If you read our article about Locked Up Luggage and Transit Strikes in Nice, then you've probably realized sometimes our travel plans aren't as prepared as we would like. Luckily we have this article shared with us about tips to plan the next trip a little more thoroughly![divider_10px]

The summer holiday which you take with your family should be one of the highlights of the year for you. This is when you can forget all about a year of hard work and cold weather and look forward to some time relaxing and having fun in the sun.

If you are worried about anything going wrong and spoiling the holiday mood right at the start then here are some of the best tips for avoiding this.

Get Organised

There is no substitute for being well organised when you are going on a family trip like this. If your last holiday was as a single person or as part of a couple then you possibly headed off without a care in the world and without thinking about things too much. However, with kids in tow you need to get the packing right, take some in-flight entertainment with you and basically make sure that you have thought of everything. Doing this well at the beginning will make your life a lot easier later on.

Leave Your Car at the Airport

If the last point sounded like a good idea to you then this one will too.  However, even if you aren’t planning on spending a night near the airport you might still think that this makes sense. By driving to the airport and leaving your car there you avoid the stress and hassles of getting a taxi or taking public transport. You will find that free parking is sometimes included with a number of Gatwick hotels as well as some of the best Heathrow hotels from HolidayExtras.co.uk including some others across the country.

Do Some Research

The internet now makes it very easy for us to find out about the airport we are going to be using, the flight we are going to be taking and the place we are going to be staying in. All of this is well worth researching before a family trip, in order to avoid any surprises. A little bit of online research can help build up everyone’s levels of anticipation and will also ensure that you all know what to expect.

Stay Overnight Near the Airport

One of the biggest mistakes a lot of families make is in starting off their holiday with an early morning start after a long drive to the airport on the day of the flight. This means that the children in the group can be tired, hungry and cranky even before you have checked in. The UK has some terrific airport hotels and these are often cheap enough to make it a very sensible option all round.

Get into the Holiday Spirit

If you want to enjoy a terrific start to your family holiday you need to get into the right frame of mind. If you look forward to this as being a chance to spend some quality time together and build some special memories for the future then it should all go a lot better for everyone in the family.

Photo Credt: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nagoya_Airport_view_from_promenade.jpg