Me and my friends decided for definite in about june last year that we were going to go on holiday this year. Me and another friend went to Dublin last year for a couple of days to celebrate finishing our AS' and most of the group spent a week in Newquay doing the same so we weren't really going to experience that first bit of real freedom that the media always talks about when criticising these types of holiday. Over the summer we became a bit obsessed with the BBC3 show 'Sun, Sex and Suspicious parents' and The Inbetweeners movie made us fall a little bit for Malia, (despite the movie being mainly filmed in Magaluf). When we went back to college in September, booking the holiday seemed to be the only thing we could think about. I've spent endless hours looking through photos of other people's girls/lads holidays and asking people for their stories so I'm writing a check-list for all the nosy people like me. This is completely unqualified holiday planning and enjoying advice.
Before you go!
Step 1) Who's going?
Not everyone will want to go on a holiday, it's not everyone's cup of tea and not everyone will be able to afford it. Make sure everyone's 100% certain they want to go and they can find the money, it's stressful getting everyone together but don't pressure anyone to make a decision and try not to brag about how excited you are to the people not going, the holiday doesn't make the whole friendship so try not to make them feel left out!
Step 2) Who's in charge?
It should be a group holiday, so no one should be in charge but if you book it at the travel agents then you need a lead passenger and even if you don't then it's still good to have someone to keep all the details and nag everyone to pay their money. I wouldn't call myself bossy but I do find myself trying to take the lead most of the time which I always feel bad about. Even if you are the lead passenger, still try and remember that it's everyone's holiday so you can't make decisions for them.
Step 3) What type of Holiday?
18-30s, quiet and relaxing, culture filled - you can have whatever you want. Being a control freak, I argued for something in the middle, a place with culture where we could relax and party, constantly saying that I didn't want to go 18-30s because I didn't want to go somewhere where there would "be sick everywhere". My friend said it was ironic because out of all of us I'd be the most likely to be contributing to the sick everywhere in one of the 18-30 resorts. I don't want to speak for everyone else but I think we were all happy with our choice of a less mental party resort.
Step 4) Destination?
Knowing what type of holiday you want will narrow the options but a country is a good place to start. It's good not to be too fussy but we were pretty certain we wanted to go to Greece, so that helped.
Step 5) Travel Agent or Independent?
The Travel Agents will help no matter what, they'll give you a good idea of prices and destinations but you might find that you can find it a lot cheaper on the Internet. We felt more secure going through the travel agents, we got really cheap insurance and were able to pay our own portion of the total off without having to keep track of it ourselves, I just felt it made everything a lot easier.
Step 6) Do the Research!
Trip Advisor became my new best friend, don't just trust what the travel brochures tell you, don't book anything until you're pretty certain what it's going to be like when you get there.
Step 7) Budget!
We were lucky enough to get pretty much the best deal ever: A 5 star all inclusive beach resort, 5 minutes walk away from a friendly yet lively bar strip for just £577. We all somehow found the money all on our own, even though I was a little worried I wouldn't for a while. Don't forget you need spending money from somewhere. I took 245 Euros and came home with 20 but we were all inclusive so all I needed money for was alcohol each night. I spent roughly 15Euros a night but you could spend less than that and still get very drunk.
Step 8) When to book?
I would recommend looking either early or late for the best deal. We booked our holiday in November and I'd rather have a long time to get excited rather than a rushed booking, we always thought that we wouldn't have saved the money ready to book it, but it depends what works for you.
Step 9) Last Minute Preparations
Don't pack too many pairs of heels, nights out are different abroad. Heels will just get in the way, you need lots of pairs of sandals and enough outfits to wear each night, 2 bikinis and a cover up and you'll get by. Also, other people might be different but I took 3 books and didn't get enough time to even read one, obviously that depends on the type of holiday.
Step 10) Leaving home!
Decide with your parents if they want you to contact home and say you're alright. An "I've arrived safely" text is always worth it but if they're likely to worry if you don't ring them 5 times a day then find out before you go. My parents told me they wouldn't mind if they didn't talk to me until they picked me up from the airport and I was given the instruction, "do whatever you want, but I don't want to know!" from my mum but not everyone's the same.
When you're there! - more Dos than Don'ts! -
Don't forget to check your flight status before you leave for the airport - we got there super early for our 4pm flight which was delayed until 6!
Do take advantage of any free alcohol samples at the airport and browse through duty free for hours!
Do go to bed if your flight doesn't get in until 1am - tired arguments on your first night because you have one control freak indecisive party animal who tells everyone they should stay in one minute and then wants to dance and get drunk as soon as she's on the strip, are not good.
Do have breakfast at least once during the holiday
Do have cocktails on the beach
Do take lots of pictures
Do buy a lilo, even if it deflates while you're in the sea!
Do a booze cruise, even if just to look down on all the over confident drunk teenagers who are happy to get naked for everyone to laugh at.
Do be sensible and drink less or no alcohol if you get travel sick!
Do jump off the boat!
Do find a favourite bar! SHENANIGANS!
Do stay up on the beach until the mad people in speedos come to reserve their sunbeds
Do have a holiday romance
Don't give them your bracelet!
Do buy tacky touristy clothes to wear on your last night out!
Do look after your friend, Don't stop drinking!
Do eat pizza! It tastes even better when you're drunk!
Do fall in love/ become besties with all of the spotters outside the bars!
Do kiss random boys! (sorry Mum!)
Do dance on tabletops and bars and round poles!
Do quote geordie shore at every opportunity
Don't write all over yourself in sharpie unless you want #magicmike on your leg, property of ellie on your arm and a penis on your ankle by the pool in the morning!
Don't get too sad about going home, remember life just isn't as fun as a holiday.
BUT!
Do get post holiday blues - it's not possible not to so just embrace it!
Do have the best holiday ever!
