Booking a holiday is up there with cars and houses when it comes to choosing the one that's right for you at a price that suits. With the recession taking hold many of us have found it necessary to tighten our belts and many are looking forward to their one main summer holiday of the year and do not want to take any risks. After some major Tour Operator failures during 2008 its understandable that the British general public have to exercise a degree of caution before handing their money over. Having had the benefit of over 20 years in the Package Holiday business I will would like to share some tips to enable you to book the perfect holiday this summer....
1. Before you start enquiring about your holiday ensure that the company(s) you are dealing with have either an ABTA (Association or British Travel agents) or ATOL license (Air Travel Organisers License) Without going into to much detail both of these Licenses cover you should the Tour operator go into liquidation or cease trading. Should you be on Holiday at the time your flights home and the hotelier will be guaranteed by ATOL.
2. Best time to book? The days of the last minute deals are over. Due to consolidation in the UK leisure travel industry there are a lot less tour operators than a few years ago. The 2 main players are Thomson / First choice Holidays & Thomas Cook Holidays over the past 4 years they have brought a lot of the smaller specialist tour operators, therefore in a cost cutting measure they have cut capacity drastically so this has a knock on effect on late availability as they now try to entice people to book in advance with early booking discounts and free addons like extra legroom, inflight meals etc. On the whole passengers who booked outside of 12 weeks prior to departure saved an average of 15% opposed to those who booked within 7days. Another advantage of booking as early is that in most cases you can pay a low deposit with the balance required up to 8 weeks prior to departure. So you don't have to part with huge chucks of your hard earned money in one go.
3. Do your research! There are many hotel review sites like tripadvisor.com. These give you an insight in to the quality of the hotel. Beware, take all reviews with a pinch of salt as in some cases hotels have been known to write bad reviews about other hotels in the resort. Also over 90% of holidaymakers do not write about positive experiences so you do tend to get a lot of negative reviews on some very good hotels. Try calling a holiday specialist who can offer you impartial advice about a given hotel. For good quality price comparisons check teletextholidays & travel supermarket they have 1000's of offers from 100's of Tour Operators and Travel Agents.
4. Booking your Cheap holiday. Most travel agents will charge you around 2% for using a credit card most charge nothing for using a debit. Once you are happy with your chosen holiday Always was ask the company if they can throw in Free Insurance or Transfers as a lot of them will if you are ready to do a booking immediately. Once you have the Holiday within your budget book it straight away, good deals do not hang around. Another important factor with regards to price, is don't call to many companies for the same holiday as you might end up increasing the price of your holiday. A lot of major tour operators and low cost flight companies will increase the price on a given holiday once it starts to get many "hits" for the same date and hotel. So its best to do research and narrow down to about 3 companies to get a general idea of cost.
Sabtu, 30 September 2017
Selasa, 19 September 2017
Diving Holidays - The New Type of Adventure Holiday
Diving Holidays are a new type of adventure sports holiday to hit the masses, the heated pools and exotic local reefs provide an excellent environment to start to your diving experience.
For more experienced divers there is a range of walls, reefs but the main attraction are the huge amount of wrecks otherwise only accessible by liveaboards. El Gouna is conveniently located if you to visit the world famous ship graveyard of Abu Nuhas, and the S.S. Thistlegorm. The lack of boats in the area is a real advantage: the sites are much quieter than neighbouring Hurghada or Sharm El Sheikh.
Diving Holidays in El Gouna is excellent for single female travellers, beginner courses, wreck divers and /or technical divers - El Gouna has got to be done!!
A Diving Holiday around Bangaram is generally within the 20-30m range. Currents are slight so a good spot for all levels. A lagoon to beat all lagoons is the perfect place for an introduction to scuba if you want to try it while you're here.
Diving in the reefs around Bangaram were affected by El Nino but there are signs of regeneration of the reef and the fish life is plentiful. The staff at Laca dives are extremely knowledgeable about the reefs in the area and are actively promoting conservation in the area.
A diving holiday in Borneo's offshore islands are of legendary beauty. Remote dive Island resorts such as Pulau Sipadan, a small oceanic island off the eastern shore of Borneo, which rises in a sheer column more than six hundred metres from the seabed. Completely encircled by sheer drop-offs and walls, Sipadan is one of the world's foremost dive sites. In many places, you can get 100 + feet of visibility. Also, the country has become increasingly aware of the biological and economic importance of its marine heritage, and each year brings better access to and protection for the unique marine life. Because of the hundreds of islands, there are many dive options
A diving holidays in Bonaire involves a mixture of both boat dives to neighbouring Klien Bonaire (approx 20 minutes away) and shore diving. The Bonaire Marine Park has marked about 80 yellow stones around the shore line marking dive site entry points. All the dive centres offer drive through filling stations (car hire is a must) giving you complete freedom to dive the island with your buddy at your own pace - this is what attracts so many visitors to Bonaire, the freedom to dive where, when and how you want. Of course guided dives are always available if you wish. On our visit to the island we were quite amazed by the pristine condition of the reefs and must assume that this is due to the care that the Bonaire Marine Park pays to its reefs. Clear water provides visibility of 100 feet (30 metres) year-round, and the islanders and government are extremely sensitive to the fragility of the environment. The marine park completely surrounds the island and also encompasses the waters surrounding Klein Bonaire
For more experienced divers there is a range of walls, reefs but the main attraction are the huge amount of wrecks otherwise only accessible by liveaboards. El Gouna is conveniently located if you to visit the world famous ship graveyard of Abu Nuhas, and the S.S. Thistlegorm. The lack of boats in the area is a real advantage: the sites are much quieter than neighbouring Hurghada or Sharm El Sheikh.
Diving Holidays in El Gouna is excellent for single female travellers, beginner courses, wreck divers and /or technical divers - El Gouna has got to be done!!
A Diving Holiday around Bangaram is generally within the 20-30m range. Currents are slight so a good spot for all levels. A lagoon to beat all lagoons is the perfect place for an introduction to scuba if you want to try it while you're here.
Diving in the reefs around Bangaram were affected by El Nino but there are signs of regeneration of the reef and the fish life is plentiful. The staff at Laca dives are extremely knowledgeable about the reefs in the area and are actively promoting conservation in the area.
A diving holiday in Borneo's offshore islands are of legendary beauty. Remote dive Island resorts such as Pulau Sipadan, a small oceanic island off the eastern shore of Borneo, which rises in a sheer column more than six hundred metres from the seabed. Completely encircled by sheer drop-offs and walls, Sipadan is one of the world's foremost dive sites. In many places, you can get 100 + feet of visibility. Also, the country has become increasingly aware of the biological and economic importance of its marine heritage, and each year brings better access to and protection for the unique marine life. Because of the hundreds of islands, there are many dive options
A diving holidays in Bonaire involves a mixture of both boat dives to neighbouring Klien Bonaire (approx 20 minutes away) and shore diving. The Bonaire Marine Park has marked about 80 yellow stones around the shore line marking dive site entry points. All the dive centres offer drive through filling stations (car hire is a must) giving you complete freedom to dive the island with your buddy at your own pace - this is what attracts so many visitors to Bonaire, the freedom to dive where, when and how you want. Of course guided dives are always available if you wish. On our visit to the island we were quite amazed by the pristine condition of the reefs and must assume that this is due to the care that the Bonaire Marine Park pays to its reefs. Clear water provides visibility of 100 feet (30 metres) year-round, and the islanders and government are extremely sensitive to the fragility of the environment. The marine park completely surrounds the island and also encompasses the waters surrounding Klein Bonaire
Langganan:
Postingan (Atom)