Relaxing by a beach in Indonesia – but be aware of some common holiday pitfalls
Holidays are full of thrills and spills, fun and frolics, right? They’re more relaxing and fun than my crazy backpacking journeys. Well yes, in theory, but there are a few common pitfalls that tourists tend to fall into time and time again. In the best case scenario, it proves to be a five minute thing that doesn’t affect the holiday in any way than a bit of a grumble over a beer later in the day, but in the worst case scenario, not being clued up and falling into common traps can ruin a holiday to the extreme.
Use a bit of common sense when you’;re on holiday to avoid scams!
It’s generally a common sense kind of thing, but when we go away on holiday, a hard-earned event, many of us tend to leave our intuition at the airport door.
So, how can you avoid these common mistakes, and make sure you that your holiday is a happy one?
1. Organisation is key
Before you go away, in fact well before you’re due to leave, make sure you have everything in place that you need. I’m talking all your travel documents checked and printed out, and making sure you have your travel arrangements for getting to the airport in place. This is something that tends to get overlooked, for some unknown reason, but it’s also one of those areas where we can save a bit of money if done the right way.
2. Choosing the Correct Transport
Choosing the correct transport is important and it varies from trip to trip, and from person to person. I used to always drive myself to the airport especially for short trips for convenience and comfort – plus my own music in my car and complete safety!
Driving to the airport
But my parents were travelling in Wales recently so they booked Cardiff Airport parking and got a fantastic deal, so you can see that wherever you fly from, you’ll find a service to suit. Avoiding the stress of coaches and trains will ease you into the start of your holiday in a calmer way too.
3. Don’t forget insurance
It doesn’t cost the earth, and it saves stress, worry, and in the event of a problem whilst you’re away, it will probably save your financial life. The best advice is to book an annual policy and then you can forget about it for a whole year – unfortunately I’ve made a few insurance mistakes down the years and learnt my lessons. When organising your insurance, remember to declare any pre-existing medical conditions too, because in the event of a claim, you might run into problems if you haven’t been totally upfront.
4. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is
This is one of those leaving the common sense at the airport kind of scenarios, but if you stumble upon a deal, proposition, or even person, who seems far, far, far too good to be true, then listen to your alarm bells. In regular tourist resorts, there are scams, this is a fact of life, and there are unscrupulous people who will try and take advantage of the fact that you are relaxed and you have your guard down. Don’t be too trusting, and before you agree to anything, and certainly before you part with any money, check things out two, three, or even four times first. Is a free beer ever free? Well maybe not, but $10 US for a piss up in New York? Yes please!
Is it ever a FREE beer?
5. Remember your personal safety
I always go by the mantra of if I wouldn’t do it at home, then I won’t do it on holiday. For instance, would you ride down the street on the back of a moped without a helmet at home? No you probably wouldn’t, so why is it acceptable when you’re on holiday? Well, put simply, it’s not. Remember your personal safety, and remember that you’re not invincible just because you’re on holiday.
To boil it all down to its simplest form, remember this – your common sense and intuition will always be right, listen to it.
Safe travels folks, wish me luck I’m off to San Pedro de Sula in Honduras next – rumoured to be one of the most dangerous cities on the planet!!