If you hadn't travelled abroad for years where would you start?

[lipstickwoman]

For numerous reasons we have been unable to holiday abroad for about 15 years. Nothing sinister, just caring responsibilities, lack of funds, other priorities. Consequently we have no confidence to actually get through an airport, how to manage money (travellers cheques we're the norm back then) or even where to make a booking.

Destination choices are no problem.. we have a long list!

So do recommend a travel agent? Try and book things ourselves (flights and hotels etc)

And where can I find an idiots guide?

Any advice would be so helpful

What’s your budget?

Budget and what your current choices are would help

Travel agents are great they will handle all the admin for you, I like to do it myself and shop around.

Think about how you will get to the airport this side, do you need to book parking? The park and rides are great and easy to use.

Booking a transfer at the other end is the easiest option if you don't want to arrange your own way to your accommodation, this might be on a coach or a private taxi.

Most places take card now, you can get travel debit cards and just load money on rather than using your main card out and about, plus a couple of hundred in cash for places that don't take card. I order euros online either to tesco or the post office, or your travel agent will exchange for you

Will depend on where you’re going - what are your current favourites? If it’s Paris for a long weekend for example, you can easily DIY. If it’s a few weeks travelling in S America, you can of course DIY but may be more daunting for you.

If you’re nervous about booking things separately then go through a travel agent. My last holiday was through booking.com and it couldn’t have been easier. There are loads of internet agents that will all do the same thing but the only real difference between booking through one of them and booking separately is that they will book your transfers to and from the airport in your destination country, which is probably easier and cheaper than getting a taxi.

Getting through the airport might seem daunting but you can’t go wrong really. You get shepherded through security and then find your gate using the numerous signposts and that’s about it really. Just follow the crowd at the other end. You’ll be fine!

Money - take a small amount of the currency you’ll be using and then just take your credit/debit card and use that the same as you would at home either to pay for things or take out cash.

Money is similar to UK now - just pay by card or withdraw from ATM is what we do, no travellers cheques.

Flights its all signposted but main difference is now you often check in online before hand and then you print boarding pass. We also pay to book seats in advance otherwise risk being split up. You tend to pay for luggage now as well so its worth considering suitcase sizes and how many. Liquids best to pack in main baggage. Try to wear flat shoes on day of travel and no metal to make passing through scanners at airport as quick as possible. We tend to book the short stay car park in advance so quick walk, if not you will need to allow extra time for parking and shuttle bus.

Can either book through someone like TUI, advantage is its all protected so if flight delayed or cancelled they will sort and there are transfers so its very easy. Or book yourself its be same price often but you can tailor more to you. Car hire best booked early. Hotels can be worth booking on slightly higher refundable tarrifs incase plans change or prices fall, then you can cancel (if its free) and rebook at lower price.

Your flight information will tell you which terminal you are flying from, all signposted at the entrance to the airport. Once you get there, you'll check your bags in, go through security and into duty free, then you just relax in a bar or in the seating areas and keep an eye on the boards as they don't announce all flights over the tannoy. The boards will tell you the gate number and when to go to gate and when boarding has started.

I got a clarity credit card from Halifax for travel. It was recommended as one for overseas spending with no fees.

I have also used it to pay for my estas and Amtrak before I have go and exchange rate definitely seems reasonable.

I have booked an EasyJet package. They seem to be quite reasonable. Doing BA package for USA as again prices seemed competitive to booking separately.

Could you give us an example for the type of holiday you’d be looking for? Then we can talk you through the steps and some options. Advice could be quite different for a luxury city break for two adults vs a couple of weeks in a resort with young kids for example.

Would be helpful to see your list.

I always have a very long list of destinations, but at any given time there are certain factors that start winnowing down the choices. For example, week or long weekend away in the summer - for me this has to be short haul, direct flights (plus ferry if I’m sold on somewhere), warm, not a party place or too busy, things to see. Then looking at what flights are available and convenient from my local airport brings it down further. Quite often, there will then be significant price differences that make some places more appealing.

All of the above goes even more so for long haul.

At that stage I start planning things out. Some plans I abandon, but sooner or later (usually sooner) there is one that works and I’m desperate to start booking.

None of this applies if there is a specific destination I want to go to, but it works if I’m working with a long list of possibilities.

I would definitely use a travel agent. We always book independently but last year used Tui travel agents got a cruise and their advice was fantastic. They talked to us about things were hadn't even considered. They also matched the online prices we had.
Keep us updated on your plans.

Another thing car hire abroad now generally requires a credit card.

Its also worth bearing in mind strikes when booking now, quite a few around the world at the moment.

Make sure you have passports correct as well and enough validity, think they are valid from 10 years from date first done now so if you got more than 10 years that does not count now. Plus need 6 months remaining to travel to some places. Longhaul may need vaccines.

Btw, I’ve combined my approach with using a travel agent before, mainly for the package protection. Helps them if you come in with some idea of what you want - although one of my best holidays turned out to be them suggesting somewhere slightly different we’d never have thought of.

Package holiday you can generally use card everywhere now. Ive done a lot of travelling round the world and I absolutely love the Greek islands. The people are so friendly it made me want to move there 🤣🤣.

I definitely agree that most destinations are card vs cash these days but do check the terms of your existing credit/debit cards as they vary considerably in terms of fees etc for using abroad. Like a PP I have a Clarity CC from Halifax which used to be one of the best but Money Saving Expert will give an up to date list of recommendations.

Oh wow just back from shopping and you're all so helpful thanks..

We're planning all over.. European city breaks, Italy, OH fancies Canada and I want to go and see the Northern Lights somewhere.

Definitely dont want beach holidays or busy family resorts (done that). We both like sight seeing, history and the food and culture

Don't know where you are in the UK or whether you plan to drive, but for European city breaks how about going by Eurostar, or ferry/Eurotunnel if driving? Eurostar do package holidays. Amsterdam would be a great first trip, or perhaps Bruges or Paris.

You can start with small stuff.
Fly to Jersey or Ireland?
Day trip on Eurostar to Lille?
Ferry to Belfast or a flight to Shetland and hire a car?

Then work up ;)

Don't be worried about being nervous, a certain amount of nerves can help you remember to check you have passport, phone and credit card with you as you lock your house!

• Credit card with 0 exchange fees eg Halifax Clarity
• Passport with enough validity (varies by destination)
• GHIC
• Travel insurance
• Google translate, download offline dictionary of target language
• Google maps, download offline map of destination
• Use booking.com or Expedia (or other big trusted site) to arrange accommodation (Google will help you work out how to get there from the airport or station - sometimes just bus/tram/train, sometimes you can book a transfer through the big travel sites) When picking accommodation, TripAdvisor (recent reviews) and Google Street view are your friends
• Book flights thru Expedia, opodo etc
• Can book rail through raileurope.com (easier and not much dearer than direct through individual companies' sites)
• Book airport parking or taxi to airport
• Book car hire through Holiday autos or similar - book an automatic unless they drive on the left where you're going, much simpler!
• Check what the roaming is like at your destination - sometimes you're better off buying a local SIM at the airport
• If hiring a car, find out what you need in the way of driving licence paperwork - you may need an extra international paper from the post office - varies by destination

On the day - make sure you have

• phone
• Credit card
• Passport
• driving licence etc if needed
• any paper tickets, printouts, esta, visa etc
• Your meds

... pretty much everything else you could buy at the destination;)

• get to airport parking
• shuttle to airport
• last check to put liquids, scissors etc in hold luggage
• check in any hold luggage
• go through security
• locate gate

... Then go back to a coffee shop and settle in - keep an eye on display boards which will tell you when your plane is ready for boarding. You may want to buy a snack now in case you're too tired to go out by the time you reach the hotel!

• get on plane
• at destination go through immigration
• pick up any hold luggage from baggage reclaim
• go through customs
• look for ATM, get out a bit of cash
• buy a local SIM card if needed
• go to car hire desk / bus/tram stop / look for your transfer driver who will have your name on a board near where you came out from customs
• arrive at accommodation and check in
• VICTORY!!

(You can save money by getting all year travel insurance and car hire excess insurance, but I'd hold that back for later).

I’m in a similar boat and I have found looking up the various hotels I’m interested in on you tube and Facebook (for groups) a good way to suss out whether I’d actually want to stay in them.

I'd maybe start with a city break in Paris/Amsterdam/Brussels/Bruges travelling by Eurostar. You could even stay in London and just do a day trip to Lille on Eurostar.

@Paperbagsaremine thank you so much that's a really helpful post.. I'm screenshotting it so I don't lose it

Start with a package, giving you more safeguards financially and local support whilst away.

We hadn't been abroad for years so we went on a package tour (long haul).

Things that had changed since previous trips:-

No physical tickets as everything is electronic.

Having to pay to sit together.

Seat space has seriously shrunk.

Was it worth it? Probably not.

So clearly a big budget and quite adventurous

in which case I would use a TA