Are you thinking of going away for the Half Term Holidays?

The weather forecast in the south of England for the next week is generally wet. Some schools have already started their half term holiday break, but the majority start on the weekend of the 26th October.

It is certainly tempting to consider a break in a warmer sunnier climate to gear yourself for the next few months of longer dark evenings.  

Below is a check list of what you should consider whilst booking your holiday: 

• Once  you have found that place in the sun and looked at flight times and prices, don't forget your Travel Insurance. Many airlines will lead you to a link on their website to a travel insurance company they have an arrangement with. Does that company always offer you the best price and cover? Alternatives can be found Here
• If you are thinking of hiring a car it is best to make arrangements in advance. You can also cut back on extras by careful planning. Take your own Sat Nav, it might be cheaper to pay for taking your own child seats than hiring them from the car hire company. Be careful of the very cheap deals that mean you pick up the car full of fuel, paying the car hire company's fuel price and having to return it empty. In many cases it will be returned half full as you won't have used up all the expensive fuel you paid for. Find Car Hire Rental companies Here
• So you have arranged the car hire what about the excess insurance. Unfortunately you will usually have to pay this and a lot of car hire companies make some of their profit in this area by selling an insurance policy that is rather expensive. In some cases you could be paying  around £250 for a week's insurance - £35 a day whereas buying it from an independent company you could be paying under £3 a day and just spend £21 for the week which means you can have extra spending money for the family. If you are taking a couple of holidays a year and hiring a car, it makes sense to take out an annual policy. These can start from around £38 a year. Find a selection of independent car hire excess companies Here. Some of these also offer Motorhome hire excess insurance, van hire excess insurance and minibus hire excess insurance as well.
• Finally the weather - unfortunately that can never be relied on 100% but do some research before you make your plans. Most iphones have weather facities now and there are lots of weather websites that provide information on average temperatures, rainfall etc for the time of year.