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Holidays are a big investment of both time and money. If you choose to use a tour operator, it’s important that you get the most value out of the experience and\u00a0can be confident that you’re getting a fantastic trip. To ensure you and your tour operator are on the same page, have a think about the following things:<\/p>\n
Reflect on your conversations with the person organising your holiday. Have they truly listened to what you want and need? Have they asked you where you\u2019ve travelled before, how have you organised things then and what has drawn you to the current destination of choice?<\/p>\n
Do they know what you\u2019re after on this holiday, in terms of pace, experiences and type of accommodation? Ultimately you need to think, does this travel expert understand me and what I want from this trip?<\/p>\n
With the vast amount of information online, talking to a real expert who loves the destination they\u2019ve specialised in, can make all the difference when planning your holiday. Make sure though, that this person has actually travelled to the country of interest and can provide real insights into the country, not just regurgitate what they\u2019ve read online.<\/p>\n
The planning part of your holiday should be fun and stress-free. Think about the organisation you\u2019re booking with and question yourself, are you happy to trust them with the details? Do they really know what they\u2019re doing? What have past reviewers said about their experience? Once you\u2019ve booked, what\u2019ll be the next steps and is your travel expert clear about everything? Knowing the answers to these questions will provide you with peace of mind and confidence in booking.<\/p>\n
There shouldn\u2019t really be any worry involved with a holiday which is why it\u2019s so important to have both legal and financial protection for your trip. This will make sure you\u2019re covered for unforeseen events in your destination that might require a flight change or hotel change. ABTA\/ATOL bonding is, certainly in our opinion, essential.<\/p>\n
Even with financial and legal protection, it\u2019s important to know how the company in question resolves logistical problems. Why not ask how they\u2019ve solved problems before? Then you can feel safe in the knowledge you\u2019ll have good on the ground support.<\/p>\n
Look at review sights that won\u2019t give a one-sided story of the company. The Association of Independent Tour Operators<\/a>, Feefo<\/a> and Trust Pilot<\/a> are all good places to start. Have a look at where things have gone wrong; have they been responded to and rectified? This way you\u2019ll know whether the company cares about all aspects of their customers’ experience and not just a sale.<\/p>\n Look at the finer details of the quote you\u2019ve been given and double check all the included meals, activities and entry fees. Have they all been given clearly? If not go back and check with your travel expert. Feel free to ask how much extra spending money you might be expected to pay. This makes sure you\u2019re fully informed of the financial implications of the trip.<\/p>\n Make sure that your travel insurance covers you for long-haul travel and that all the activities in your itinerary are included in your policy. For example, some might not cover you for white-water rafting or skiing. If not, you can take a specific policy for your trip. For more guidance on how to make sure you’re safe abroad, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Have a look at when you need to pay towards your holiday in all the instalments across the months building up. Do they suit you? Are they flexible? Make sure all is transparent before you proceed.<\/p>\n Often small things will cumulate in your mind unconsciously to give you either a good or bad gut feeling about something. How does the company, you’re booking your holiday with, make you feel? What are their values, do they share the same ones as you? Does the whole thing feel right? This is a subtle thing to consider but one of the most important.<\/p>\n If you\u2019d be interested in talking to a travel specialist about a potential holiday, do you get in touch on 020 3411 6494 or drop us an email here<\/a>. Alternatively, have a look at example holiday itineraries<\/a> in our portfolio.<\/strong><\/p>\n Holidays are a big investment of both time and money. If you choose to use a tour operator, it’s important that you get the most value out of the experience…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":12797,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1344],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1261],"class_list":["post-12796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-etg-take-on-travel"],"aioseo_notices":[],"views":3887,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12796\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12796"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=12796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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