Planning a Boating Holiday?
What if you are planning a boating holiday? For those of you owning a boat, planning a stay aboard can be (subject to the behaviour of the kids, pets or Spouse) a relatively simple exercise in that you pack up a few clothes, stock up on groceries and jump in the car for the trip to the coast or to your mooring. You may also have an itinerary to hand if you have some specific cruising in mind? Part of the fun however is that you can go on the spur of the moment and do whatever takes your fancy once you are there.
But what if you are not an owner and you are chartering a boat (coastal or inland waterways) or have booked a boating holiday abroad? You will want to make the most of the time available to you on the boat, after all, that is why you are going.
Being organised with your travel arrangements can ensure that this happens, as in some instances you will not be booking the full all-inclusive package or the handover time is not the most convenient. Having access to the right resources to enable a stress free journey either side of your stay aboard always helps.
Travel Partners*
So how can we be more organised for our boating holiday? Most of you may be familiar with the travel booking options available online these days, however if you do not already have your favourites, we have just partnered with some of the sector leaders who can provide you with ALL you require to manage your travelling needs. All have dedicated Customer Support teams to assist with any further information you may require from them. We have used the services of all the companies below at some stage whilst on our own travels so we are comfortable suggesting them to you. You should find them a useful resource when it comes to planning your trip.
* Note: Nickynoo.com is a member of a number of Affiliate Partner Programmes – See our Terms of Use for more details
Travel Agent
Expedia is one of the world’s leading full-service online travel agents with localised websites in 31 countries, offering access to over 510,000 bookable properties around the world (including boutique hotels as well as major hotel brand names), over 400 airlines along with a wide selection of car hire and destination experiences. By combining choice with specialist tools to help refine these options, Expedia.co.uk helps travellers to find and create the trip that best matches their individual requirements. Now with the award-winning Expedia mobile apps for smartphones, tablets and wearables, people can plan, book flights and hotels on the move. The Expedia apps offer helpful tools to manage your trip including: airport terminal maps; hotel check out time and flight status notifications; maps to your hotel and a host of other features.
On a personal note, I used Expedia to book part of my 2 month trip to Australia to follow the British Lions Rugby Team which included several flights, hotels, transfers and most importantly match tickets! All went very smoothly. The only downside? Losing the series 2-1, but I can’t really blame Expedia for that!
Hotel Bookings
trivago UK is the world’s top hotel price comparison site with over 700,000 hotels listed on 200+ booking sites. trivago is an independent source of information to over 45 million users per month.
Part of Whitbread PLC, Premier Inn is the UK’s largest and fastest-growing hotel chain, with over 650 hotels across the UK and Ireland. Premier Inn provides class-leading budget hotels, which offer outstanding levels of comfort and service at a reasonable price with “A Great Night’s Sleep Guaranteed”.
Check out our post Decision Time to see just 2 of the Premier Inn hotels in which we’ve stayed.
Britannia Hotels are the largest privately owned hotel chain in the UK, with 51 hotels across the country, offering comfortable accommodation and excellent facilities at value for money prices and can be found in prime cities throughout the UK, as well as near major airports, in seaside resorts or surrounded by stunning countryside. Britannia not only offers extremely competitive rates but also combines this with richness in décor and facilities such as a choice of restaurants, health clubs, nightclubs, bars and FREE Wireless Internet Access.
Boating holidays aside, if you fancy a break on the South Coast in sunny Bournemouth (my home until last year), the Royal Bath Hotel is ideal in terms of location and facilities. I can most certainly recommend the food!
“I can resist everything except temptation.”
– Oscar Wilde [was a regular guest at The Royal Bath Hotel]
Car Hire
easyCar is a leading international car rental brokerage firm based in London. It is part of Sir Stelios’ easyGroup of companies and works with brands like Hertz, Sixt, Enterprise and Europcar to provide the best value car hire for work or pleasure.
Airport Services
Established in 1983, Holiday Extras is the UK’s market leader in pre-booked airport parking & hotels. They pride themselves on providing their customers with the best products, the best service and above all, great low prices. Customers can add a return greet to their parking booking or a Full English breakfast to a hotel booking for a hassle-free start to their holiday.
Travel Insurance
Coverwise.co.uk – Low cost Travel Insurance offering great cover**, easy and efficient online purchase, payment and policy issue, UK customer service centres, 24/7 medical assistance. Travel insurance policies are underwritten by AXA UK Insurance plc, with worldwide medical and emergency services provided by AXA Assistance, an AXA group company who have offices located around the world to ensure customers get the help they need, wherever they may be.
** Please note that personal liability and personal accident cover is excluded from Sailing activities covered as Standard in their policy and the additional cover cannot be purchased through Coverwise (information provided by one of their Sales Advisors) .
Specialist sailing activity cover is generally made available as part of your boat hire booking but may need to be sought from elsewhere so please ensure you check any policy carefully before you purchase. We are currently looking to find a partner specialising in Boat(ing) insurance and will let you know further details in due course, including what to look for in a policy for specific boating holidays. [Please read our Site Disclaimer]
Currency / Foreign Exchange
FAIRFX is an international payment services provider, offering services to customers in the UK since 2007. It provides international money transfer services, a prepaid currency card and travel cash to personal and business customers.
I’ve been using the FAIRFX Prepaid Currency Cards for a number of years now, especially the Euro Card which has been of great value and convenience in my numerous trips to and from France. (If you have visited the site before you may have noticed a banner or 3 of theirs)
We hope you find these contacts of value when you come to book your next boating holiday (or indeed any holiday). In the interim, we’d be happy to send you details of any special offers that come up that you may find of interest, just email us via the contact page. Enjoy your next trip.