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Choose your travel companions

Holidays can be stressful; they shouldn’t be, but sometimes they are.  It definitely helps if you are travelling with people you know you’ll get along with, and who will give you space when you need it. Staying in the same hotel room, or even a house, with a bunch of people you aren’t used to living with – even if they are your best friends – can be taxing on a relationship.

Plan ahead

Arriving in a new country or city can be overwhelming. There are so many new things to do, so many things to see; you could get overwhelmed by all the different activities you want to do. You could always dive in headfirst and go with whatever takes your fancy, but I find it’s better to plan out a rough schedule to avoid time constraints and ensure that you do everything that you want to do.

Conversely, if you arrive somewhere and aren’t sure of what you can do there, a little research in advance can’t hurt. Who knows, you might find a new favourite activity or restaurant. Knowledge is power!

Save up

For maximum enjoyment and to reduce stress, budget your trip beforehand. This is especially useful for long and/or overseas trips. The last thing you want to have to worry about on a holiday is how much you can spend. Estimate how much you want to spend per day – think about the types of meals you want to eat (will you be dining out every day, or are some “home”-cooked meals on the menu?), are you planning on purchasing any souvenirs? Or going to any attractions that involve buying tickets?

It’s best to work out a budget for your trip as soon as possible, so you can start putting aside money in preparation for it. That way, you can focus on having fun, rather than balancing the books.

Accommodation

Where you stay plays a fairly important role in your enjoyment of the holiday. After all, it’s the place you’ll come back to at the end of the day to unwind and to sleep. If you envision lazy days by the pool, choose a place with a pool. If you some private time in the bathroom, make sure your room has an en suite. It’s also a good idea to choose a hotel or hostel that’s close to the city central or somewhere close to public transport, so it’s easy to get around.

Sarah Paige is a travel expert currently living in Vale, in Western Australia, until her next intrepid adventure.

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If you should head to the Canary Islands then you will be certain to have a great holiday and there are many things that bring visitors to them time after time. First of all, these islands boast incredible weather. Being just off of the coast of Africa they are very hot as you can imagine, and this makes them ideal for beach holidays and for relaxing in the sun. At the same time as islands they also have lots of beach, and many of these are great for surfers.

The tourism on many of these islands is very pronounced meaning that there is a lot laid on for anyone wanting to visit including great nightlife and clubbing, and lots of places to eat and relax. However the islands are also known for their unusual and often stunning scenery – these islands feature volcanic terrain that looks sparse and desolate and almost like the surface of the moon or Mars.

If you want to visit the Canary Islands then you have several options of places to visit:

Tenerife

Of the Canaries, Tenerife is perhaps the best for night life and the one most associated with clubbing holidays and nights out drinking. To this end it has a fantastic strip of clubs and activities and a hugely bustling nightlife. At the same time though it also has plenty to do in the day and has great beaches and places to eat. One of the sites of most interest for tourists is undoubtedly Mount Tiede which is a volcano you can travel to the top of. Here the volcanic terrain is perhaps at its best – and interestingly this was actually the site on which the original Planet of the Apes was filmed.

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Gran Canaria

Gran Canaria is another great spot if you’re after a good nightlife and the best spot for that is the YUMBO center which has everything you could need for a great night out. Again the island also has brilliant beaches for relaxing and even a small desert that you can trek through and get some great photos.

Lanzarote

Lanzarote is similar to both Tenerife and Gran Canaria in terms of climate and night life, though it enjoys a slightly more muted evening out with a little less drunken debauchery (though some of that still goes on) and a marginally cooler climate due to an ever-present breeze. This makes it the Canary island of choice for those who want to relax and kick back. At the same time it is also the island with the most impressively varied landscape of all – with more volcanic terrain, as well as mountain ranges, another desert and even caves. At the volcanic region of the island you can also enjoy having your dinner cooked for you by the heat of a volcano.

Nick Ball is a web enthusiast and maintains a Lanzarote Guidebook for all his travel queries which he likes to share through his blog. The latest column added to his guide are the list of Flights to Lanzarote.

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One thing that makes Stockholm so unique is that the large city is actually comprised of 14 separate islands, connected by a network of bridges. There are currently 50 bridges keeping Stockholm’s different areas within easy reach of each other, and many of these are attractions in their own right.

Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Mispahn

Despite the fact it is made up of islands, Stockholm has an enviably good public transport network, comprising trains, buses and underground subway trains. You can buy day passes that allow you to get around using any combination of these, as with most major European cities.

The climate in Stockholm is surprisingly mild for a Scandinavian country, though you will find that if you visit in December the days are incredibly short, with only 6 hours of daylight on the shortest day. By contrast, there are 18 hours of daylight at the mid point of summer.

There are so many things to see and do in Stockholm’s many thriving districts that there is certainly something for every traveller. You can check out the historical sights in the old town, or shop and socialise in the trendy districts of Norrmalm and Ostermalm. The nightlife is great, but be aware that drinks are very expensive in Sweden.

Stockholm is a truly great European destination for a city break, and with plenty of transport links and hotels it is easy to find a well priced deal for a trip there.

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If you’re thinking on going on holiday to get away from drizzle and wind but don’t know where to go because you don’t know what the best place is to go, it has to be Majorca.

It’s beautiful all year round and many things you’re able to do there, so here is a list of attractions that are in Majorca so you know what to expect from a villa holiday:

The days or nights out are never dull, the Pirates adventure in Magaluf, the most recommended show in the whole on Majorca, and it features acrobatics and dancing that you can watch while eating your lunch or dinner, it is an incredible show for all the family and was spoken like it is a west end show.

For a bit of thrill instead of relaxing, why not go to Aqualandia, It’s only a few minutes from Cala Dor. It’s a great family day out with many attractions, with over 17 different slides and each one is unique, from Adults to Kid’s mini slides also including a massive wave pool and also sunbeds for people who just want to relax. You can easily spend many, many hours there and not realise it.

If none of them take your fancy, why not visit Plama the capitol of Majorca, many scenic options to view from, and easily accessible via train and car, with many of architectural monuments and many visitors coming over just to see them it is a definite must see.

Majorca is full of many more attractions but it is easier to find them, why not go and see for yourself?

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