining Does Nothing, Now That’s Snow!My Profile

    • savvyscot says

      February 12, 2013 at 6:31 pm

      That is very true Mr CBB – This probably doesn’t occur to 90% of people!

  3. Pauline says

    February 9, 2013 at 12:11 am

    Yay free money! £300 is just what I need to come back to France in April or May. There is this super cheap company flying from Cancún, round trip is usually £250, plus £50 to get there.
    Pauline recently posted..Your Debt Expert’s Tips For SavingMy Profile

  4. Vicky says

    February 9, 2013 at 2:55 am

    I think I would put the money towards a honeymoon in Hawaii! No, I’m not engaged yet, just thinking ahead. 🙂
    Vicky recently posted..Weekend Links – CNY edition!My Profile

  5. Rusu Alexandru says

    February 9, 2013 at 4:33 am

    I want to go at Paris in France!

  6. cathy henatyszen says

    February 9, 2013 at 7:20 am

    I could use it as part payment on a car so I could get back to doing all sorts or local day trips to check out my own township and surrounding cities… and beyond

  7. eemusings says

    February 9, 2013 at 8:39 am

    Oooh, I’d love to win this! I would put this toward our honeymoon fund. Never skimp on travel insurance! I’m super paranoid and always get it.
    eemusings recently posted..Same old same old money argumentsMy Profile

  8. Gillian Holmes says

    February 9, 2013 at 8:47 am

    Mt themed holiday would be stay at home and put it in the bank for a rainy day.

  9. KK @ Student Debt Survivor says

    February 9, 2013 at 8:36 pm

    bf and I have planned a trip to Vegas, but I’d love to do a trip somewhere warm and beachy instead. Maybe Aruba or the like. I never used to buy the travel insurance, but recently started when we started booking flights for my 80 year old grandparents. You never know what’s going to happen.
    KK @ Student Debt Survivor recently posted..How to Spend Too Much This Valentine’s DayMy Profile

  10. [email protected] says

    February 9, 2013 at 9:38 pm

    I cannot believe the amount of giveaways going on right now! Thanks for this Savvy!
    [email protected] recently posted..Embrace RepetitionMy Profile

    • savvyscot says

      February 12, 2013 at 6:29 pm

      Good Luck dude

  11. Bashir Ahmed says

    February 9, 2013 at 10:49 pm

    Your £300 Giveaway is awesome, I’m not planing for holiday but I’d love to help some poor peopls and pay my bills. I’ll do my best.

    Thanks for the givaway.

  12. Simon C says

    February 9, 2013 at 11:56 pm

    Would love to go back to Toronto, this would help!

    Simon.

  13. Michelle says

    February 10, 2013 at 12:06 am

    I would put the money towards a trip to Nicaragua! I’m glad that you brought up travel insurance. People tend to forget about the fact that life still happens when you’re traveling. I was in a car accident in Toronto one year and had to go to the hospital in an ambulance. Luckily, I didn’t have to pay anything.

    • savvyscot says

      February 12, 2013 at 6:29 pm

      My goodness, that sounds awful! Glad you were OK financially!

  14. Gemma says

    February 10, 2013 at 5:02 pm

    Hi, I want to go to Paris this year.

    Also, another tip I would add to this brilliant post is that if you are a UK resident make sure you get a EHIC card which is free and means that you can get reduced or sometimes free hospital treatment within Europe.
    Gemma recently posted..Valentines on a BudgetMy Profile

    • savvyscot says

      February 12, 2013 at 6:28 pm

      Great point Gemma… saves a huge outlay for sure

  15. Doreen Lamoureux says

    February 10, 2013 at 8:44 pm

    We did not have our honeymoon yet. We choose to fix up our new home first. so, I would put it towards a romantic getaway. Perhaps, someplace in Ontario.

  16. Andrew Leachman says

    February 11, 2013 at 1:17 am

    I’d put this money towards a trip to Europe, Particularly the UK as i’ve become fascinated with it recently. The humor, the food, the way of life all capture my attention and pique my interest.

  17. David says

    February 12, 2013 at 12:22 pm

    I’d love to go back to New Zealand, so that’s what I’d do with it.

  18. Ursula Bingham says

    February 13, 2013 at 8:53 pm

    We’ve already booked 2 weeks in Scotland so I’d use the money to visit the historic places in Edinburgh and elsewhere.

  19. katie corr says

    February 15, 2013 at 10:11 am

    ive always wanted to visit spain

  20. Ann Robinson says

    February 15, 2013 at 6:47 pm

    I’m not too bothered where so long as there is lots of sunshine

  21. wendy stanger says

    February 17, 2013 at 10:39 pm

    Have to be disney paris with the kiddies @kikicomp

  22. Attachment Mummy says

    February 21, 2013 at 10:18 am

    Disneyland Paris!

  23. Nataly Carbonell says

    February 23, 2013 at 2:25 pm

    Spain!

  24. james holder says

    February 25, 2013 at 3:02 pm

    I would put 300 pounds towards taking my darling wife on a honeymoon. It is 7 years since we got married and she has been very patient. We have a one week window and want to go somewhere in Europe. 300 pounds would make a significant difference to where and how memorable it would be.

  25. nicola barter says

    February 26, 2013 at 11:09 am

    would take the children to butlins 🙂

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