You’ve saved your hard-earned cash. You’ve bought the Lonely Planet guide books. You’ve got a wish list of all the places you want to hit when you’re away on your great adventure. But now you have to make a big decision: do you go it alone? Do you buddy up with pals? Or do you take your partner?

This is no easy decision to make, and it’s one you should consider carefully as it will strongly affect the kind of holiday you have. Here are some pros and cons to consider for each option…

Travelling alone

Pros

Going it alone holds a certain allure for many. You’re unencumbered, pleasing no one but yourself. There are no arguments about who misread the itinerary, no negotiations about when or where to go. In the great tradition of finding yourself while on the road, the journey is yours to chase however you wish – popular choices for solo backpackers include treks across Europe, south-east Asia or South America.

Cons

Loneliness. The cold hard fact is, if you’re travelling solo, while you do have the opportunity to meet fellow travellers in hostels, none of these people know you like a friend, family member or partner does. Additionally, you’ll lack that second opinion that can sometimes be invaluable when travelling – making decisions that much easier.

Travelling with a partner

Pros

There’s no better way of getting to know your partner than going travelling with them. You’ll learn new things that you didn’t know before, even if you’ve spent a lot of time getting to know each other online dating or working together. The things that make you strong as a couple will also make you strong as travel buddies.

Couples might like to opt for romantic hotspots such as Paris, New York or Venice, but look for the lesser-known places that might bring some romantic magic too: for couples dating Adelaide, Edinburgh or Dubrovnik are often overlooked yet truly distinctive travel destinations.

Cons

Pressure can certainly be intensified on the road, especially in a backpacker situation. You might find that minor disagreements can be taken personally, or that competing interests (should we go to the museum? the beach? shopping? to the pub?) might cause tension. And if you’re staying in hostels, your ‘together time’ will be seriously reduced.

Travelling with friends

Pros

Your mates are the family you get to choose – they know you best and share your interests and activities, dreams and hopes. Backpacking with friends can be a 24-hour party – especially if you go to somewhere that likes to party hard, such as Berlin, Ibiza or LA.

Cons

No matter how well you get along with someone in daily life, travel can reveal surprising things. You may discover that you’re keen to be active but your travel buddy wants to lie on the beach – and that can lead to friction.

You might now have a clearer idea of what each travel route might bring you, but the main thing to remember is to have an open discussion with any travel companions about what you want from your trip and to be honest with yourself about whether you would prefer to travel alone, with a friend or with a partner – or a combination of all three!

For a long time I found the physical journeys involved with travelling to new places a very stressful and un-enjoyable experience. There are so many different things to remember and therefore so many different things which can go wrong that I was, for a time unable to see the positive aspects of travel other than what happened once I had already arrived. It sounds like a cliché but that dreaded feeling of knowing you have forgotten to bring, and or do something can leave behind a feeling so terrible that it can spoil a full days worth of enjoyable experience.

 Most of us find something stressful about travelling. Even without the added complications of taking to the skies, there can be a huge variety of things to remember as well as a great deal of potential problems and issues to take into account.

So to help out a little, here is a list of simple but useful tips for reducing the stress of flying and travel in general. These little hints are based on the advice and help of some of my friends and acquaintances who have experience as seasoned travellers, and who came to my rescue in order to help me enjoy every aspect of my future journeys;

Preparation, Preparation, Preparation

Again, it sounds like a cliché but you can never be too careful when planning and preparing for a trip. Make sure to do any research you might need for it including; potential risks in the country or city you’re visiting, health issues and vaccination procedure, culture, dress code and the general dos and don’ts. Not everywhere requires a great deal of research though and beware spoiling pleasant surprises through over reading.

A Fool Proof Check List

There’s no harm in patronising yourself when it comes to writing a comprehensive check list of everything you need to pack, plan for and sort out before or on the day of your flight. Everything should go on here, from what clothes you need to pack to picking up your passport on the day or evening of your trip. Each item or action should checked off as you complete it so as to avoid confusion and in this way the worries of forgetting important things should simply vanish with each tick.
Plan Ahead

Don’t forget that by planning ahead you can save yourself crucial spending money. For example booking your car in at a long stay car park for example Manchester airport parking online, as opposed to a rushed booking taxi the day before your flight. You can even save money by planning your route from airport to hotel/hostel and avoid those high rate tourist taxis upon your arrival.

Sort Cash Before Travel

It normally makes sense to change your over currency before a trip. It means you’ll spend less cash during the build up to your flight and it ensures a far less stressful time at the airport.

With your research done, your check list completed, your planning over and your currency exchanged you can now sit back and enjoy the flight. Even the airport will seem like a more tranquil place with all those horrible little worries removed from the experience.

What tips do you have? Please share below by leaving a comment.

When it comes to staying safe, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tell you whether something is dangerous or not. When it comes to most accidents that take place overseas, it is more likely than not a combination of a) alcohol and/or b) stupidity. The best way to protect your life while on an adventure in Asia, travellers need to use a little common sense, before attempting to drunkenly recreate that scene from Titanic with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslett on the bow of a banana boat. It’s also important to read up on local laws prior to travelling. Police at home may give you a slap over the wrist for a small amount of drugs, but in Asia could see you come face-to-face with a firing squad or spending the rest of your life behind bars. Not a good way to end a holiday, right?

Carrying or using drugs is very, very risky and the laws on both trafficking and the use of illegal narcotics are worlds apart from those at home. While the laws of most Western countries take the ‘harm minimisation’ stance and aim to protect the health of drug users, all countries throughout Asia have the death penalty in place as an option to sentence would-be traffickers. Do what your mother says and stay away from drugs, and do not carry drugs for anyone else! Even if they pay you enough to buy your own Jetski! When you carry drugs for someone else – even if you do not profit out of it – that’s called trafficking, and Asian countries don’t let traffickers off too lightly.

The first thing that will save your life/get you out of trouble/prevent you from losing wads of your well-saved money is – common sense! If things sound dangerous, they generally are. If things sound risky, they generally are. If things sound too good to be true, nine-tenths of the time, they generally are! Scams don’t just happen in Asia, but all over the world. In Asia, scammers generally target tourists as they are often viewed as easy targets. Many scams involve gaining the trust of the potential victim, so if a fairly random person begins to act super nice to you – remember that no one is invulnerable to scammers, especially you.

Always be wary of other people and make sure you do not cause offense. Across all Asian cultures, the concept of ‘face’, ‘saving face’ and ‘losing’ face relates closely to what we refer to as ‘Dignity’. Dignity is of course important to westerners, but not compared to the complete and utter seriousness of the consequences of losing face in Asia. It is important when dealing with authorities, police or anyone to treat them with respect, and do not question their authority, as this could potentially make them feel like they have lost face – ultimately creating a worse set of consequences for you.

If you use common sense and logic while when travelling throughout Asia, the biggest cause for concern should only be minor interruptions, such as having the runs, sunburn, or that splitting headache from drinking too much Tiger Beer!

This is a guest article from Andrew Wang who blogs about saving money.

When to Travel Australia?

Backpacking in Australia is many a young travellers dream, however, many people find themselves overwhelmed with options and potential plans, so much so that they find themselves getting put off making the trip altogether!

When considering going on a backpacking tour of Australia, there are a few things to contemplate: the first of these is exactly when in the year to go. Although Australia is indeed a wonderful destination to visit all year around, there are certain benefits to be had by visiting at different periods; the different times of the year also dictate which are the best parts of Australia to visit (after all, Australia is a rather big country!).

Spring is considered to fall between September and November in Australia; this is an ideal time to check out the country’s national parks and gardens, which are jam-packed with some of the most exciting and varied species in the entire world. It is generally considered to be an off-season as far as tourism is concerned, however, many companies still operate during this time and can, therefore, offer some fantastic deals and savings.

December to February is Australian Summertime and is complete with some of the highest temperatures you could ever hope to encounter. It is the perfect time to hit the beaches and indulge in the famous Australian BBQ on the beach, or catch a few waves surfing. It can be a notorious busy period, so booking is advised well in advance. If you do decide to head down under this year, then get your flights to Australia from Cheapflights.co.uk.

March to May is Autumn season; it is another quieter period – although temperatures are not sweltering, it is consistent and a great time to check out the more cultural aspects that Australia has to offer.

June to August is Winter and the majority of visitors are only interested in what winter resorts and cities can provide – this can be an especially cheap time to check out Australia’s countryside (provided you have no problem coping a slightly colder climate than you would usually expect!).

Guest post by Cheap Flights