Booking and preparing for your next holiday

*This post is a paid partnership with Verisure* 

We love our holidays and nothing beats that anticipation of your next trip away. But before you can truly relax with a cocktail in hand, there is plenty of booking and preparing for your next holiday. I love all the organisation of a holiday, and I have lists upon lists to help me. So I thought I would share a few things that work for me, prior to booking the holiday, and what works after, when you have that all important countdown to look forward to.

Make sure your passports are in-date

This should be an obvious check, but I have heard horror stories of people arriving at the airport to find their passport had recently expired. An out of-date passport sadly means you won’t be going anywhere, so check those dates. Also with Brexit on the horizon, it’s advisable to keep up to-date with the current information on UK passports on the official government website. 

Set those alarms on flight release day

I personally find that I get the best flight prices on the day they are released, but this does mean setting your alarm early. As easyJet are our preferred airline, they release their flights in batches throughout the year, and tend to appear on the easyJet app around 6am. We booked our recent flights to Greece when we went to Ikos Olivia, back in September 2018, and we paid £310 for 3 of us when they were released at 6am. A few days later, the exact flights were costing over £900.

Shop around for holidays and flights

Before you press that all important ‘book it’ button, make sure you have shopped around. I much prefer to book our holidays using the DIY method, as I find this much cheaper, but in some cases you might find a travel agent will be the cheapest. With our holiday to Mexico last year, I started by getting a quote of £5500 from Thomas Cook, one week at The Grand Moon Palace, for 2 adults and 2 kids. I shopped around and got our holiday down to £4300 by booking separately. This also included a swim-up suite, and flying back premium economy. So more perks, and a nice saving of £1200.

Dust off those cases

I tend to get the cases down from the loft around a week before we go, and I pack the day before. I know some people who pack months before their trip, and whilst I am an organised person, I prefer my packing to be done the day before. I do have organised piles around the bedroom for a few days prior, and I use packing cubes, mainly for underwear, and Katie’s clothes. Make sure that any hand luggage cases still comply with your airlines restrictions, which can be found on their websites.

Take food for the airport and flight

Now this is a new one for me, as I honestly thought you couldn’t take food on to a flight. But after one of my best friends informed me you can (though of course no liquids over 100ml to be taken through security), on our last 2 flights we have taken packets of croissants, and brioche rolls to be eaten up in the air. Plus with the money you save on food, you can treat yourself to a glass of prosecco.

Book airport parking as early as you can

In my experience, I find that airport parking goes up in price the closer you get to flying, so try and book as early as you can. We have just started using the official Meet and Greet at Manchester airport, and after using them twice I can highly recommend them.

Media devices and chargers

My husband is the ‘media device’ champion when it comes to holidays, and it’s his job to make sure everything is fully charged the night before we fly. Also ensure that films and tv shows are downloaded, ear phones are packed in hand luggage, and also any power banks are charged and packed with the charging wire. You won’t believe how easy it is to forget the actual wire.

Have a holiday drawer or box

I have a drawer in our bedroom where I keep all the ‘holiday items’ such as clothes, hats, sunglasses, sandals, and any currency that has been left over from the previous holiday. I also have a box of medical supplies in the drawer, and any holiday toiletries that I have picked up prior to going away. I just find that it makes it easier to keep track of what you have, what you need to buy, and makes packing much easier.

Holiday insurance

It goes without saying that it’s so important to have insurance for your trip away. Book your insurance as soon as you book your holiday, to ensure that you are covered straight away. It might be worth checking with your bank to see whether you have any kind of travel insurance, and if not I always use a comparison site to check prices, and also the customer service rating. Our last insurance policy was through Compare the Market, which means I qualified for Meerkat rewards for a whole year.

Ensure your home is secure

The last thing you want to do is to go away on holiday and be worrying about your home. We always have close friends and neighbours that keep an eye out whilst we are away, but if you don’t have that luxury, you might want to invest in a home alarm system. Verisure Alarm Services offer peace of mind for when you go away, even giving you 24-hour monitoring of your home.

Do you have any tips to add to prepare for your next holiday ?