You’ve found a great villa but now you need to get a good deal on your holiday cash…..the differences in rates offered by banks and foreign exchange retailers can be quite astounding so it pays to look around.
According to the Daily Telegraph, the Post office was recently offering 200 Euros for £194.70 whilst a Travelex airport bureau de change quoted £202.98. A spokesman for Travelex said this was due to high rent, stocking and staffing costs – you can apparently avoid this by pre-ordering your currency online from www.travelex.co.uk before you travel and then picking up your cash at the airport.
If you have a debit card, it can actually work out cheaper to draw your holiday money after arriving at your resort. Choose your card with care as many card providers charge extra fees for cash withdrawals and purchases abroad. The Nationwide remains one of the best value card providers for foreign travel (along with the Post Office), with no European usage fee and no cash withdrawal fees when you use its debit card, although it has just introduced a foreign debit and credit card fee for purchases made outside Europe.
Using a Nationwide debit card in a European cash machine, that same purchase of 200 Euros in mid April would have cost £188.60 – a potential saving of nearly £15 on other choices at the time. If you are using a card to make purchases abroad, it is generally safer to use a credit card as you’ll have protection under the Consumer Credit Act for any purchase between £100 and £30,000. Do remember to advise your card provider of your travel plans, however, so that their fraud department doesn’t put a very inconvenient stop on your spending!
Don’t forget to take out travel insurance in case of any emergencies. Again, it is worth looking around for the best price – comparison websites such as Moneysupermarket.com and Confused.com are useful for this. You will find online companies now offering annual family policies from as little as £39.99 for a family of four, with the option to add on cover for ski-ing or other ‘high risk’ activities if appropriate!
If you’re travelling in Europe, always remember to take your European Health Insurance card with you – apply free at www.nhs.uk/ehic or call 0845 606 2030. This should be in addition to comprehensive travel insurance but will entitle you to state-provided health care in all European Economic Area countries and Switzerland. Remember to retain any invoices for doctor’s fees etc and also to keep the barcodes on the packaging of prescribed medicines as you may also be able to claim for these on your return to England.
Filed under: Frequently Asked Questions, Travel News, Travel Tips by adam
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If you’re visiting Croatia this year, lavender scented Hvar Island in the Kornati Archipelago is just over an hour’s fast ferry ride from Split and offers the perfect opportunity for relaxed sunbathing or exploring. The island’s charming capital has a chic harbour, some fine seafood restaurants and dozens of delightful waterfront cafes where you can stop for refreshments on your return from the beach. Boat trips are available to take you to inaccessible little coves dotted around the coastline for a spot of tranquil picnicking and swimming.
Filed under: Destination Guides by adam
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The first British Concorde took off on its maiden flight 40 years ago on 9th April.
BA grounded its fleet of seven Concordes six years ago, giving six of them to musuems. However, Alpha Bravo remains in storage at Heathrow and according to Times Online, a Dubai-based consortium has big plans to turn this legendary aircraft into a tourist attraction.
“Six British Airways Concordes are on display and open for public viewing at Locations in the UK and abroad. We’re looking at a number of options for the seventh, including a permanent home at Heathrow but we have not made any decisions yet on its final location”, a BA spokesperson told Gulf News on Wednesday.
The famous supersonic plane may settle in Dubai alongside the much-loved QE2 ocean liner which is already destined to become a luxury floating hotel at the Palm Jumeirah. The BA spokesperson declined to comment on this, whilst officials at the Dubai-based consortium were unavailable for comment.
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Unsurprisingly, a beautiful Algarve beach features amongst the first five of the Top 10 European Beaches picked by AOL;
Praia Dona Ana, Algarve
“It’s the most photographed beach in Portugal – and drop dead gorgeous. Dive from spectacular rock formations, swim in clear, calm water and laze on wonderful golden sands.”
If you can tear yourself away from your book and sunbed, you can enjoy a boat ride through the fabulous grottos at Ponte de Piedade. Alternatively, take a trip into town and explore the historic city of Lagos, which ‘rocks’ according to AOL. Street entertainers and holidaymakers fill the streets at night, with souvenir shops, cafes and restaurants doing a roaring trade. Stroll around the chic marina and admire the luxury yachts and cruisers bobbing gently in the breeze – the explorer Prince Henry the Navigator set sail from Lagos in the 15th Century.
Browse our selection of Lagos villas and apartments at Villas to Go.
Filed under: Destination Guides, Travel News, Travel Tips by adam
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Expectations always run high and it can be very frustrating if things don’t go quite according to plan. Have a chuckle at some of these extraordinary complaints taken from a list compiled by the Daily Telegraph (source: research done by Thomas Cook and ABTA)….. we’re sure you’ll agree that there are times when you really can’t pin the blame on your hapless holiday provider!!!
“The beach was too sandy”
“Topless sunbathing on the beach should be banned. The holiday was ruined as my husband spent all day looking at other women.”
“No-one told us there would be fish in the sea. The children were startled.”
“It took us nine hours to fly home from Jamaica to England it only took the Americans three hours to get home.”
“I compared the size of our one-bedroom apartment to our friends’ three-bedroom apartment and ours was significantly smaller.”
“There are too many Spanish people. The receptionist speaks Spanish. The food is Spanish. Too many foreigners.”
“On my holiday to Goa in India, I was disgusted to find that almost every restaurant served curry. I don’t like spicy food at all.”
“We booked an excursion to a water park but no-one told us we had to bring our swimming costumes and towels.”
Totally transfixed, I couldn’t help but read on and browse through ‘20 stupid questions asked by tourist’ to find gems such as:
“Are there any lakes in the Lake District?”
Or, my personal favourite;
“Why on earth did they build Windsor Castle on the flight path of Heathrow?”
Filed under: Frequently Asked Questions, Travel News, Travel Tips by adam
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If you haven’t been to Turkey on holiday before, there’s never been a better time to visit this amazing country.
- Value for money – Affordable accommodation and no Euros to buy! The Turkish Lira is currently weak against the pound, making Turkey an even more economical choice for travellers from the UK.
- Choice of flights – Getting there has never been easier with UK regional airports now offering low cost direct flights lasting around 4 hours. This is comparable to flying to the Canaries and is bearable even with a young family in tow (I speak from experience!).
- Outstanding climate – Turkey is a year round holiday destination offering plenty of sunshine and some sizzling temperatures for sun lovers.
- Stunning scenery – Miles of beautiful coastline, rugged mountains, tranquil pine forests and sun-drenched olive groves to explore. Or maybe you’d prefer to relax by your pool and admire the view from your villa!
- Fascinating culture – Turkey has some astonishingly well preserved ancient cities and monuments, but even modern day Turkey is an experience to be savoured. Try haggling for bargains at a bazaar or visit a hamman for a traditional Turkish bath.
Take a look at the new Turkish villas on our updated website. Resorts on the Bodrum Peninsula have lots to offer if you’re looking for a beach holiday but if you’d prefer a little more peace and tranquility, how about Kaya Village, nestled amdist stunning mountain scenery near Fethiye?
Filed under: Destination Guides, Travel Tips by adam
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A recent survey suggested that only a quarter of people living in Britain know who their patron saint is, and only one in five know that St George’s Day falls on April 23rd!
Well, the team at Villas to Go Towers couldn’t have that, so to help celebrate this fine occassion (which also marks the birthday and ‘death’day of a certain William Shakespeare would you believe it – how odd), we’ll be slaying the price of a number of fabulous villas over the coming weeks and months.
Simply sign-up to receive our special newsletter on our homepage and we’ll send details of all our latest offers direct to your inbox as soon as they as they go live, so you can be first in the queue to bag yourself a Summer bargain!
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Fed up with damp, dreary days and long, chilly nights? Start planning your 2009 holiday and in just a few months you could be relaxing on the beach in the Algarve, sightseeing in Crete or soaking up the sun in Mallorca.
Holidays ‘last thing people will give up’
New research shows that most people still have their summer holiday high on the list of their priorities despite trying to economise elsewhere. 82% of the 2000 holidaymakers questioned in a new study said that their annual holiday wasn’t a luxury at all, but an important event in the year.
Thomson and First Choice customer director Tim Williamson said: “Holidays are about much more than simply jetting off into the sun for two weeks.
They’re about spending time with our loved ones, taking time out to play with the kids, losing yourself in a good book, or just sitting back in the sun and recharging your batteries.
“Even in today’s current economic climate, our research shows people do still want to go on holiday and are willing to make other sacrifices to make that possible.”
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Our overseas team has come up with Ten Top Tips for Travelling on a Budget. Here are the first five, with the rest coming soon……
- Go off peak – Save yourself £100’s by travelling outside school holidays if you can. The beaches will be less crowded too!
- Fly low cost – Make sure you register with the low cost airlines to receive their latest offers and book as soon as they launch. Look out for especially good deals on non-preferred days and times.
- Book early – For the best villa deals, beat others to your chosen property during the cheapest periods. Don’t be disappointed!
- Group holidays – Travel with friends or another family and you could find yourself cutting the cost of your holiday by half. Kids will entertain each other and you’ll have some grown-up company over dinner.
- Use your BBQ – Why pay expensive restaurant prices when you can enjoy delicious meals cooked on the villa’s BBQ. All our villas are well equipped for self-catering and you can stock up the fridge with drinks – what’s more, nobody has to drive home!
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- Go native – Eat like the locals and discover a whole new dining experience without the added extras. Don’t be put off by the décor – if the locals are there in droves, the food’s bound to be great!
- Buy local brands – You’ll pay a premium for UK brands in foreign supermarkets so if you can’t wake up to anything other than PG Tips in the morning, take a packet with you.
- Travel Light – Carrying less luggage means no excess baggage fees and you can hire a smaller car at your destination. Many of our villas have washing machines – especially useful if you’re travelling with a baby or young children.
- Compare Destinations – Villa prices vary from resort to resort and country to country so if you want lovely accommodation with all mod cons but aren’t too fussed where, you may get a better deal say, in Portugal than in Mallorca. This applies to flights too.
- Ask for Advice – We have a team of people who’ve ‘been there’ so let us know your requirements and budget and we’ll tailor a holiday to suit you.
Filed under: Frequently Asked Questions, Travel Tips by adam
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