Holidays and travel bookings have always been the hardest part of a vacation. Before you can hit those sandy beaches or zip around on those ski-slopes, you need to iron out the planning part of your holidays. That includes, booking your travel tickets to and from your dream destination.
Let’s see what that means – It means long hours haggling to find the right travel agent, and when you eventually do find someone who’s just about right, you start haggling to get the best tickets and prices.
Planning your holiday should be as much fun as the trip you plan to embark upon. That’s exactly why you need to follow these basic steps to enjoying a calm and peaceful holiday, from thought to execution!
Choose your Destination
There are few places in the world with the kind of rich diversity and culture that South Africa can boast of. Travelling from one city to the next, you get a taste of the vibrant African way of life combined with the colonial history and a sprinkling of Indian influence. From Durban, with its beautiful colonial homes & structures to the massive multi-cultural city of Johannesburg, you find everything you can expect from a wonderful holiday destination.
If you get tired of the big cities, head on down to limestone cliffs of Knysna or to the glorious beaches of Plettenberg Bay. From midnight safaris to evenings in the local pub, South Africa is one of the most popular destinations in the world today, and with good reason.
This is also the time when you choose the amount of time you’d like to spend on your vacation. While a lifetime can be too little to scratch the surface of this wonderful travel destination, you might want to give yourself a bit of time to experience the culture and beauty of this wonderful country.
Then comes the bit where you need to bring your paperwork in order. You need to check for the visa application conditions, find out what all you need to submit for that and make sure that you are constantly on top of things when it comes to checking off all the formalities on your list. Getting a new passport or renewing your old one should be done on time, and if you are a regular traveller, make sure you have space left on that little book, for your new visa.
If you are travelling with a child, get their documentation in order as well. Applications for new passports or visas can be easily expedited thanks to a number of consultants who have taken up the task of helping you with the process. Just make sure you start early enough to meet the dates of your holiday without cutting it too close!
Fix Travel Documents
Book your Tickets
Then comes the point of booking your flight for the destination you choose. You may have to book this prior to applying for a visa even, but in any case, you need to find yourself the best prices. Travel agents aren’t a thing of the past, but the way to get in touch with them has changed drastically. Over the last decade, people have moved on from standing in lines to visiting travel agencies to utilizing services like dial-a-flight, for their travel bookings.
What used to happen in a long and tedious manner, over multiple phone calls to different parties, now happens through the same route. You can sit in your home and plan a tour of the entire world, within minutes, thanks to the seamless services that companies like dial-a-flight provide. From your airline tickets to your hotel rooms and even renting a car for the duration of your stay, these websites can take care of everything you could ever want.
Once you have taken care of these elements, you have nothing left to do but wait for those dates to arrive so that you can take off and enjoy the beauty of South Africa. What’s more, thanks to the stress-free booking process, you get a smooth and relaxing experience right from the moment you start planning everything. Now, that’s a fine holiday!
Jacob Smith – author
Jacob was out of a job when the economic down-turn hit and he decided to turn to writing, one of his long-time passions. In search of a subject, Jacob spent a lot of time travelling around Chicago, looking for inspiration, until it hit him – travelling! He began writing about his journeys in search of inspiration, the places he visited and the sights he saw! It’s been 7-years now and Jacob’s still in the profession, reviewing services like Dial-a-flight and other online/offline travel agencies/services along the way.