hOW I PLAN OUR HOLIDAYS

Google maps is my go-to resource for inspiration when I am looking at booking a holiday. Whenever I spot something that interests me on TV, social media or I hear about it from friends, family or strangers I will pin it onto Google maps. It could be a recommendation of a hike in Japan, an activity in Madagascar, or a restaurant in Timbuktu, I will pin it. So when booking holidays I will always check my maps to see what I have pinned and then can plan a trip around what Ive previously decided I want to do.

This is also my tactic when I have decided on a location. Before booking my accommodation I research the location and then pin everything I want to do including attractions and restaurants. I can then use this to decide on the best place to stay. Initially you may think staying central makes sense however if the majority of the attractions you've pinned are outside of the city then this doesn't actually make sense at all!

You could even consider breaking up your stay and spending 3 nights in the centre and 2 nights elsewhere. Making smart accommodation choices now could potentially save you a lot of money and logistical stress whilst you're away.

99% of the time we tailor our holidays. Meaning we book the flights, accommodation and transport separately. However, this isn't to say that its always the best way or necessarily the cheapest. 

I find with our style of travel we can be more flexible when we tailor it to our needs. Sometimes on longer holidays we book accommodation whilst we are away meaning we can spend more time in areas we want to explore more, or sometimes leave quicker!

The main exception to this is when we go on winter sport activities. On one trip to Andorra the weather was so bad the return flight got cancelled and the coach journey planned was unpassable. Being on a package meant the company dealt with all of the paperwork and planning and re-routed us to fly back from a different airport whilst we just sat in the bar and waited for instructions.

This was fantastic for us in this instance as we had a lot of luggage and our choices to get out of the resort were very limited.

When tailor making your packages you will often spend less money, can pick flights that work better with your schedule, and be more flexible with the style and price of your accommodation. This proved beneficial when we went to Hawaii via a stop in New York. Before we left we booked the flights to Hawaii and the accommodation in New York and the first couple of nights in Hawaii. This meant we were able to explore Oahu and decide where we want to spend more time. We ended up staying a couple for days in Waikiki and then booked an Air Bnb on the North of the island.

See what suits you and compare the costs for each, but what I will say is don't compromise on what you want to get out of the holiday.

Our time off is valuable, make it work for you and don't feel restricted by pre made packages.

 Once your location is decided we need to get there. This is where the fun starts!

I use several strategies and Web sites when I am searching for flights. I'll list them below.

• Kayak.co.uk and skyscanner.com

If I don't have a destination in mind 'Kayak Explore' feature is a no nonsense way to find flights. You are able to filter it by starting airport, budget, amount of nights etc and it will show you very easily where you can go on your budget.

• Googleflights.com

If you have a destination Google flights is a great way to find cheap flights. It's easy to navigate and will direct you to the sites website.

• Cheapflights.co.uk

This is another site I will use to compare flight prices if I have a destination in mind. 

• The airlines direct

Once you've found a flight that you want double check that it isn't cheaper with the airline direct. Depending on the flight it might also be beneficial to you to be loyal to one company and collect miles or enjoy privileges.

Generally I will grab a piece of paper and write all the flights that interest me. This will Include the times of the flights, the prices and the airline, and don't forget to write where you found the flight!

If like us you want to make it a bit more inclusive we will search one way flights as it might be cheaper to come back from a different airport or have a stop over and to add another destination to your holiday.

Now I could go on all day about accommodation as there are so many types. The possibilities are endless in style, budget and location. I have found when travelling a balance is best. Look at your budget, just because accommodation is cheap it doesn't mean it isn't nice, and dont assume you get more for your money! Some of the best memories we have are where we've stayed in some of the most cost efficient accommodation. 

What type of holiday are you looking for? If its a relaxing holiday where all you want is to relax by the pool, recharge and maybe get a massage then you are going to be spending a large amount of time at the hotel in which case you will want to spend a good portion of your budget here. Maybe look at hotels with spas, several restaurants, and a good pool or beach facilities. If you want to do a lot of activities outside of the hotel for example snowboarding, water sports, hiking or sight seeing. You will be spending a lot of time outside of the hotel in which case I'd maybe look at spending less on the hotel, focus more on its location and put the budget into activities. Take into consideration you will potentially be paying more for transport and will be eating outside of the hotel more often.

Most hotel chains have loyalty programmes and they can be easily worth the effort to sign up to. I am a member of the Hilton Honors programme. It has mixed reviews and you tend to get more for your money outside of the USA. Europe and Dubai are where we have found the greatest return for our loyalty, however the UK has had its perks as well.

The idea is you collect nights and points. When you hit a certain number of nights you get moved up the the next tier and with that more benefits.  With each stay you earn points and can then use these to stay at hotels all over the world.

Some of our favourite perks of being in a loyalty scheme have been the upgrades where available, and we have been treated well with this. We’ve stayed in rooms much more expensive than we would normally book. Hot and cold breakfast free of charge. 100% bonus on points. Use of the executive lounge which has been extremely useful to us. The executive lounge has free food and drink and has made budgeting travel a lot easier for us.

 If you are looking for something a little more unusual you can't beat Hotels.com or AirBnb. Hotels.com has a programme where you get cash back which you can use on future bookings. Again this has given us the opportunity to stay in much nicer hotels than we would normally be able to afford - The Mandarin Oriental in Singapore was a highlight for us. Airbnb has some really great choices and you can easily filter them if you are after something specific, like an aeroplane hotel, or a treehouse, or old church!? I've found they do really reasonably priced accommodation in Asia and Indonesia. However, always compare against a company which offers you some sort of benefit for loyalty, as they may also be on there as well and can offer a free breakfast or points towards more stays. 

Look at your google maps and plan the logistics of where you are and what you want to see/do/eat then make your booking according to this. This way you will have an idea of what free time you will have and won't be wasting time negotiating a new city. Just remember to add extra time to get to/from places for the unexpected street food, shops, bars etc

Never leave the activities to chance, get them booked as soon as you can. I use 'Get Your Guide' to book a lot of activities and have found them really helpful. But I always look elsewhere, you could try Trip Advisor, Viator or book directly with the provider.

***A little tip would be to sign up to their emails at this stage as they will often send out discount codes, or vouchers.