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Holiday for LESS and enjoy it MORE!

Going on holiday is usually an exciting time and is something that people just long to do. In fact, it can become a bit of an obsession with some people. Every cent or penny is carefully stored away for the next summer break, where the sun awaits us on the beaches. Going on holiday is exciting, but it can also have added stresses and strains, such as the anxiety associated with flying or waiting for takeoff, for example.

I'm sure most of you have experienced the "pleasure" of waiting in a crowded, hot and noisy airport. Now that terrorism worries seem to have taken over, we usually have to turn up about 5 days early. Well, ok, a few hours early, but I can assure you, that with two or three kids in tow, it feels like 5 days! Even for those who don't have children travelling with them, other people's children can be a strain on the nerves!

"Mummy, Mummy!" "Yes?" "I need to go to the toilet/I'm hungry/Can we have a drink!" etc. etc. And as the children get more and more fed up, so the nerves of any and all adults within about a 6 mile radius get more and more frayed!!
Wouldn't you just long to be able to have a nice quiet lounge, far from the 'madding crowd' to be able to relax in?

Well you can now start your holiday in style and enjoy the experience of VIP travel. There are 128 airport VIP lounges worldwide at almost 100 airports, including 17 in the UK in which you can experience an extra touch of luxury on your next trip and make the travel experience a whole lot better. A great idea called the 'Lounge Pass' offers you the chance to experience that VIP treatment. For those looking to plan that extra special trip, and of course newlyweds jetting off on their honeymoon, it's an excellent addition to your travelling experience. Let the luxury of your holiday start before you reach your destination!

What a delightful, thoughtful gift for the newlyweds that would be!!

However, even if they have the best possible start to their flight, unfortunately, many travellers on longer flights experience what is known as Jet Lag. So what is 'jet lag'?

Well, a definition of 'jet lag' on WordNet is: "jet lag (n.) fatigue and sleep disturbance resulting from disruption of the body's normal circadian rhythms as a result of jet travel."

The word 'circadian' comes from the Latin, circa meaning 'around' or 'about' and diem or dies meaning 'day' and actually means "a period of approximately one day". In this context, "the body's normal circadian rhythms" simply means "the natural, daily rhythms or processes of the human body".

One of the symptoms of 'jet lag' that the traveller might feel is that they are sleepy when everyone else is wide awake and vice versa. Perhaps there is a feeling of disorientation. For some people, this can last for a few days after the flight is over. The luckier ones soon recover after a flight and, of course, the luckiest of all never experience jet lag.

I must say that jet lag is a mystery to me. I've been on long haul flights to South Africa, Hong Kong and Singapore and I have never experienced any difficulties after the flights there or back. The only difficulty I have found is when a, so called, friend said to an air hostess, "Don't serve him any more alcohol. He gets violent when he's had too much!" and she believed him!

So, what can be done to counteract this?

Well there's a great little guide by Christian Goodman called 'The Avoiding Jet Lag Plan', which literally does what it says. Helps you with a step-by-step plan to avoid jet lag.

Now, apart from the strains of waiting at the airport and the effects of Jet Lag, what else has an influence of our enjoyment of "getting away from it all"?

The cost of the flight, hotel, cruise.

You name it and you can bet that the price is rising! I expect virtually everyone is aware at the moment of the rise in oil prices. And even before the recent increases, going on holiday was an expensive business. In Britain, for example, holiday travellers spend an average of nearly £2,000 per family on holidays.

Of course, holidays don't have to be that expensive. Many travellers are taking advantage of the many money saving offers that can be found on the internet and elsewhere. With a little effort and research, it is surprising what savings can be found. If you know the right place to look you can save $100s/£100s if not 1,000s.

You probably know already that, if you are willing to wait until virtually the last minute before you book and don't really mind where you go, you can make very good savings on many holidays. Mind you, you do need to be able to down tools at the last minute and be ready to go at a moment's notice for these wonderful savings.

But you don't necessarily have to wait until the very last minute to book these bargains. You see, what people often don't realise is that many flights and many hotels are not always full. So there are often spare rooms or spare seats available. Now there is not a great deal of difference in the cost of flying a plane or running an hotel whether it is full or half empty. So, to make the best use of these empty, non-profit making spaces, hotels and flight operators often offer a flight ticket or room at ridiculously low prices just to fill up the empty space and make some money rather than none at all! They hope that maybe they'll also make some money on other things you purchase, such as goods at the airport or meals/drinks at the hotel.

There are a number of ways you, too, can make a saving without the hassle of the searching.

Take a look at a superb guide by Ariel Keis called, 'Your Paradise Passport - The Ultimate Travel Savings Guide'. You'll discover that you can make huge savings on:

Vacation Packages
Hotels
Resorts
Cruises