Travel guidebooks are two a penny in any bookshop. Glossy, sleek, weighty editions provide meticulous information on any destination you can think of – from bus times, to local attractions via any bizarre customs you have to know about. They are a wonderful resource for the intrepid traveller. But therein lies the rub – most of us, sadly, don’t have the time to spend six months in Cambodia, but just two weeks to enjoy somewhere hot in the summer.
The Times Holiday Handbook is, as it calls itself, an “essential trip-planning guide” which will see you through many holidays, not just the one fortnight. From a weekend break in Paris to a year travelling round the world, it covers every last detail you might need to know when booking any sort of holiday. There is advice on where to find the best deals for independent travellers, but also a section containing every thing you need to know before booking a package holiday.
Written by Cath Urquhart, Travel Editor of The Times, the book answers almost every question that might come to mind when you’re planning a break. Luxury travel, holidaying in the UK, travel and the environment, what to take, how to prepare and what to do when it all goes wrong (as well as preventative measures you can take to avoid just that eventuality) are all covered in depth.
Particularly refreshing are the sections on package holidays and family travel – both of which are often sniffed at by “serious” travellers. No-nonsense advice is available on both (on the problem of adapting to family-friendly holidays, for example: “Throwing money at your holiday isn’t always the answer”) as well as contact details for useful organisations.
Alongside the advice, it is for the contacts that the Holiday Handbook is really useful. An online search will bring up any number of websites that “specialise” in the area of travel in which you’re interested. Working out who to trust can be exhausting and inaccurate. Urquhart gives organisations, airlines, websites and companies in every section of the guide and knowing that these are “approved” all adds up to an invaluable little black book of travel…
Useful Sites:
Cambodia Tour: Angkor Wat – Travel Experts for arranging tour packages to Cambodia & Angkor Wat
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