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Post-adventure blues can hit like a brick after a trip. If you feel down in the dumps after a holiday, why not give these things a try

1. Re-create your favourite dishes.

There is bound to be a dish that won your heart on holiday. Cooking it up back home will bring back great memories and help that feel-good factor linger for longer.

2. Enjoy a tipple of your favourite drink.

Every part of the world has its own unique beverage. Whether it is a freshly made herb tea or a drop of something stronger. Take time to sit and savour whatever it was you enjoyed while you were away and you are sure to feel the relaxation wash over you!

3. Listen to the music.

Whether it was the music playing in bars and cafes, local performers, or the favoured local station of taxi drivers, you are bound to have heard a few tunes that sum up the vibe of your time away. Playing some choice tracks when you are back will lift your mood in no time.

4. Get together with friends.

Seeing all your friends will make you realise that you are actually pleased to be back, and you’ll get to share all your favourite stories, adventures and experiences. Why not give them a themed treat and cook up your favourite dishes, serve the local drinks, and put on the tunes for added ambience.

5. Create a photobook.

Don’t leave your best pictures to get lost on a laptop or somewhere on social media. Create an album and get it printed. It’ll make for a wonderful coffee table book that you can flick through with friends and family.

6. Journal the best bits of your break.

Make note of what your trip felt like, what stood out, what amazed you, what surprised you, and how you changed during your time there. It can be good to reflect on how the experience of a different culture can change our own perspectives on the way we live our lives back home. You can even add your thoughts, notes, and experiences to your photobook!

7. Meditate.

A great mood enhancer and a wonderful opportunity to recognise what you are grateful for in your life at home, and for your experiences while travelling. Meditation also brings “me time” into our daily routine – a treat that we don’t just have to save for when we are on holiday.

8. Exercise.

This is the number one way to lift your spirits. A short walk, swim, or time in the gym can make all the difference to how you feel. While it might not be an exercise that relates to your recent adventure, it’ll help you banish the blues fast.

9. Explore your local area.

You don’t have to travel far to have an adventure. Try exploring your local area with fresh eyes, make time to see and do the things that attract visitors from out of town. See a local band, eat somewhere that serves traditional fresh food, and take in the sights on a touristy day off.

10. Plan your next overseas adventure.

There’s nothing quite like having a new adventure planned to rekindle the feeling of wanderlust. Make a long list, make a short list, make a bucket list and decide where you’ll be heading next!

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Don’t forget your travel insurance! Worldwideinsure.com can tailor your policy to include as many or as little activities and adventures as you’d like, insure you while you are already travelling, and provide car hire excess insurance too.

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Simple tips to ensure you and your mates make beautiful memories instead of becoming enemies on a group break abroad.

1. Agree on the type of holiday you’re having – Active? Retreat? Nocturnal?
2. Decide on a destination together.
3. Choose a “package level”: Are you going shoestring, or do you want to splurge on eating out every night?
4. Schedule free time so you have a chance for independent adventures, or just some time to recoup.
5. Each write a list of things to see and do and schedule an itinerary based on something from each person’s list.
6. Nominate a group organiser for each individual adventure so the burden isn’t always on the “most organised” person in the group.
   

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7. Make sure daily plans fit with each other’s personal routine – early-risers and up-all-nighters may not want to do the same things at the same time!
8. Give people permission to say “no”, and be willing to accept they may want to change plans or do something different.
9. Embrace the power of the unreasonable request – maybe you have a bucket-list must-do and it requires your buddies to miss a night’s sleep so you can see it! (Don’t forget number 8!).
10. Remember your manners. Being in close confines – even with those you like the most – can be exhausting, especially if you are on a longstay adventure. Remember your pleases, don’t forget to say thank you, and keep it in mind that a hug can go a long way.

Did you know we do longstay travel insurance? Excellent for backpacking adventures, gap year experiences – and you can even get covered if you are already travelling!

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If you save money on your flight, you’ve got more to spend on holiday right? Here are 16 superb tips that might just help you secure yourself a cheap flight for your next holiday!

1. Follow the airline’s social media, it is a great way to hear about upcoming offers and deals.
2. Search the airline’s website direct, it can often show tickets at a very different price to third party travel websites.
3. Get on your airline’s mailing list, anothergreat way to hear about the latest deals, discounts and promotions.
4. Always search incognito,sometimes you can get a better price if your search history doesn’t show you’ve been shopping for holiday clothes!
5. Erase all search history before doing a new search, because believe it or not, repeatedly searching for a particular flight/destination can actually cause the price to show higher!
6. Choose off-peak travel times, it might be less convenient to travel at 5am, but the savings could make it worth it.
7. Sign up to a frequent flier programme, so you can work towards those elusive perks.
8. Get a credit card with air miles, because indulging in a bit of retail therapy and to then get rewarded with cheap flights is a solid win-win.
9. Don’t fly direct, just one short stopover can make a huge difference to the ticket price.
10. Mix (don’t match) airlines, sometimes the return flight is the costly one, but booking two one-way tickets with different airlines you could save a pretty penny.
11. Search one ticket price at a time if travelling in a group, that way if there is one cheap spot it will show up.
12. Check prices of nearby airports, as it may be cheaper to land a little further out and pay the transfer.
13. Use a flight booking app, Skyscanner and Hopper are both great tools to analyse and predict flight prices.
14. Sign up for email alertsfrom cheap flight websites and apps, so you know about the best deals before they are gone.
15. Consider going all inclusive, as bundling hotel, transfers and flights with just one provider is often cheaper than booking the separate elements.
16. Wait for last minute deals, it is a risk that just might be worth taking to save a few quid.

Don’t forget your travel insurance! The emotional and financial impact of missed flights, delays or a cancelled trip can be huge – make sure you are covered before you jet off on your next trip!

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Air travel is a mixed bag of experiences. Waiting, rushing, mild panic, boredom, elation, feeling travel sick… Here are a few things you can do to even out those highs and lows and be a bit less stressed next time you travel by aeroplane.

Hacks for before you check in

• Customise your hold bag – bright tape is perfect for making your luggage stand out at baggage collection.
• Pack all essentials in your hand luggage – just in case your hold bag goes missing, you’ll still have your chargers and toiletries to get you through the first day.
• Download all your tickets and passes – just in case you have no connectivity make sure you can access them offline!
• Have a hard copy of all essential travel documents – just in case your phone gives up altogether.
• Take a photo of where you park – bay 6B is not memorable after a week in the Bahamas.
• Wear your bulky items – to avoid paying for extra baggage.

Hacks for before you go through security

• Pack your devices and liquids at the top of your hand luggage – it saves time!
• Empty your pockets before you get to security – it saves time!
• Finish up the water in your bottle – so you can get a cheap refill the other side.
• Choose the security queue with business travellers – they tend to be more prepared so go through faster.
• Never queue behind families, hen parties or stag dos – they tend to faff more and be less prepared so go through slower.
• Choose the left queue – apparently most people are right-handed so will go right as it is easier. Left hand lanes should therefore be quicker.

Hacks to get you through the wait the other side

• Use headphones for noise cancellation – not for music so you don’t miss important announcements.
• Connect to the airport Wi-Fi – or risk maxing out your data allowance before you even get to your destination.
• Brush up on key phrases – Duolingo is an addictive language learning game and will make the time fly while you actually boost your language skills!
• If you haven’t already got it, get your travel insurance! A call with the lovely team at worldwideinsure.com will make the time fly while you’re waiting for your flight.

Hacks for on the plane

• Board last – if you are the last on, you may well get that elusive upgrade.
• Sit over the wing – you are less likely to feel turbulence. Morning flights are less likely to be turbulent too.
• Don’t sit by the bulkhead – that’s the safest place to secure babies in bassinets, so more likely to be where the screaming is.
• Ask for seconds if you are hungry – not all passengers take their meal so why not have what’s leftover if you are still hungry.

Kilimanjaro © Discover Adventure

If you love the idea of adventure you have probably considered signing up for a fundraising adventure – a great way to realise travel dreams and raise money for a good cause at the same time. We spoke to Discover Adventure to find out what makes this type of break a great alternative to a regular holiday, and what to say to sponsor sceptics who think they are just paying for someone else’s holiday!

Why choose a fundraising adventure over just going on holiday? 

On a fundraising adventure, your trip has purpose. Each step you take, you are making a difference to people’s lives and each challenge that you face within your adventure is overcome with the motivation of supporting a meaningful charity and the sum of money that your supportershave donated.

And when it comes to the actual adventure – exploring a new location as part of a sponsored challenge allows you to disregard the expectations you would usually have on holiday. You are more likely to embrace the local culture and communities you meet and expose yourself to the natural elements – refreshingly liberating compared to the usual holiday comforts.

You will also push yourself out of your comfort zone, make friends for life as the emotional rollercoaster of your adventure draws you closer, and you will experience totally new things, things you probably never expected you would.

Ultimately, the benefits of an adventure last for much longer than a relaxed holiday would!

Which are the most popular adventure holidays?

Our Kilimanjaro challenge has been a really popular adventure this year, especially due to the recent #ReturnToKili celebrity team that trekked Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief. However, our iconic once-in-a-lifetime adventures are constant favourites: Inca Trail to Machu Picchu Trek, Great Wall of China Trek and the London to Paris Cycle to name a few. Although we have found in recent years our shorter adventures are seeing an increase in popularity as people can squeeze them into busy schedules. Our Saharan Mini Adventure is 5 days long and gives you the real desert experience whilst lapping up Moroccan culture, and our Northern Lights Winter Trek in Iceland is another growing fascination for many of our participants.

Stelvio © Discover Adventure

Which are the most challenging adventure holidays?

Our adventures are measured on a scale of Yellow, Orange and Red, with Red graded trips considering factors such as altitude, tough terrain and long days on the ground. Our King of the Mountains Cycle Series includes some of our toughest rides, such as the Stelvio & Classic Italian Climbs Cycle. This takes on some legendary climbs including Passo di Gavia, Passo di Mortirolo and Passo dello Stelvio. Whilst on the trekking side of our adventures, trekking Kilimanjaro, Africa’s biggest mountain, and our Everest Base Camp Trek are challenging treks to take on.

Don’t forget your Travel Insurance! Many activities are covered by worldwideinsure.com policies as standard, adventure sports travel insurance can easily be added to your policy, we provide flexible cover for casual or competitive participation AND we offer travel health cover for snowboarders and skiers with our Winter Sports Travel Insurance.

Any tips how to choose the right challenge?

The bigger the challenge, the bigger the sense of achievement – but what one person considers a walk in the park, is another’s mighty mountain. Start a little out of your comfort zone and choose something that excites you. Whether it’s a rush of adrenaline, or a stir of emotion, if it gets you thinking, could I really achieve that? That’s your challenge.

Great Wall of China © Discover Adventure

What about those who think fundraising adventures are just “sponsoring someone’s holiday”?

A lot of charities may never have seen this fundraising had it not been for the individuals deciding to do these challenges. Bear in mind that people are always willing to sponsor others to do things beyond their comfort zone. Training is essential, preparation is key and the determination to overcome whatever it is that challenges you most from the experience is more than enough to warrant being sponsored.

When you are fundraising you want to showcase the challenges you are facing in order to drum up donations, and you want to be able to pull out some of the most challenging elements of the experience. Whether it’s the fact you are trekking three countries in three days or the many lows you’ll endure alongside the mighty highs along the way. These are the things that make it totally different from a holiday!

Adventure travel challenges are designed to test you, so don’t be fooled by the mesmerising views you’ll catch en route, and remember – it is an incredible achievement to raise any money for a cause close to your heart.