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" />More and more of us are travelling overseas these days, and it’s not just to Bali or Fiji. We’re venturing further afield to the continents of Europe, North and South America and even to Africa. We’re jet setting off to exotic destinations that some of us never dreamed would be possible. However when it comes to travel the exciting part, but also the most difficult part, is planning and preparing for an overseas holiday.
Back in the olden days we would seek the services of a Travel Agent and they would arrange everything from flights, accommodation, car rental, train tickets, visas to group tours. However these days with the assistance of the internet, Google and the plethora of travel booking sites, many of us are making our own travel arrangements. The advantage of this is that it can give us better deals, more flexibility and the ability to plan our own travel itinerary.
Here are my tips for planning and preparing for an overseas holiday:
Once you decide on a travel destination you can either spend hours looking at individual airlines or search for the best deal on flights with an airfare comparison website. The beauty of this is that the site looks for the best deals on air fares and allows you to compare, combine and book the best domestic and international travel flight deals. Also some of the sites offer great travel package deals.
Decide on what type of accommodation you would like and work out your budget. There are plenty of options to choose from including, Airbnb rooms or apartments, hotels, holiday apartments, B&Bs, holiday home rentals, guesthouses, house swapping, housesitting, hostels or motorhome rental, if you want to move around.
If you’re on a strict budget you can look at house swapping or housesitting, where the cost of your accommodation is nil. There are plenty of reputable websites that provide this service. I personally know of a couple of housesitters that have travelled all over the world utilising this option.
Otherwise if you want the flexibility of moving around a particular country or countries, with both transport and accommodation combined, then a motorhome may be a good option for you.
Once again, there are plenty of accommodation booking sites that compare hotels, but I would also consider getting a price directly off the hotel, because they can be more competitively priced.
If you’d prefer packaging your overseas holiday, with everything included, like air fares, accommodation and tours, then there are some fantastic Webjet exclusives travel packages available. The beauty of this is that it takes the headache out of making all of the decisions and arrangements yourself. Generally travel packages are first-class and offer luxury accommodations, flights with reputable airlines and the best tours and attractions.
Once you have all your travel plans sorted, type up an itinerary and ensure that there are no gaps in the dates and that they correspond with the dates on your airlines tickets and accommodation booking confirmations.
Other things to be considered prior to overseas travel include:
Once you get off your flight, get your luggage, jump on your transfer transport and check into your accommodation, but don’t go straight to bed if it’s still daytime. I know how tired you’ll feel after a long haul flight and jet lag may set it, but try to stay up and awake to reset your body clock to the local time. Take a short stroll and explore your area, have a meal and plenty of water, (as you may be dehydrated after the flight). Getting your body moving after being sedentary for such a long length of time is one of the best things you can do.
The thrill of arriving in a new overseas country is incredible. It’s a whole new world opened wide for you to discover. It’s new smells, new sounds, new sights, new textures and new flavours! With good planning and preparation it can be the holiday experience of a lifetime.
This article is a Webjet paid promotion and was written in collaboration with Webjet. As always, all opinions are my own.
This post is part of the Lovin’ Life Linky with a Lovin’ Life Team of the “ageing positively” kind who love to promote a Lovin’ Life mindset.
The Lovin’ Life Team includes:
Kathy was a 50 something year old when she started up this blog 6 years ago, but has since turned over another decade and is now in her early 60s. She is married with two adult children and lives on the Tweed Coast of New South Wales, Australia. Kathy enjoys living life to the fullest and loves to keep fit and active by maintaining a healthy diet and exercising regularly. Some of her interests include reading, photography, travelling, cooking and blogging! Kathy works part-time as a freelance writer but her real passion is travelling and photographing brilliant destinations both within Australia and overseas and writing about it.
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Min @ Write of the Middle
October 11, 2018These are some great tips Kathy – thank you! I will refer back to these whenever I finally get my next overseas trip (need to renew my passport first!) – hopefully next year. I haven’t travelled much when it comes to overseas travel so any tips are most welcome! #TeamLovinLife
Kathy
October 11, 2018Thanks Min. If you’re going to take the plunge of planning and booking your own overseas holiday there’s a lot to consider. But it can save you money and make the holiday more flexible if you do it yourself.
Natalie
October 11, 2018All very useful tips, Kathy. They’re what I’d do to plan for trips to foreign countries.#TeamLovinLife
Kathy
October 11, 2018Thanks Natalie. It’s always good to have a “to do list” to refer back to. #TeamLovinLife
jodie
October 12, 2018It is amazing how much is involved in this. I can see why using a travel agent would be easier, yet to me, part of the fun of our trip is the planning!!
XOXO
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
Kathy
October 13, 2018Yes Travel Agent’s certainly are easier, but planning the trip yourself gives you many more choices and flexibility. I love the planning part of a holiday! #TeamLovinLife
Joanne Tracey
October 12, 2018Great tips. Especially the one about booking tours on the ground over there. I like to do my research here & then see what’s on offer once I get there. Another tip I’d give is to not program every spare minute of your day.
Kathy
October 13, 2018I’m exactly the same as you Jo. I’ve booked tours previously and been very disappointed with them. Sometimes just doing the hop on hop off bus is just as good as doing tour in some destinations. Plus they’re a whole lot cheaper. I agree that travellers do try to fit too much into their holidays. I like the idea of having down days when you’re travelling.
Leanne @ Deep Fried Fruit
October 12, 2018I’ve never booked a travel package. Ever. That I can recall. I tend to do it all on my own. My parents hadn’t either until recently, now they’re doing quite a few!
Kathy
October 13, 2018The only organised holidays that I’ve been on are cruises and a couple Luxury Escape deals. I also like to plan our holidays myself and do heaps of research prior. To date this has worked perfectly for us.
Natalie @ Be Kind 2 You
October 12, 2018There are some great tips in here which I have saved for my up and coming quick trip tp New York with my daughters. Thanks for the great advice.
Kathy
October 13, 2018Thanks Natalie. You will love New York. It’s an incredible holiday destination. #TeamLovinLife
Sydney Shop Girl
October 12, 2018Great tips for travellers of all ages, Kathy! I’m already planning my first few trips for 2019.
SSG xxx
Kathy
October 13, 2018Thank you. We have one holiday planned to Bali in March 2019 so far, and I’m currently looking at one to Sri Lanka. Planning is the exciting part! #TeamLovinLife
Deborah
October 14, 2018Sadly this is a little too late for me Kathy (!!!) but all very good points.
Fortunately my travel TO Italy recently ended up being overnight so though I’d travelled for 31hrs – by the time I got to Sorrento (my final destination on arrival) it was evening and I was stuffed so able to sleep and my body clock adjusted really well.
As you may recall I was very slack in getting around to booking accommodation and travel, but as it was the first time I’d travelled for a couple of decades there were some obvious lessons (things had changed since I’d last travelled) and some of that preparation up-front is so important.
Kathy
October 16, 2018I’m glad everything worked out for your trip to Italy Deb. It looked amazing. Planning for a trip is very daunting, but when it all comes together it makes it so worthwhile.
Jan
October 15, 2018Lots of good advice here Kathy, particularly your checklist. I am constantly amazed that travellers don’t realise they need 6 months on their passport. We are just beginning to plan our travels for next year. The Lonely Planet on Ireland is by my bed :-)
Kathy
October 16, 2018Thanks Jan. You will love Ireland – it’s a beautiful country. I will need to pick your brain about Spain and Portugal as it’s on our radar. #TeamLovinLife