It is about choosing a holiday you will love and investing in it whilst you are there
Some people love large hotels, all-inclusive resorts and endless entertainment. I know they're perfect for many, but after years of leading schools, they leave me feeling strangely institutionalised – queues, wristbands, secure gates and timetables. That's not my idea of a holiday.
Instead, we've just returned from a beautiful small Spanish city where temperatures reached 38°C, yet the winding streets of the old town were built for shade and slow living.
We slipped effortlessly into the local rhythm: morning coffee and breakfast in the plaza, a trip to the bakers for warm, freshly baked bread, shopping at the market for fresh fruit, vegetables and fish. Afternoon either a siesta or time reading on the roof terrace. In the evening, lingering over traditional tapas, sherry and local wines in family-run cafés where the food was exceptional, loads to try and wonderfully affordable.
We watched a simple, beautiful wedding unfold in the plaza and watched through the doors the service taking place in the most ornate church, we toured a local bodega, enjoyed sunset drinks at a rooftop bar, spent time in different tabancos and cervezias.
We caught the local service bus to the municipal outdoor pool and the train, one stop to the beach.
We chatted with friendly local people, practised our Spanish, and for a little while felt less like tourists and more like part of the community.
For me, that's the real joy of travel – not escaping life, but experiencing someone else's way of living.