All set for a summer holiday?

Harry Craig, Deputy Editor, explores how to stay organised for the approaching holiday season

HOW can one expect to truly enjoy a summer holiday without meticulously planning it for months beforehand? If you’re like me, a precise itinerary will have been prepared and distributed to all holiday-goers weeks in advance — when you only get a handful of weeks of holidaying a year, you have to make the most of it!

However, before you even think of what you are going to get up to whilst on holiday, you have to pack. Like many people, packing for a summer holiday is the bane of my life (and even at 20, I’m still perfectly happy to let my mum do it all). This is where one of my most important pieces of travel advice comes in handy: unless you’re travelling for over a week, just take hand luggage! Overpacking is very easy when you have a 20kg luggage allowance, but will result in you inevitably coming home with half of your clothes unworn. Hand luggage will always suffice for a European getaway — particularly in summer, when all you will need are swimming shorts or bikinis anyway!

This, however, raises another important question: do you still need to fly? I’m sure I’m not alone in believing that airports are the worst places in the world — getting scanned at security, waiting at passport control, and, worst of all, your ears popping when you do eventually take off — and in these environmentally-conscious times, flying is one of the worst contributors to the climate crisis. Although long-haul flights are still a necessity, travelling to Europe by train has never been easier, particularly with so many new sleeper services popping up around the continent. You can reach Paris in just over two hours from London by train, and from there almost the whole of Europe is accessible in a climate-friendly and relaxing way.

Once you arrive at your destination, you want to make the most of your time, particularly if, like me, you get sick of sun-bathing after a day. I like to plan my itinerary with a site called Wanderlog, which allows me to record the attractions I want to visit, restaurants to eat at, and costs. There is, of course, always room for flexibility and spontaneity, but having a rough idea planned out is always a lifesaver to stave off boredom.

Whether you’re heading off on a city break, a relaxing beach holiday, the interrailing trip of a lifetime or a long-haul adventure, hopefully these words of travel wisdom can ensure the smoothest holiday possible! Bon voyage.