#Survival Guide Travel Special - Planning Your Perfect Trip!!!

  It's nearly that time of year when we all jet off somewhere or plan to take a road trip to a festival or just to the seaside for a few days. But knowing what you need to do before even thinking of that dream holiday can seem so difficult! 

As someone with Aspergers Syndrome, like everyone else I want to get away from the everyday and just sit back and relax. Usually with holidays the simplest route would be to just go away at home rather than another country. 

Instead of having to deal with security, airports in general and then actually have to sit on the plane for so many hours trapped with other people you don't know and no escape route when it all becomes to much to bare can seem a complete waste of time. But believe me all that suffering and all the energy that goes into keeping yourself calm will be all be worth it when you feel the heat from the sun, the sand between your toes and knowing that you can see and experience another culture and way of live! 

The main questions to ask before travelling is what do I want to do and where do I actually want to go? 

For most British and other European travellers , countries like Spain, Portugal , Greece and Turkey as well as South France and Italy are the ideal places to go being only up to the maximum four hours by air to travel and well the grantee of sun, sea and various amounts of activities for families as well as adults that is relatively not that expensive it's a no brainer. 

Yes the UK has some spectacular coast lines and beaches as well as mountains, countryside and stunning lakes but unfortunately we don't often get the awesome weather that goes with it! Which if you are from the north of the British Isles can seem like a nightmare!  

Planning a holiday with your family is easier than planning one with your friends believe me!!!! 

With your family it's a joint decision based on everyones needs which is excellent. The pros to this is that someone mainly will just tell you were you re going, how long for and that you need to pay so much to go or take your own spending money. Everything is arranged and done quickly and actually at the best possible price. 

The cons of going on holiday with your family well in my case not much but if your not as lucky you can insert your own cons. 

Whereas going on holiday with your friends can open up a huge can of worms and you haven't even began to pack. Friendships can be solid as rocks or as much use of a fire chocolate guard! If you know that your friends are inviting people you don't like or get on with the alarm bells should automatically ring off in your head. Trust me as it's happened to me and well it was the holiday from hell. 

For seven days being trapped with people who dd not like you or respect you for that matter can end up with you having a meltdown and being away from the people who can help you and coach you through it can seem like you will not survive. 

Planning is paramount and knowing what you want and what you want out of your holiday is completely in your hands. 

With going on holiday with Friends, they will want to go to the places where the nightlife is more than a bit rowdy and buzzing with clubs, bright lights, alcohol at cheap prices that free flows and a lot of eye candy as well. 

In the UK these holiday packages are called 18-30's and if you love going out on numerous drinking adventures then it's right up your street. If you are like me and want to be in bed at a decent time at night then I suggest going on holiday with your family! 

My Tips would be : 

1) Research the Holiday and the Country: 

There are a lot of holiday sites that can give you excellent deals on holidays either packages or direct flight and booking hotels. 

But before you travel always think about where abouts you want to go as you never know what might happen and the state of the country. Take Greece for example , Holiday makers have been warned as they are in a sticky spot with their economic status and banks and reports have said that travellers have been advised to take enough money to cover them for the whole time they are away. 

If you have been looking at travel brochures or online please visit Trip Advisor as they can give you costumer reviews and other interesting facts about the Hotel you want to book before going ahead as what you see and read might make you change your decision. 

2) Discuss the Holiday idea with someone objective: 

It always helps to have someone who has no connection to the up and coming stressful time of booking a holiday. And whether you like the advice they give you or not talking to someone objective about going away with people that you don't really actually know but are your friends can be a good idea. 

Whether you slip it into your counselling session and go through every worse case scenario in your head and vocalise your worries it can save you a lot of heart ache, worry and money!!!  

They will hopefully allow you to see what you thought were problems in a different light and make them more manageable rather than just a complete brick wall of problems that don't seem to go away. 

In any case my advice would be if you want to go away with your friends , stay at home on a holiday camp and if you really hate it at least you know that if you can't drive home there is always a train that can get you back home in a matter of hours!!!! Also it's a great way to test the water and see how you feel !! 

3) Don't be forced into anything you don't want to do: 

Just because they are your BBF does not mean they have the right to make you pay over 300 quid to go and stay in a 3* self catering hotel apartments for a week and watch them get off their face on booze. If you don't like the holiday idea and you feel like you are being forced... don't let them force you into it because otherwise they will hate you and delete you from their Facebook and twitter or send you hurtful messages via all of the above. 

If they are true friends they will understand the Aspergers and not make a massive grievance out of a tiny holiday. They also might not like the fact that when stressed you might possibly have a meltdown. Again talk to someone about approaching your friends and explaining it's not right for you. 

4) Don't pay for it if you don't want to do it: 

Again like the above but the travel agent will want a deposit before the final payment which will be in the ball park area of £50 or even more depending on the date of your travel. So if you definitely don't want to go on this holiday and everyone else does and they want to go into the travel agents and book it straight away without further thinking or planning just say you want to think about it (as the soft blow answer) or an out right no! (if you want to get to the point). There is no point paying out money for something you don't want or need and knowing that you have wasted money for a holiday from hell will not sit well. 

5) Think about spending money and other costs for Home or Away: 

Again looking into exchange rates and which shop or agency does the best deals on selling currency and buying it back (limit minimum is I think £300 worth - check with your exchange retailer) can be good research but remember that some offer better rates than others. But when it comes to dinning out and other expenses would it be cheaper to stay at home than to go aboard. In the UK sometimes Away wins as the VAT and Tax is less in other countries and who can not forget about duty free, but sometimes knowing that it is actually cheaper to stay a week at home rather than another country might just be the deciding factor. 

I'm not saying do some extreme maths and calculate what the price would be on everything you do , although they do say if you want a cheap holiday abroad or to get your money's worth go for All Inclusive or Half Board options!!! 

It's a matter of what you think is the best option for getting your money's worth and if there is a city you've always wanted to see then book a weekend break rather than a week!!! 

Holidays are great fun but always about knowing what are the pros and cons before you decide to go away. 

Would it be better to stay at home or go somewhere you've always wanted to go. 

Time to make that decision but always plan ahead and think about what you think you want & what you truly want!!