How to Book Your First Holiday Abroad Without Your Parents

Decide who is going on this holiday. Is it just you and a friend or a few of you from school/university/work?

What kind of holiday are you all after? Is it a celebration because your all leaving school? a chilled week on a beach? clubbing until the sunrise? or seeing some traditional places on a Greek island perhaps?

Look at locations. Browse the web for various travel deals.

Make sure to answer the following questions before booking a trip: What dates are you able to all go on? Do you want to go for one week or two? Which airports are best for you to ALL fly from? What is everyone’s budget?

Go into a travel agent on the high street, or do a search online, and check for availability on the dates you and your party have selected, from your chosen airport, to your chosen destination.

If the prices are higher than you thought, remember with the recent increase in fuel prices all tour operators have to charge an additional fuel price.

If you get a costing from a travel agent, ask to see the breakdown, then you will know exactly what you are paying for.

To save money, take off the resort transfers, in-flight meals and extra luggage allowance.

Also if you are in a big group, don't think that it is essential to stay in a hotel on the main strip, as more often than not these hotels are very noisy, more.expensive and you will get no peace. Check out hotels a few minutes walk away from the nightlife, because then you will have the best of both worlds, and also get to see more of the resort you are staying in.

Ask travel agents about group discounts. If there is three people in a room it should work out cheaper. If it is just you and a friend traveling, ask about low season deals. When you agree a price and pay a deposit, ensure you know exactly what’s included in the price and what isn’t. Do you have travel insurance? Also, when do you have to pay the final balance? how do you do that? Over the phone, in the shop etc.

When your holiday is booked, do some research on the internet so you know all the local information, the currency they use in the resort, how long it will take to get from the airport to the resort etc.

Ensure you plan in advance, your holiday money as you can always bring it back with you if you don’t spend it all! Travelers Cheque’s are still the safest way of taking money abroad, and a lot of people will advise you to get the Travelers Cheque card that you can use abroad but be aware these are still very new and in a lot of resorts, especially Greece - not widely accepted.

To get the most out of your holiday, pick up a brochure and take it with you, then you have all the details you could ever need to hand including all the booking terms and conditions.