Help me get organised for my first holiday abroad

[dixeypeach]

I'm going on holiday in January for the first time ever at 39 years old 😬 I have no idea what I'm doing so wondered if I could get some help please. What do I do with the passports once in their? Just leave them in our room, carry them around with me? I'm clueless. Any tips about what to take/pack. Dh can sort himself out but I need some help with what to take for my girls 6 and 9. We're going to lanzarote for a week. This is the longest I've ever been away so no idea how much I need to pack 🫣

There's normally a safe to leave your valuables in. You may need to pay extra to use the safe.
Is it a hotel or villa?

Pack clothes, sun cream, toiletries, swimwear, footwear for whatever occasions you need them for. Extension cables and adaptor plugs are very handy. Goggles for swimming.

What time of year are you going and what sort of accommodation are you staying in?

Hotel may have a safe for passports and other valuables. Otherwise can lock in a suitcase. I wouldn't carry on me in Lanza (I have in Africa, for example, and when backpacking, in which case I put in a sandwich bag and then in a flipbelt).

Holiday money and travel insurance.

Thank you, we leave on 5th January and staying in hotel.

Anti-diarrhea medication, it's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

Googling suggests daytime temperature of 20/21⁰C in Lanzarote in January and cooler at night so maybe a cardigan or lightweight jacket if out in the evening

We always take a wee bag with plasters, paracetamol, ibuprofen, antihistamines, anti diarrhoea tablets, small pair of scissors, etc

I carry out passports around actually. Take a scan of your passports (inside pages) in case something happens to them.

Re packing: think through every day and what your activities might be. Make a list of everything on this basis.

i usually pack and then have to do a second pass to edit it down to a reasonable amount.

i actually have a packing spreadsheet listing everything I might possibly need for different types of holidays. You could google for typical packing lists for a week in the sun.

in any case, what ever you don’t take, you can buy there.

Lanzarote is a nice destination for a first trip - very different landscape and atmosphere, yet safe and friendly like all of Spain. Have fun!

Have a brilliant time!

I came on to say plug adaptors too. Also maybe a power pack for your phone.

Check whether you need to do anything with your phone service provider before using it abroad, & also with your bank since some charge for foreign transactions.

I downloaded the Revolut app, opened an account with them & paid for everything using that which was really easy, then just had my usual bank card as an emergency backup if needed.

How exciting!
Hotel will have a safe for passports. A money travel card is good for avoiding fees. Pack a mix of everything over all the suitcases - it's rare they get lost/delayed but you never know!
Hand luggage for flight: Check airline for bag size. Pack essentials (medication, spare glasses, fave teddy, spare pants) snacks, entertainment & make sure any liquids (anti bac gel, lip balms etc) are 100ml max & in a small clear plastic bag.
Buy yourself a book at the airport & have a wonderful time

Small pocket-size dictionary.

Rashvests- extra reassurance against sunburn

Calpol, paracetamol, diarrhoea tablets etc- if it's anything like main land Spain, you can't buy them in supermarkets so would have to go to a chemist

have you got assports sorted?

enjoy it, don't stress too much and have fun!

Haven’t they been superceded by google translate?

Lanzarote is great and everyone will speak English. Which resort are you staying at? There is a good bus service all over the island to get to different resorts too. The food is really nice and its very cheap to eat out there too.

It might be chilly in the evenings so pack some warmer clothes too, a couple of cosy cardigans is handy for throwing on.

The cost of basic medicine is shocking so make sure you have enough of the basics to keep you all going for a good few days. Due to catching covid on our last holiday we went through all our paracetamol in 3 days and had to buy it at the equivalent of £8 a packet.

@Dartmoorcheffy blue bay

Thank you everyone this has been so helpful x

Passport I leave in the safe all holiday.

I use my starling cards as there is no fees- similar to monzo and revoult.

Luggage is important too - try not to have too many bags to handle at the airport. I'd take one large and two medium cases for the four of you to check in as hold luggage and a rucksack each to take in the plane. Rucksack is much easier than a should bag when you have cases as well. You should all have a 15kg or 22kg allowance check it carefully. Buy some digital luggage scale from home bargains or primark. I use packing cubes to help me pack but I appreciate all these little things become expensive.

The four- wheeled hard case are the best imho.

Wear a mask on the plane because we didn't and half of our group caught covid. They were bedridden for a fortnight after they returned home so not nice.

If you can, wear a mask when visiting indoor attractions with loads of people. I appreciate that it's not fun but saves getting ill later on.

Has your husband ever been on holiday before?

As PP said, pack paracetamol as it seems to be considered some expensive wonderdrug abraod even though we can buy them for pennies in Home Bargains.

Also pack a couple of recycling sacks/large carrier bags so you have somewhere to shove all your wet swimwear on the last day rather than them make the rest of the suitcase wet.

Oh, and if you are partial to a vino collapso of an evening, pack a corkscrew.

Lamzatote in Jan can be quite chilly so make sure you pack light layers, jumpers, windbreaker type jackets. We have been caught out there in April without enough warm clothes and Jan will be even colder

lightweight shortie wetsuits for the DC as the pools may be very cold (or not heated at all) but they’ll still want to swim

Eg for a week for a dc I would pack; 6x pants/socks + one spare set, 6 T-shirts, 5 bottoms (shorts/skirts), and on the plane wear a tracksuit. 1x pair trainers, 1x pair pool/slider type shoe, 1x sandal. 3x pjs/nightwear, one fleece, one windbreaker

keep passports in safe in room. Put them there the moment you arrive and leave them there all week. Hotel may ask to check them / take a copy of them. That’s fine and usual, but I will usually wait while they take a copy and get them straight back rather than leaving them with reception.