Category: Travel

The Prime minister has now confirmed that there will be a number of quarantine hotels opening up across the country. Anyone that is returning from one of the 30 listed countries so far, will have to stay in quarantine in a designated hotel as part of measures to try and stop the spread of Covid. Not only will you have to stay in one of these hotels for 10 days you may also have to pay to stay there. It may cost up to £1500 for your stay in a hotel which will include meals served to the room and security on the doors. This which certainly put many people off going abroad this year as this can very easy double the cost of your holiday if not more. You may also not be able to get an additional 10 days off work, so it is unlikely your holiday will be authorised by your company.  

These hotels or isolation facilities are already been used in many parts of the world, but are they a step too far?

The government say the reasons they are having to take these steps is because when people are asked to isolate or quarantine, not everyone is doing so. For this reason they felt the need to enforce it to protect the health and wellbeing of others.

If you have to travel for work you may of found that many of your trips abroad have been put on hold this year. There have been times when all but essential travel has been stopped and even when travel did start to open it, it was advisable not to go unless you really had to. So many people and businesses are hoping that next year will start to show signs of improvement and we may get part way back to some sort of normality.

If you have a trip that you have been putting off then you may consider rebooking it for 2021. Ideally toward Easter time is going to give you the best chance of being able to go as it is likely that we will enter another sort of lockdown in the new year.

When travelling for business, try to reduce the contact you have with people. Try and conduct some discussions out doors if possible and use a large room of having a conference so people can spread out. You need to be prepared that you may have to self isolate upon your return to the UK and even upon your arrival to your destination. This can add a huge amount of time on to your trip, so if a video call will suffice, then it may still be better to do that it at all possible.

With the summer holidays fast upon us, we all need to consider how to stay safe in the sun. Unfortunately this year has been a bit of a nightmare to say the least and many of us are still in lockdown meaning we are not able to leave our homes to stay away overnight somewhere. Lots of people are concerned about booking holidays as there is still so much uncertainly about.  Unfortunately the UK has not been blessed with great weather of late, but you never know when Over the last few weeks we have been very blessed with some great weather, and with not much else to do but sit outside, many of us have been topping up on our tans. Sometimes it is hard to tell how strong the sun is and its easy to get sun burnt without realising it.  The way to check is to establish the UV factor, this will then tell you whether it is safe to be outdoors in the heat and also if you should wear sunscreen whilst outside.
Children and the elderly people are especially sensitive to the sun, so they should be kept covered as much as possible and sunscreen applied regularly.

When you are travelling away for business you are often travelling alone and that can be quite daunting for people who are not used to it. However there are a few thing that can make it easier to do and actually make business trips more enjoyable.

The fear of eating out alone during your trip can make some people feel nervous and for some they would rather just eat in their rooms than face going to a restaurant alone. However, during the week particularly if you go into a hotel restaurant you will actually see a number of people dining alone so you really wouldn’t stand out at all. You can also do things such as take a book with you or play on your phone to alleviate any anxiety.

Lots of business travellers also struggle with the lack of comfort in a hotel room however by doing things like taking your own pillow and maybe a wireless speaker so that you can put music on you should start to feel more at home.

Boredom can be an issue when your away with work as often the evenings are spent alone in your hotel room however you could venture down to the bar for a drink or you could watch a film and make the most of a bit of chill out time. 

People have to travel for a number of reasons. It may be that travelling is essential in your job to get to meetings or to deliver goods or services. Or it may be that you choose to travel to go away on holiday or to see family and friends. Whatever the reason for travel, no one wants to spend more money than they need to and often the travelling part isn’t very enjoyable, so the quicker route is essential.

When travelling to and from a destination, you can end up spending a lot of money on transport and/or parking fees. Recent studies have shown that booking a last-minute deal to Ibiza for example, may be shown to cost around two hundred and fifty pounds per person but once you have factored in all the other travel costs you may then incur additional costs of over £50 each. This is usually due to adding on transfers to and from the airport at your chosen destination. You may also have to factor in the cost of your luggage which is not always included and can cost another £50 each. This can very quickly add a lot of money on to what was supposed to be a budget holiday.

To save money, you need to plan ahead and be prepared to do some research. Find out exactly what is included in the price of your holiday before you book and make sure when comparing prices you are comparing like for like.

Rather than using pre-booked transport you may find it quicker and cheaper to get a taxi cab to and from your resort.

London has a lot to offer if you are looking for a city break in the UK. You will not be bored on a trip to London as there is so much to see and do. Buckingham Palace is a great place to visit, of course you cannot go inside but even from the outside the Palace has a lot to offer. Whilst travelling around London you will see a wealth of historical buildings and monuments. You can head over to the houses of parliament or take a trip up the Thames to see London bridge in all its glory. If you fancy it, London dungeons is spectacular but not for the faint hearted. The dungeons are bought to life by characters who will tell a story as you walk round and involve you in acting out scenes from historical moments. Madame Tussauds is a wax museum with can be found Marylebone, London and can be a great day out for all the family.

London is often easy to get to from the most places in England, although traffic and driving through London can be a nightmare so you may want to opt to get on to the train instead.  With public transport facilities second to none you won’t be waiting for a tube or bus for more than about 5 mins when in the city and black cabs are flying past every few minutes. London is great for romantic breaks away, shopping with the girls or taking family around the museums and to ride the London eye.

As with most big cities, drinks, food and souvenirs are not cheap in London so you may need to be prepared to take a fair bit of spending money with you to see you through your trip.

Many businesses have directors or employees who need to do a certain amount of executive travel. It can be hard work managing the travel arrangements of multiple people and ensuring that everyone gets to their destination (and home again) when needed to. If your business does a lot of travelling then you may consider using a third party or organise and manage your travel arrangements. Often these types of companies have access to reduced rates of travel with other companies and can therefore save you money on your expenses. There are a number of different companies that offer these types of services with varying levels of management. If you need to be able to keep track of your employees travel arrangements then you may want to opt for a software that gives individuals information and some control over their travel but also have a management level access to see all the information in one place.
A third party executive travel company will take responsibility for booking transport and often accommodation as well as informing the traveller of updates to disruptions or amendments to their current travel plans.
The costs of travel can be accurately recorded so you can keep an eye on how much you are saving and ensure that trips are only booked when really needed.

If you have to regularly take business trips you will know the importance of making the as productive and stress free as possible. It may be that you have to fit a number of meetings in to a short space of time or that you have limited time at one meeting due to having to travel back immediately after its finished for other work duties.

Any business travel executive who makes frequent trips will tell you that executive travel is not all that pleasant as they thought it to be. Often you can get caught up in traffic, find that your flight has been delayed and you have to hang around in an airport or that your meeting gets cancelled when you are already on your way. This can all add to the stress of having to plan meetings with clients which may be quite intense.

When booking your hotel be sure to find one that is close to where your meeting will be, to cut down on travel time. You should also try and ensure that they have good quality Wi-Fi and that it is going to be quiet at night to let you get some sleep.

Be sure to only take items with you that you really need. The last thing you want to be doing is dragging round suitcases that are full of unesseccary items.

Many people would live to go ravelling but have little or no money saved up to allow them to go. Once you get in to the role of having a full time job and / or a family and have more responsibilities it can be very hard to put all of that on hold to go travelling, so many people like to take a year out after or in-between studies to go.

There are ways in which you can save money when going travelling. Below are a few of the top ways to cut down your travelling budget:

Off Peak Travel – travelling at off peak times of the year and times of the day even, can save you a small fortune. It is important to remember that not all countries have the same peak and off peak seasons so you check this prior to booking your trip.

Choose your accommodation wisely – Yes it may be nice to have all the luxuries that the top end hotels offer, but if you are simply looking for somewhere to get your head down at night then I would strongly recommend staying in a hostel.

Venture somewhere different – Rather than hitting all the popular touristy spots which usually cost a fair bit, why not chose to visit some places that are a little off the beaten track, not only will you save money but you may end up getting an all-round better experience.

If you have booked a holiday aboard then you will need to consider hoe you are going to get to and from the airport. You may not live too far away and decide that a taxi is the best option or you may want to travel a day early and stay at one of the many hotels that offer a drop off service. If you want to get dropped off on the day then you should check which car park to go on and how much it will cost. Some of the carparks are extortionate and cost as much as £5 for five mins. These are the ones that are normally closest to the terminal and easiest for you to get in to the airport. If you don’t mind walking a little way then you could go to one of the carparks that offers a longer stay option for a lot less money.

Once you have arrange for someone to pick you up or drop you off at the airport you will need to keep checking flight times to ensure that you are not going to be delayed. Most airlines have websites or apps where you can track the progress of the flight even when it is already on route and find out if it will arrive on time. When picking someone up, ideally you do not want to enter the car park until your passengers have left the plane and collected their luggage as this can very easily add 30 mins on to your wait which can work out expensive.