The only thing in the world more exciting than an exotic holiday is an extended exotic holiday that includes visits to several different locations one after the other. As travel gets easier and cheaper than ever before, each passing year seems more and more intrepid travelers jetting off on multicentre holidays and packing in more experiences that most will encounter in a lifetime.
However, it of course goes without saying that with a multi-destination holiday comes an additional level of complication and a somewhat extended list of things that could go wrong.
Sadly, there are certain mistakes that are all-too common with those setting out on multi-destination trips for the first time, so with the help of research from The Holiday Place, here are a few prime examples of what not to do when planning and taking a multicentre holiday:
Insufficient Planning
Part of the fun might indeed be to take each day as it comes, but this allows absolutely no breathing room for if things go wrong and you end up stuck. As such, the best advice is to always plan ahead by at least a few days and not end up facing a situation where a lack of planning leaves you facing a brick wall thousands of miles from home.
Lack of Advice
The independence of traveling this way is all part of the thrill, but this doesn’t mean that it’s a good idea to completely rule out at least a little professional advice ahead of time. Even if not planning on making a booking, there’s no reason not to speak to a travel specialist who knows that subject better than any other just to find out exactly what is and isn’t a good idea in any chosen part of the world.
Under-Budgeting
The best advice when planning an extended stay in several places is to budget considerably above and beyond what you actually think you’ll need. True, some come home finding they’ve come nowhere close to killing their budgets, but some will inherently find expenses going above and beyond their projections and multicentre holidays are not the times to run out of money. It’s also always good to have an emergency fund on standby.
Under-Insuring
A huge one to say the least – there are thousands of insurance policies that become null and void after certain lengths of time or the very second you set foot into a country not covered by the policy. Certain activities and modes of travel are also exempt from cover. Check, ask questions and check again before signing up to any policy as it might not be worth the paper it’s printed on.
Overcomplicating
And finally, if at all possible it is always a good idea to keep things simple – meaning using the same airline or tour operator for as much of the trip as possible. To do so is to afford yourself a much greater amount of leeway if and when things go wrong or services are delayed/cancelled – multiple providers often don’t care less if you miss a connection because of another airline’s incompetence.
