Winter is upon us, and for those of us who are not lucky enough to be able to escape the cold, it is likely that you are dreaming of a winter escape to a sunny climate. After all, the sun has great restoring qualities, and human bodies have a desperate need to keep up their supplies of Vitamin D, a vital vitamin which the body produces in response to skin being exposed to sunlight. It helps to increase production of vital nutrients, increases bone strength and helps to boost the immune system, amongst may other health benefits. The lack of sunlight in northern climes in particular can lead to Vitamin D deficiency.

So as you surf the BetterMcrBahmas.com website on the internet, fantasy house hunting for the perfect winter home in the Bahamas, you can warm yourself up with a delicious hot cup of joe from your anthonysespresso.com coffee machine, whilst you try and manifest the winter retreat of your dreams.

However, assuming that you do not have the money that winter retreat on tap and ready for you whenever you are good to go, like most you’ll have to plan a holiday trip. Planning family holidays are always a challenge, because there are many moving parts to take into account. Let us see if we can give you some useful tips to help get you started.

1. What type of holiday do you want?

This may well depend on the age and lifestyle of your children – if they are very young you may want to avoid long journey time. Look for family friendly places with good communications and easy access to the sea - and remember that young children love the beach and playing in the sea. Great for a low-maintenance relaxing break to chase away the winter chills.

2. Choosing accommodation                   

The advantage of having your own villa with your own kitchen separate bedrooms and a pool is that you do not have make a plan every day and make trips to eat out, and you can keep the holiday costs down, relative to a hotel. However, if your children are older, they may want to be in a resort where there are more activities, in which case a package-type holiday will be easier and will keep them engaged.

Make a checklist of the amenities available in each location, print them out and place them in an individual cardboard paper folder – you may find it useful to print out labels for each folder using a desktop label printer from atlanticscale.com , so that you can keep your holiday folders organized, especially if you are planning over a number of weeks.

3. Make A Pre-Holiday Checklist

Make a list of what you estimate each family member will need for the duration of your holidays – this will give you plenty of time to work out what you need to buy in advance, and consider what you may be able to buy more cheaply when you reach your holiday destination. Bear in mind that flying with luggage has become incredibly expensive, costing up to an extra $50 on the price of an airline ticket – that’s a whopping $200 extra for a family of four. So make sure that you check the cost of airline baggage online well in advance of your holiday and factor that into your planning.  

Well you may not be able to afford that luxury holiday retreat yet, but with the right planning, you can get a taste of that lifestyle right now! Do share your best holiday planning tips below.