Emma Lunn has some tips on how to save money on travel insurance, hotels and other holiday costs.
Being a dedicated and regular traveller I jumped at the idea when a friend suggested a week in Barbados this winter. Her family had a holiday home there so all we had to do was grab our sunglasses and sun tan lotion and jump on the plane, right?
Wrong! As well about worrying what I would look like in my bikini there were lots of financial things to plan too.
Money
To get started I got some Barbados and US dollars (both are accepted on the island) from my bank before I set off rather than paying over the odds to change money at the airport. I also packed my credit card for emergencies (you know, like shopping).
My friend was a bit of a traditionalist when it came to accessing her money on holiday and insisted, against my more worldly advice, on taking travellers' cheques with her. For day-to-day cash access I took my Nationwide Flex account cash card which doesn't charge cash withdrawal, transaction or exchange-rate loading fees on foreign transactions.
So while my friend rushed around trying to get to the bank when it was open to cash her traveller's cheques and almost falling foul of Barbados's unexpected mid-week Bank Holiday, I lazed on the beach with the occasional trip to the ATM to get money out.
Travel insurance
A quick look at the terms and conditions of my Natwest Gold Advantage account confirmed that I had annual worldwide travel insurance. I'd never travel without it, especially not that far away. Medical costs in the Caribbean can be nearly as high as those in the US so it's not worth the risk. Plus I was taking a whole host of gadgets - mobile phone, iPod and camera - that I'd want to be covered in the event of my bag going astray.
Hotels
Another little known perk of my bank account is its travel service. I have to admit that my friend knew more about this than I did and her knowledge saved me a fortune. As the house we were staying in was in a remote part of the island we decided to head down South for weekend to enjoy the nightlife and stay in a posh hotel.
My friend had already booked her room but when I looked at the hotel's website rooms were priced at a cool US $280 a night - about £198. Given that I think I'm staying in posh accommodation if I have a roof above my head as opposed to canvas, I choked at the price. But my friend had booked her room through Natwest's travel service and they could get me a rate of £186 for two nights - still the most expensive place I've ever stayed but a bargain compared to the headline price all the same.
Staying in touch
My normal advice for travellers is to consider getting a global SIM card to take on holiday as this can work out a lot cheaper than using your normal SIM card and mobile network. However when I checked the prices offered by both Go-SIM and SIM4Travel I was astounded. Go-Sim, which had saved me a fortune when I travelled round South Africa, charged $2 a minute (£1.42) to receive a call in Barbados and $3 a minute (£2.13) to make a call.
So instead I made sure I had O2's international traveller service (ITS) activated on my account. Although still expensive it brought down the cost of calling the UK from £1.70 a minute on O2's standard rates to £1.20 a minute - still outrageous though and I'm dreading my phone bill. ITS costs £2.99 a month but is free to people on tariffs with 600 or more inclusive minutes like I have. Other networks offer similar bolt-ons which cut the cost of calling for travellers.