How long has it been since the idea of a holiday abroad has entered your mind? I genuinely think if you surveyed people around my age group, the thing people would say they missed the most is going abroad on holiday. This might seem trivial to some people, but I can assure you there is a huge percentage of people out there whose mental health benefits from having a holiday to look forward to. I also see family whenever I visit the Philippines so it isn’t just as black and white as “wanting to sit on a nice beach”. Now that the world is starting to slowly get back to normal, people have probably started thinking about booking holidays, so here are my tips for getting the most out of your post-pandemic return to travel.

Check the COVID entry requirements of your destination, AS WELL AS the requirements for returning from that country

You will need to check the entry requirements of the country you are travelling to. But don’t forget, you also need to find out if you will need to quarantine if you get back. With the red and amber lists of countries changing by the hour, the most reliable and up-to-date source of travel advice is the UK Government Foreign Travel Advice site. Make sure you also KEEP CHECKING before you go as information can change.

Brush up on your tech

There is a lot still up in the air when it comes to travelling outside of the UK, but I think one of the main things that are going to come to pass is the fact you are going to be pretty lost without a smartphone. At least one of your groups will more than likely need one to save proof of vaccination, test results etc. If you are travelling somewhere that requires a vaccination passport, this is also stored on your smartphone.

Get used to “self-service”

One of the things I am guilty of forgetting very easily is that COVID-19 is not just a UK problem. If you are travelling abroad, you will most likely find similar restrictions in your chosen destination to the ones we currently have here. Although certain restrictions around the world ARE easing, things like there being glass between you and the bus driver or there being more self-service than standard, manned tills are likely to continue. And what a good job indeed, if this pandemic has taught me anything it is how little humans previously valued personal space.

Roll with the changes

I know people that will happily go on holiday to the same place, at the same time, at the same hotel every year. Unfortunately, there are going to be so many people wanting holidays in quite a short time, it’s likely places are going to get booked up very quickly. If you are the sort of person that does need to visit the same place each time, you might have to wait a bit. If not, this could be a great opportunity to roll with the changes and try a new destination you have never been to.

Stay close to home if you feel the need

No one can be blamed for being a bit anxious about getting back out there and starting to travel again. If you are still a little bit nervous to travel internationally, why not book a stay in the UK just to see how you get on? I recently went up to Birmingham, and even the novelty of staying in a hotel was a welcome change.

Prepare for higher prices

Unfortunately, travel companies have suffered during the pandemic. It isn’t a surprise that they are going to want to recoup some of their money back. Some of the prices, even for holidays in the UK have been incredibly high this summer, and it doesn’t look like that is doing anything to decrease demand. Even places like Butlins are getting significantly more expensive, and despite where we are at with Coronavirus guidelines here in the UK, it looks like some companies have still asked their customers respectfully to stick with THEIR company guidelines, and you might have to book activities and any included meals may be a different process to a “help yourself” buffet.

As you may have seen on my Twitter and Instagram, I won a holiday to Lefkas with Jet2 and I am taking it in October so watch you for the YouTube video on that one.

If you found this article useful maybe you could buy me a coffee? It would MAKE MY DAY 🙂

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