Page 7 - demo

8: Get on the road early. Just because checkout time is 10am doesn’t mean you should wait that
long. I like to be out and running by 8am. I stop at a service area to grab a breakfast of coffee and
a couple of sandwiches which I consume in the car.

Breakfasts are not usually gastronomic delights. By saving time there you will have more time,
over dinner, to enjoy the local cuisine.

Even lunch time is kept short and sweet. A village café or pub. The café at the attraction you have
just visited. At least that way I feel I am helping keep such places economically viable.

9: By mid to late afternoon, at which time I can fix on my stopover for the night, out comes the
tablet and I start sorting out accommodation.

10: As a time saving option you might move from one destination towards the next in the late
afternoon to early evening, especially if it is just a matter of driving without any particularly
interesting bits along the way. Departing say, around 4.30 to 5pm and setting down around 7pm.

You mightn’t make it all the way to the next destination, but that could have advantages – stop off
in one of the smaller towns or villages where the accommodation costs are lower. You might also
find a congenial restaurant or pub where you can soak up some of the regional atmosphere and
culture.

You can then get a fast start the next morning with a shorter drive to the next destination.

We stopped over one night in a village called Sheepwash, one of those quirkily named English
places, this one in north Devon. Stayed at the local pub, the Half Moon Inn, a Grade Two listed inn
which dates back to 1540, and had a delightful hour or more talking to the locals in the bar. Just
loved listening to that rolling Devonshire accent in the voices.

Other travel tips

Some other general travel tips, mostly learned the hard way. As Billy Joel says in his song,The
Entertainer, “The things I didn’t learn the first time, I learned by doing twice”.

Check your itinerary. I always write out an itinerary listing details of things like flights,
accommodation or rental car bookings. It’s a usueful working document that saves shuffling
through sheaves of paper when you need to check a detail of some sort.

If you do that, you must check the detail for accuracy. Then check it again.Then go back to the
source documents and tick off each item. Be sure of the day, date and time.

Then just once more, for luck, check it again.

Be aware of changes in time zones. When I fly from New Zealand to London, a flight of around 25
to 30 hours, I usually arrive about 12 hours after I left. In local time, that is. Coming home the
same flight will cost me a whole “lost” day. It is all too easy to get the days and dates out of whack.

One day, when I was running an inbound tour company in New Zealand, I got a call from the tour
leader of a group from Tahiti. “We are at the airport. Where are you and where is the coach?” she
asked.

“You are a day early,” I replied. She hadn’t allowed for the International Date Line.

Even a highly experienced travel agent can make rookie mistakes.