It's something of a paradox that holidays can actually be such a stress, but there's no denying that the build-up to travelling, packing all the bags, and making sure you have all the documents can be more than a little taxing.
It's not so much that the holiday is stressful then, but the thought of having to travel there and of everything that could go wrong is nevertheless horrifying.
The good news though is that there are a lot of great ways you can make your trip less stressful if you know what the things are that cause all the stress.
By recognizing the key elements that make the organization a pain, it's possible to find a lot of ways to make that easier.
Here we will look at some of those.
Taking Less The ideal solution to your packing and luggage woes is to carry everything in a single piece of hand luggage.
Have a suitcase the size of a backpack (they exist) and you'll then be able to bring that with you on the plane, and this means you'll save money as well as having far less to carry the whole time.
This means that you can skip the entire checking in process too, which is incredibly time saving.
Obviously fitting everything into one small bag is a challenge for some people, but the solution is to be ruthless with things like towels - you can buy them out there if needs be and most hotels provide them.
Likewise bring light clothes, wear the same pair of trousers over and over, and create outfits so everything matches and you need fewer combinations.
Drive The next tip is to get to the airport by driving.
The reason I say this is that it means you'll be able to leave in your own time and you'll be able to go from door to door.
Going by coach or train means you'll be stressed at having to move your luggage around and squeeze on with screaming children, and going by airport taxi means you'll have to hope that they make it to you on time and then make small talk.
Driving is much more relaxing, but only if you do it right.
Tip one is to load the car the night before, tip two is to leave with plenty of time (hanging out at the airport and going shopping/having a beer/reading a book is actually very relaxing) and tip three is to get some good airport parking so you're not worrying about your car the whole time you're away.
Set Out the Documents Early Once you've booked everything you want to do, set aside a place for your documents and keep everything pertaining to your journey there.
This includes passports, and then any other things like e-tickets for your flight or hotel confirmations.
By keeping it all in one space and setting it out early you won't be searching for it at the last minute and there'll be much less chance of anything going missing.