What should I tell a travel advisor about the holiday I want?
Tell them three things: the one detail that has to be right, the parts you're happy to be flexible on, and what you did on your last trip. A long list of everything that sounds good tends to get you a week that's fine at all of it and great at none of it, because you end up paying for options you never use. A short list, in order, lets the money go where it counts.
The form has a box for what you're looking for, and the cursor is sitting in it. So you type: beach, then pool, then good food, then a couple of trips out, then somewhere lively in the evenings, then quiet mornings. None of it costs anything to type, and leaving a line out feels like shutting a door you might want open later. The list grows, and every item on it sounds reasonable.
Almost everyone's holiday turns out a little different from the one they wrote down. That's normal, and it's worth thinking about before you send the list.
What your last holiday can tell you
Beach or pool?
Everyone pictures themselves in the sea, and plenty of people spend the whole week by the pool. Both are fine, but they suit different resorts. Think about where you spent the afternoons on your last trip, and tell your advisor that.
Busy days or lazy days?
Some weeks are built around getting out; others settle after one trip and stay put. Neither is better. Count the outings you took last time, and whether you came home wanting more of them or wishing for another day doing nothing.
Together or on your own?
If you're travelling with others, think about what the group was doing by the second day. A party that planned every meal together often splits into smaller groups, and that's ordinary. It decides whether you need one long table or room to spread out.
Resort dinners or eating out?
Some people go into town for dinner; most eat at the resort every night and are glad they did. Think about where your dinners went last time, not where you meant them to go. If you can count the nights out on one hand, that's your answer.
Late nights or early nights?
Nightlife sounds good when you're booking it in daylight. After a day in the sun, a lot of people are asleep by ten, having paid for a late scene they never see. Think about what time your day ended on your last trip, and plan around that.
See more, or slow down?
Seeing as much as possible and having enough time pull against each other. At the end of your last trip, what did you wish for: one more place, or two more slow mornings? That wish is a better guide than any plan you made before you left.
- The one detail that has to be right. There's usually one, and it's often small and specific: wanting to walk straight from your room to the beach tells an advisor more than saying you love the sea.
- Where you're flexible. Telling your advisor what you don't mind giving up lets them put the budget where it matters to you.
- What your last trip was like: where you spent the afternoons, how many outings you took, and what time you went to bed. It's the best guide you have, and most people forget to mention it.
You already know more than you think
You've done this holiday before, so you don't have to start from scratch. Think back to your last trip: which afternoons flew by, and which days out you still talk about. Start there. The parts that stayed with you are a better guide than a long list of possibilities.
Start with what you did last timeStart with what you enjoy at home
If this is your first holiday like this, you haven't got a past trip to learn from, and that's fine. Think about an ordinary weekend instead. If you love reading, long lunches or a good walk, those are clues to the holiday you'll enjoy too. You don't become a different person just because you're away.
Plan around what you enjoy nowFind the holiday everyone can enjoy
When you're travelling with other people, you won't all want the same week. One person wants to explore every day; another wants the pool and a book. Talk about that before you book, find what everyone is happy to spend time on, and build the trip around it.
Build the trip around what everyone enjoysHow an advisor helps
Common questions
What if I genuinely don't know what I want yet?
That's fine, and it's useful to say so. Give a range instead of a single choice, and say where you're flexible. The one detail worth pinning down is the detail that would spoil the week if it were wrong. Everything else can stay open, as long as you say it's open.
Isn't a longer list just giving the advisor more to work with?
It feels that way, but a long list with no order to it can only be matched by a trip that's fine for everything and perfect for nothing. What helps is knowing what comes first: which item has to be right, and which you'd drop first. Three wishes in order do more than twenty listed equally.
I'm booking for a group who want different things. Whose preferences win?
Nobody's. Trying to make one person's wishes win is how group trips go wrong. Find what everyone agrees on and put the budget there, and keep the rest simple. If the group can't agree on anything yet, have that conversation before anyone books.
Won't being specific mean I miss something I'd have loved?
Usually the opposite happens. Asking for everything spreads the budget across extras you won't use, so the parts you do use get less. Naming what matters leaves room to do those well. You can always add something once the plan takes shape, but money spread thin is hard to get back.
Keep reading
What a travel advisor gives you that booking yourself doesn’t
What a travel advisor can do when your trip falls apart, and what nobody can
What you have to declare coming home to Canada
