Why Getting Organised For Your Holiday Will Save You Money

With a long-awaited holiday on the horizon, it’s easy to let your excitement get the better of you. There are certain holiday essentials that can easily get overlooked as you get swept up in thoughts of lazy days on the beach or culture-filled walks around the city, so be sure to make yourself a checklist before you go.
While booking flights and accommodation will be the first things on your mind, you should also put some time into researching the best possible deal for travel insurance. Not all policies are the same, so don’t make the mistake of simply going with the cheapest option. Be sure that your chosen policy covers all angles – if you’re going skiing or snowboarding, for instance, then you may well need to take out a policy that has specific winter sports cover. Do your research and you won’t go too far wrong.

 Something else you should sort out well in advance of your trip away is travel money – it’s easy to pay over the odds for your travel money so look around for your best options before you go. Bowling up at the airport and changing your money on the day you fly is a sure fire way to pay the maximum as currency exchange companies based in an airport know that they have a captive audience. Search out your cheapest options online before you go to get the best deal.

For similar reasons, you should always pre-book your airport parking if you’re going to be leaving a vehicle there while you’re away. Search online for the different available options for the relevant airport and get it booked as early as you can to ensure you get a good price. If you turn up on the day and pay there and then, you’ll undoubtedly be paying more than you need to.

If you’re planning to hire a car in your destination country then once again it pays to book it online before you go. Prices will be significantly cheaper if you’re booking via the company’s website rather than turning up on the day, so seek out your best deal using the internet in the lead-up to your holiday. Similarly, booking activities such as attraction tickets before you go can often be a good idea as these are often available at a discount online if you buy in advance.

Key Things to Plan for Your Holiday in Europe

So your flights are booked, the hotel reservation has been made, you are confident you’ve got a fantastically priced deal and you are finally starting to day dream and get excited about your forthcoming summer holiday outing in Europe. It’s natural and extremely easy for people of all ages to get sucked in to all the excitement and hysteria that surrounds a summer vacation, but in order to get the best out of your holiday there are several key things to remember to sort out before you get on the plane and jet off to the summer sunshine.

     First of all, regardless of your destination in Europe, one thing you are almost certain to need is local currency to spend on your holiday – regardless of whether you plan to live lavishly or prudently on your visit. While these days it is possible to get currency at the airport and on arrival at the holiday destination you are visiting, it is almost inevitable that exchanging cash in the local bureau de change will leave you a little short when it comes to getting a fair exchange rate. Planning ahead therefore, you should always consider places in which you can get commission free travel money. There are now a number of online venders who offer a commission free service on Euros and other European currencies, and will allow travellers cheques and holiday money delivered to your door at your convenience. Services such as this are quick and convenient – particularly if you are unable to get to the town centre in the days leading up to departure.

      Another thing any holidaymaker should never leave home without is travel insurance. While the last thing anyone wants to feel before they set off on their summer holiday is pessimistic, it goes without saying it is always better to be safe than sorry. Curtailments and cancellations are unfortunately things that can affect all of us when we least expect it – and while it may be the last thing you want to think about on a holiday trip you should never get on a flight without already having sufficient medical cover in place for the region to which you are travelling. Travel insurance policies these days are very competitively priced and can be easily sorted out before you travel by booking online – so for the sake of a few quid you can have much greater peace of mind should the worst case scenario occur.

Buying Currency for Backpacking Holidays in Europe

If you are planning on taking a backpacking holiday in Europe it’s obviously a good idea to buy some currency in advance so you are not charged extortionate exchange rates at the airport or train station for your travel money. While you clearly wont want to be risking carrying around large amounts of cash in your wallet or rucksack, its still worth while having some local currency already in hand for when you arrive at your European city destination – particularly as you may arrive at an awkward time during the night (especially if arriving by train on an inter rail pass) when some currency exchanges may be shut.

Many young backpackers will look to buy currency from there local foreign exchange broker - simply because it is often the most convenient method of buying travel cash - but if you plan ahead carefully and buy your Euros online when the exchanges rates are at the best point for your regional currency (be it pounds, US Dollars etc), you may actually be able to get much better exchange rates and therefore make your hard earned money go a lot further during your backpacking trip in Europe.

With 16 current EU member states currently using the Euro as there currency – plus another 6 countries in the continent now using the Euro, it clearly makes sense that you will be needing this currency during many of the great city destinations you visit during your backpacking trip – so why not plan ahead and get a better exchange rate deal before you set off on your backpacking holiday in Europe by buying your Euros from an online broker instead of the local high street exchange.