Holidays/Short Trips

[one_step_closer]

I don't really go anywhere for trips/holidays and kind of maybe want to try it but don't know how. I have been to London with my brother in 2014 and that was my last trip I think. I have never been abroad. I have never been anywhere alone. I think London is the only place I have been as an adult and as I said that was with my brother and he really organised everything and got us places. Where do I start? I don't even know what kind of trip I'd like meaning where I'd like to go or what activities I'd want to do. Any advice appreciated.

[Cacoethes]

Could you start somewhere nearby to get a feel for it?
Like not nearby nearby, but somewhere in the same country.

You can use an app like booking.com or hotels.com which is easy because you can filter preferences. Have a google to see what's about or TripAdvisor is quite good for sights and things! Then checking out transport times.

[Pi.R^2]

Come visit me!!!

[not_so_insig]

How about a coach trip? The activities are organised for you and other than getting to the pick up point you don't have to worry about anything else. The hotels are picked for you but the downside is that you're with a group of people.

Other than that decide what city you would like to visit and see what the nearest train station is to it. Most (but not all) cities in the UK have at least one train station. Then decide what type of accommodation you want? Self catering can be ok because unlike hotels where breakfast is at a certain time you're more free to eat where and when you want. Also I would get a flexible return train ticket even though they cost slightly more. That way if things get too much you can return home whenever you want rather than on a certain date because that's when your return ticket is.

Obviously if you can drive you can decide the maximum amount of time you want to be away from home and see how what type of accommodation is nearby. I would recommend being close to a city or large town because there will be more to do.

Also have a Google to see what is near/in your potential place. Do you like going to National Trust type places (whatever the equivalent is in Scotland)? Or is being by the sea important? Or do you want to be near a large shopping centre? Whatever you like it's important to find the right place which combines the best things.

[Auror.]

we plan short trips around a specific event or thing we want to do. whether that's a concert, museum exhibit, visiting a friend, some type of pony thing, etc..

our last few day trips were to a big horse related venue a couple of hours away. there were big events there, and even though there were a lot of humans, it is a big enough outdoor space that it was very spread out. and we met some online friends there! we could have technically stayed overnight but we like to be close enough to come home at night. so you could start with things like that if there are specific events or types of things you like, and plan around that.

[one_step_closer]

Thanks everyone. So much to think about. I'll need to do some proper thinking and research.

[not_so_insig]

You could start by having a short break in Edinburgh or Glasgow. That's assuming you don't go to them all the time. From my knowledge of your address they're not horrendously far away that if you panic you can't get home easily. They are bound to have enough things to do to keep yourself occupied and it will give you some sort of idea what planning a holiday is like. Plus there's bound to be something in your budget there. You don't have to go for a week just 3 days would be sufficient enough as a first holiday.

[Indigo.]

I would also suggest somewhere not too far.

Think about affordability and narrow it down from there, perhaps? So how much money you think you are able to spend on a short trip and then you can either google what there is to see not far from where you are (e.g. I hear Edinburgh has fantastic public transport and there's quite a bit to see; obv that's just a random example, it may be far to get to for you in reality but basically that's how I would search, think about what I know is closeby that I can see and go from there). I have also literally googled "things to see in X city/X area" before, and there are websites such as Tripadvisor that will give you lots of examples and can help you decide :) I'm planning a holiday to Sweden and literally that's the thing I did and how I figured out where in Sweden I'd like to go.

I also would recommend checking out Airbnb and Booking.com - you can tell the websites what area you're looking for accommodation in and filter by type and price.

As for budgeting, it's worth taking into account:

- transport costs: to your destination and back, and to travel within the area you're going to if needed
- accommodation costs
- sustenance (I have budgeted for this by checking out nearby pubs/restaurants/places to eat to my accommodation in advance and checking how much it'd cost to have like, what may constitute a regular meal for me); travelling in a city has the advantage of access to more shops/supermarkets/easy and cheaper food
- activities: if you plan to activities that are paid-for (for example, in Sweden they do sled dog trips, and that's a one-off activity I'd pay for; when I went to Tenby, there were boat trips just for the sake of it as well as boat trips to a nearby island - you can usually get the prices for all such things online in advance so that helps with budgeting).
- pocket money (just any extra money you can spend on whatever you like e.g. souvenirs)
- a little emergency fund - just in case.

The last two bullet points are all up to you, but they're useful things to add to your total budget when planning a holiday. (Hope the budget stuff doesn't come across as overwhelming! I used to design project budgets for a living, so it's kind of like second nature to me now. It's definitely useful to break down your budget into smaller parts.)

[one_step_closer]

Thank you both. Helpful points. :)

My brother lives in Glasgow so I go there sometimes. Would maybe consider Edinburgh.

[Auror.]

if it's something you don't do often would definitely suggest starting out small with day trips, then building up to one or two nights away before just jumping into something long and far away. and making sure you book options with flexibility on refunds. also would suggest for the first night or two away making it be close enough that you can go back home if you absolutely need to.