1. Travel booking

Don’t get carried away with small savings on a non-refundable flight ticket booked way in advance. Life is unpredictable. Your plans may evolve or change. So, always book refundable flight tickets else you will lose a lot of money in making those unforeseen changes and end up being ‘penny wise pound foolish’. Traveling in comfort is an important part of my holiday. I don’t believe anymore in roughing it out and treating only the destination as the ‘holiday’. The journey being pleasant and comfortable is as important. So, choose your airline well. Make sure you check the seat configuration of the aircraft before booking your ticket to see whether the business class is a full flat bed. Some airlines are notorious for running their short distance smaller domestic aircrafts for long haul or changing them randomly. I have had such rude shocks before so check the aircraft type and the seat configuration beforehand. Also, I prefer to take the 3rd or 4th row so that it’s fairly away from the galleries and the noise of the loo door opening and shutting. The menu choices, staff friendliness and ofcourse, the vanity kit (I am a sucker for those!) are so starkly different among different airlines even at similar prices.

2. Making the most of your trip

Multiple cities in one trip is OK as long as there are atleast 3 nights in each city to be able to ‘discover and enjoy’ it properly as well as relax along the discovery. Exceptions are cities like Venice which can be done in one day.

3. Stay smart

Must research well and stay only in and around the downtown or city centre to make the most of your time and experience in the city. You will also end up saving a lot of money in local transport taxi or trains within the city. And your travel savings will be more than that little extra you might pay for a downtown hotel. Also, European cities – their romance, clean air and spirit are best discovered and enjoyed by foot.

4. Hotel vs Apartment

Even in the Air BnB world of today, hotels are a better idea if you are solo or only one couple. You don’t have to worry about managing a full household when you’re actually on a break! Just focus on the holiday and your get away! Let the hotel staff take care of the rest. Must always check whether your apartment or the hotel has a lift for higher floors or not. Many European apartments don’t have a lift or even an AC. So, don’t skip the details just to book a pretty looking place for a cheaper rate. It’s not worth the rude surprise you will get when you arrive with your heavy luggage and in peak summer! Also check on the hotel room size if you’re sharing a room. Your 4 star hotel in Paris, for the same price, will give you only a 16-20 sq m room compared to a 5 star hotel room in Asia which could be as lavish as 37 sq m!! You need space to atleast open up your bags without banging your elbows into the wall. Stay Safe- Whether in a hotel or an apartment, always lock your passport and valuables before stepping out.

5. Sightseeing

Make your list of places you wish to see in advance and find out their visiting hours, open days and ticket booking logistics in advance so that you save time trying to figure it all out once you get to the city. Don’t try to squeeze it all in one day. Space it out with a meal or coffee break at a river side cafe. Enjoy it rather than treating it like project work! For instance, Rome has so much to see from the Colosseum to the Pantheon but it’s best spread out over 2 days and keep one full day separate just for the Vatican. Same goes for Prague and Budapest.

6. The unique experience

Your trip must include an experience unique to that place. Eg. Visit to a famous chateau in the French or Italian wine regions, or a chocolate factory in Switzerland or whisky tasting in Scotland or visiting a museum e.g. the Louvre in Paris or going up the Eiffel Tower. Find out in advance about the details, timings, etc of these unique experiences of that place and make your bookings or set aside time for them.

7. Good food for a good holiday

On regular food, these days, almost every touristic place is muti-cuisine and vegetarian friendly and even the French town of Reims, which one may perceive to be very high strung as it is where the Champagne region is, has an Indian restaurant in the main square serving the most amazing butter chicken and garlic naan! However, do look up online for the best restaurants in the city or plan that one special meal at a Michelin Star restaurant, where possible, just to experience how dramatic food can be! Advance reservation is always recommended for these special places.

8. Retail therapy

Almost every city has that one major high street for shopping so find out what that is for the city you are visiting. E.g Oxford street in London, Orchard Road in Singapore, Champs Elysees in Paris, Avenida de Liberdade in Lisbon, Istiklal Caddesi in Istanbul or Vaci Utsa in Budapest. Besides that, there are dedicated streets for luxury shopping like Bond Street in London or Rue de Saint Honore in Paris. I would consider the distance to these high streets while booking your hotel as it will ensure you are staying in a buzzing area of main centre of the city to avoid the expenses and time to travel back and forth. Unless your intent is to stay more towards the country side. Most of the big European cities have an outlet mall 45-60 mins drive from the city centre. Not only are they beautifully located and many are made like a pretty village cluster, you can spend a full day shopping luxury and premium brands, including Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Fendi, Tod’s, etc at highly discounted prices! E.g. Ingolstadt near Munich, The Mall Firenze near Florence.

9. Bring it back

Always try to bring back something special from that place, besides the mandatory fridge magnet, if you have time unless you’re on a tight work trip. It could be a lovely leather piece from Italy or unique serve ware from Portugal or coloured Venetian glassware or Dutch cheese or a typical Turkish hand painted artefact.

10. Travel companion

The most important aspect of making your holiday awesome! Best friends don’t always make for best travel buddies and consider yourself incredibly lucky if your best friends are your best travel buddies! Old friendships sometimes go sour due to misunderstandings and difference in expectations on a holiday. Travelling with someone with a similar holiday mindset and having a similar view on sightseeing, relaxation, hotel stay budgets are key to a fulfilling holiday. Assign one person the responsibility for tracking expenses and settling the accounts at the end of the trip. I found the app Splitwise very useful in tracking shared expenses on my last holiday with friends.