As you know we love taking the kids away on holidays, we took Isla to Spain when she was only 7/8 weeks old and yes, it was quite stressful. Thomas Cook have been working very hard on a great tips and advice section on their website; Trips Tips, it is really helpful and user friendly; they have broken down the facts into meaningful categories to “fly” you in the right direction. (I wish I had this available the last time we went away!)
The categories are logically laid out from booking your holiday through to returning home (Sad I know) and they have a very useful blog on the page too. We are starting to think about our next family holiday and so I went straight to the “booking your holiday” section and the main headings that popped out at me were “Cheapest Destinations” and “Saving and Paying for Holidays” – I am not a very good saver and therefore finding something that doesn’t cost the earth and tips on saving for that dream destination will get me started.
On the cheapest destination page the part about having an all inclusive holiday may actually save you overall really made me think, especially when you are going away with 2 young toddlers, you want to make sure that they have drinks available all the time, ice lollies in case it is too hot and one of the benefits of all inclusive hotels is that the buffets are a great idea – there is always something for all of the family on offer. Our trip to Spain was all inclusive and we had a buffet for every meal and Noah ate so much food, he really enjoyed it and Isla, well she slept in her buggy throughout.
The next time we go away as a family Isla will be the same age Noah was when we went to Spain, so I know she will be happy exploring the buffet foods and she is a lot less fussy with her food whereas Noah is that little bit older and he will enjoy going up to the counter and picking things for himself and being a big boy with Daddy. The “Compare Board Basis” section really helped me to think about the above and what would suit our family needs best.
There are some really cute ideas on the Whilst on Holiday section: holiday phone apps to keep the kids entertained, finding out the best excursions and the best deals for those trips out with the family and a very helpful insight into bartering on holiday – do’s and dont’s which I found very helpful. There are just some countries you wouldn’t want to risk bartering, well I know I wouldn’t.
Well, all this talk about holidays and “all inclusive” is making me want to get ours booked up, so I am going to go and read up on booking your holiday and fingers crossed, I will get it all booked. Then I suppose it will be on to the next section: before going on holiday and making sure I have all the necessary documents and insurances. If you are thinking about booking up a holiday soon, or you want some airport saving tips or ideas for what to do whilst on holiday then make sure you visit the Thomas Cook Trips Tips website and don’t forget to keep up to date with the blog for other great tips and guides.
