Heading off on holiday should be a pleasure rather than a pain. When you’ve worked your fingers to the bone for scant reward and your tyrannical boss has made your life a misery, jetting off to sunnier climes is your way of reclaiming what’s left of your sanity.
Rather than worrying about what’s happening in the office, your only concern is where the next cocktail is coming from and what factor of sun cream to use on your Vitamin D starved frame. In between digging out your passport and packing your suitcase, however, a jaunt abroad regularly means a Boeing 737 sized panic attack in case you overlook an important travel document.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
With our three handy life hacks, make your next holiday a breeze and ensure you come back with your batteries charged and ready to face whatever life throws at you.
Pre-Book Airport Parking
In a bid to prevent passing out with stress before your holiday has even begun, why not save yourself time and hassle by pre-booking your airport parking? Whether you’re flying from Luton or Liverpool, driving to the terminal and leaving your motor with a specialist firm couldn’t be easier.
At the Gatwick meet and greet, for example, a professional driver will collect your car, which means you avoid wasting time searching the monolithic airport for a parking space that may or may not exist. And when you return? Your car is delivered back to where you dropped it off. Simple.
Copy Your Documents
When you’re in a rush to get to the airport, or perhaps you’re just a scatterbrain, misplacing your passport or itinerary is a real risk. As a result, use your smartphone’s camera to record your particulars in case of loss or theft. Although this won’t help you immediately if you do happen to lose your passport, it’ll give you all the information you need to obtain a replacement as quickly as possible – perhaps even before the next flight is due to take off.
Use Local ATMs
If you’ve decided against taking Travellers Cheques and didn’t convert cash before you left, rather than get ripped off at the airport’s money convertors (most make up their own fees and the exchange rates are generally poor), use ATMs to withdraw the local currency.
Of course, check with your bank before you go and let them know you’ll be using your card abroad. Why? Because the last thing you need in a foreign country is for your card to be blocked and to be left stranded without easy access to your holiday funds.
What do you think?
Do you have any travel hacks you’d like to share with our readers? Please let us know by leaving a comment below – we’d love to hear from you.
