What makes your holiday perfect?  Is it the accommodation, the weather, the destination, the food, the people, or a combination of all five?

We get to hear all about the negative points when our friends and family travel, such as delayed flights, sub-standard hotel rooms, terrible food resulting in “Spanish tummy”, and lost luggage, but we rarely get to hear about what actually made their summer holiday – the perfect holiday.

Various surveys have been conducted on this subject, and while some suggest that a travellers age has something to do with it (apparently we enjoy our holidays the most when we are 34 years old!), the general consensus seems to be that it is whom we travel with that has the greatest impact.

Anyone who travels frequently will have witnessed the odd argument at the airport or hotel check-in, whereby nervous energy overtakes the excitement and turns a simple question of “who has got the passports” into a rather heated blame game! So travelling with someone you know well and have a good relationship with is a great place to start.

We believe a holiday is what you make it.  One can stay in the nicest resort, have the most beautiful weather, and a great person to share it with, but if you spend the entire time waiting for the perfect holiday to ‘happen’, you may just miss out.

When travelling through Thailand and Malaysia in November, we were subjected to a burst of monsoon rains that left us stranded on Koh Samui Island for 5 days.  With no planes or boats leaving the island, only one or two restaurants with electricity, and streets flooded up to knee-height, it was certainly an experience we will never forget – and one that made our holiday even more special.

We helped our hotel staff sweep the rivers of rain from the open reception areas, we took moped taxis (3 on a bike!) through the flooded streets, and we ate by candlelight as the generators only produced enough electricity to cook the food, but you know what? It was just perfect!

The hotel, the weather, and the person you travel with will certainly have an impact on your holiday, but ultimately there is only one person that can make your holiday perfect, and that is you!