Ways to enhance your holiday

Don’t dress down for the flight

I always find it a bit curious when people board a flight in flip-flops, shorts and a t-shirt (possibly with a straw sun hat on their head too) when they’re returning from a hot country to a freezing UK in the depths of winter. I know they want to extend the holiday feel a bit longer, but unless they opt for changing into their winter gear in the airport loos (not the most delightful of experiences) on landing, it’ll be a pretty chilly journey back home in the UK. And if their hold luggage gets delayed, their warmer clothes may not be accessible, anyway.

Don’t schedule too much

A fear of missing out often kicks in when travelling to a new destination, especially if it has been expensive and arduous to reach. However, extensive rushing about and cultural overload can leave you frustrated and exhausted. Less really is more. It’s better to select a handful of must-do activities with gaps to allow flexibility, see where the journey takes you and time to slow down, perhaps people-watching at a cafe and soaking up the local atmosphere. Spend more time in fewer places for maximum enjoyment.

Best not to get to the airport too early - or too late

Of course you have to factor in possible cancelled trains, traffic jams and other transport delays, and getting through security at airports can sometimes take an age, but it really is no pleasure spending much more time than you need to in a crowded airport lounge.

Even worse is cutting it too fine and missing your flight. Probably a good compromise is to leave home an hour or so earlier than your instinct tells you.

Thoroughly research the rainy season

If you are holidaying long-haul, there may be a good reason certain times of year are rather cheaper to visit at some destinations - the rainy season. If the only pictures we seem to see of the Caribbean, India or Thailand are drenched in sun, it’s easy to assume they are always like that. Yet some destinations really suffer from formidable monsoons and rainstorms, and regional variations can be great between relatively small distances. So research the destination’s climate carefully. That said, I once went to Uganda during the rainy season, when prices were considerably cheaper, and only encountered light rain a couple of times the whole week.

Don’t get too early a flight

It’s so tempting to select that 6.45am Ryanair or easyJet flight because you save £20 or £30 compared with the flights later in the day. But boy, will you pay for it. As you should be at the airport around a couple of hours before take-off, you’ll need to get up so early that it is unlikely you’ll get much sleep and will be spending the first day like a zombie, or collapse on the bed for a snooze the moment you reach your hotel. This will all be even more painful if you have children. And if you’re going by public transport, check you can actually get to the airport on time before you book the flight. Having to subsequently book an airport hotel so you can catch your early flight will demolish any plans to save money.

And don’t get too late a flight either

Equally, although getting the latest flight of the day may again be cheaper and you’ll be able to get in almost another day of holidaying, you may land so late public transport has ceased operating, a taxi will cost a fortune and even if you drive you probably won’t reach home before 2am or so. Also, the later in the day your flight is, the greater the chance of delays, as if there have been delays during the day, these are likely to have a knock-on effect, causing longer and longer delays for the next flights.

Keep an open mind

It’s tempting to judge the lifestyles and cultures of others when they differ from your own. Yet that can be blinkered, and also rather arrogant to assume your views are correct while those of others are wrong. It’s good when travelling (as in life generally) to nurture empathy and the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes.

Forgetting or not allowing enough time for jabs

For many long haul destinations you can require a shopping list of vaccinations, malaria prophylactics, insect repellents and suchlike that can easily cost more than the flight if you are particularly thorough. Many jabs for the tropics should be administered weeks before travel, and may need boosters too.

Take it from me not to skimp on all this - I nearly died from tropical disease on my first trip to Africa: returning home with a tropical disease