The holidays are thankfully just around the corner and I cannot tell you how happy I am about it. Grateful, ecstatic even! We’ve been planning our trip to Australia for months and we’ve finally received our visas, so it all feels 100% real! Speaking of visas, for some countries, it is a requirement to have one before entering the country. This is why some people looking to travel to Italy from the states, for example, would attend an italian visa appointment san francisco, to go through the process of getting a visa for their holiday. Without one, it would be impossible to visit a country like Italy, France or Denmark.
With that being said, travelling doesn’t have to be expensive. If you find a place you want to go to and it is within budget, then go for it! You don’t have to spend thousands on having a good time.
If you’re not sure whether you’ve left it too late to plan a trip for the festive season, think again! I love spontaneous trips and, honestly, if I didn’t have a trip planned to Australia already, I would whip out my credit card and book a trip to Reunion Island or Bali right this very second.
Here’s what I would do if I were planning a last minute holiday:
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Identify your time frame
Be really realistic about how much time you can get off and how much time you want to spend travelling. If you only have a week off between Christmas and New Year, flying 13 hours to Bali might not be the best use of your time. Rather opt for somewhere close, like Reunion Island, which is only a 4 hour flight away.
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Identify your budget
I don’t know about you, but I’m not scared of booking a holiday on my credit card. Pool your resources, check out how much credit you have and book a cheap flight. As soon as you get back, you can start eating cereal for dinner to pay off your credit card debts while you watch a slideshow of your awesome holiday memories.
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Identify where your passport can take you
I personally suffer under the good old South African passport, aka the Green Mamba, so my spontaneous holiday destination options are relatively limited. That’s why Thailand, Reunion Island and Bali are always great options. If you’re lucky enough to have a British or USA passport, please, go forth and enjoy the world, which is your oyster. It might be a good idea to buy a Personalized passport holder to make sure your passport is protected from damage. It would be a nightmare if your passport got damaged so take care of it! Here’s a list of 114 countries South Africans can visit visa-free with the Green Mamba.
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Get your essentials in order
Credit card cleared with the bank for use overseas, travel documents backed up on Google drive, travel insurance purchased. Oh and don’t forget to actually book the hotel! Australia has so many gorgeous places to stay but they aren’t always cheap, but you can visit https://www.sydneylodges.com/accommodation/sydney-city.html or sites like it to help you find the best deal! I like to be mega organised, so this is the part that would freak me out most. As long as these basics are sorted, you can’t have a bad holiday.
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Get packing
Here are my Top Tips for packing essential holiday wardrobe and these are my Top 10 Travel Tips, which you might find useful now that you’re going on a spontaneous holiday!
*This post was brought to you by Webjet, and will help cover the cost of my not-so-spontaneous trip to Australia.
