With two Bank Holiday Mondays, and therefore two long weekends, May is the perfect chance for people to take a mini-break away to quench their holiday thirst until summer arrives. Thus, popular European countries are preparing for an influx of British tourists wishing to make the most of their extra long weekends.

Unsurprisingly, travel prices reflect this, and holidays over these three-day weekends are often more expensive than normal, as holiday companies cash in on what would perhaps otherwise be a lull in holiday sales. Although when you consider the limited amount of three-day weekends you get in a year, a slight increase in cost perhaps seems more tolerable.

Travelbite.co.uk have compiled a list their top destinations for the bank holiday weekend breaks. Their selections add a bit of variety to holiday, as they suggest more unusual places than holiday makers’ usual, more predictable choices. They reveal Croatian city Split as their top May bank holiday break destination, followed by Tunis in Tunisia and Manama, Bahrain. Berlin and (surprisingly) Washington DC make up the top 5.

Wherever the destination, travel insurance is just as important as ever, and May holiday makers booking last minute short breaks shouldn’t let it slip their minds. Unfortunately, unexpected things can go wrong on short breaks too, and having adequate travel insurance should be considered essential. Getting cover shouldn’t cost much either, as the price for single trip travel insurance is calculated depending on how long you are travelling for (as well as taking into account your destination, travel party size and ages). So, essentially, the shorter the trip, the cheaper the cover. For example, popular travel insurance provider Direct Travel Insurance’s comprehensive policies start from £5.50 for 5 days in Europe.

With the current weakness of the Euro against the British pound, trips abroad could, arguably, not be as good value as they have been, and UK trips may become more common for weekend breaks, especially in May. Seaside resorts such as Brighton and Blackpool are all expected to grow in popularity, as people from inner cities seek sun and sand without leaving the country. Even for weekend breaks within the UK, travel insurance could still be worthwhile. For example, cover for cancellation, money and personal belongings would be covered by most policies, and, with cover starting from £3.50 (based on a Direct Travel Insurance policy for one adult), getting covered for your Bank Holiday break won’t exactly break the bank.

Article Author – Rob James

Before setting off for the airport this summer careful preparation is required so that when you finally sit back in your seat aboard the aeroplane looking forward to your break you’ll know that you’ve got everything covered.

As with most things in life planning is the key to success. So, ensuring that you are in possession of all necessary documents including passports, travel tickets, accommodation voucher and car hire confirmation is essential if you are to avoid possible holiday woes.

Additionally, planning can never be done too early, especially when it comes to ensuring that your passport is still valid and whether you need a visa to enter the country of your destination. Even countries that do not require a visa for entry may still not allow British passport holders into their country if there is, say, less than six months to expiry date of your passport. It is important that you know the immigration rules of the country you are visiting.

Also, the requirements for travelling to the USA have recently changed. Britons travelling under the visa waiver programme must now register online, at least 72 hours prior to departure, disclosing their personal and travel details. Anyone arriving at the airport who has not pre-registered will be turned away and prevented from flying. This advice is especially relevant if you are pondering booking a last minute holiday. As payment is normally required in full for departures within 12 weeks your money will be wasted if you find that you cannot renew a passport or register for travel in time!

Regardless of which country you are travelling to, travel insurance is always a worthwhile consideration. Hopefully, like the majority of UK travellers overseas you won’t ever need to make a claim, but the peace of mind offered by being covered will ensure a stress-free holiday.

Most non-EU countries will insist on payment for any medical costs incurred and the majority of travel insurance policies include medical expenses cover in the millions of pounds; certainly enough for almost any eventuality. If travelling to EU countries remember to take your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) with you. Again, this needs to be ordered in advance and normally takes up to 10 days before delivery. However, an EHIC card should be used in conjunction with travel insurance and not as a substitute. Most insurers will offer incentives such as waiving excesses if in possession of a EHIC card, so it is worth getting one.

Lastly, make a document checklist in advance of travel and tick off all the items as you pack then you can look forward to a superb holiday!

Many parks are inspected on an annual basis and graded according to the Visit Britain Star rating scheme. These official ratings reflect the overall quality of each park, to help you have a clear and independent idea of what your holiday accommodation will be like.

Whether you are one of the thousands of guests who book with us every year, or are considering us for the first time, I’m sure you ‘ll enjoy browsing through our extensive holiday selection for your dream way to get away.

The UK Holiday Park has become one of the great national institutions. Generations of families, from the turn of the century onwards, have left the UK’s cities to head for their two weeks summer holidays on the British coastline.

The Holiday Park had a fairly humble beginning, essentially offering accommodation, entertainment and food all under one roof, more often than not on the edge of a large traditional seaside town like Blackpool, Skegness or Great Yarmouth.

These holiday parks were very popular with families looking for affordable holidays, at a time when overseas travel was expensive and unobtainable for a large percentage of the general public.

However as overseas travel became more affordable Britain saw the rise of the package holiday in the 70’s and 80’s, which meant that the UK holidays no longer offered the value that was such a unique selling point for many of the popular parks. With the new found competition from guaranteed sun, cheap accommodation, food and drink, UK holiday parks came under increasing pressure.

The challenging times that faced the industry were definitely compounded by a change in perception of the holiday park experience. When you mentioned holiday parks people began to think of the popular TV series Hi-de-Hi and never ending rounds of knobbly knees competitions, donkey rides and red coat style entertainment. Unfortunately combined with cold and windy chalets and indifferent food!

The holiday park has however come a long way since its humble beginnings and in the last ten years the industry has seen a massive revolution in the breadth, quality and style of holiday parks available in the UK.

Like many UK tourism business the independent and multiple holiday park owners began to see a decrease in the interest in their holiday offering. The park owners came up with a number of solutions to counter the perception and the improve the quality of the holiday park experience.

Firstly the accommodation was upgraded. Customers were no longer happy with basic facilities, so holiday parks spent millions on improving accommodation facilities, from upgrading the standard rooms to developing penthouse apartments with plasma TV’s, four poster beds and room service. This resulted in holiday parks giving a more upmarket feel to all their accommodation and provided customers with a much greater range of choice.

Secondly the entertainment offering changed enormously. Some UK parks began to specialise in just offering specific entertainment breaks. Top comedians, shows and musical acts have begun to top the bill and themed weekends specialising in entertainment like county western, 60’s revivals and dance and sport breaks. Parks have also become better at targeting key groups like adult weekends, family activity holidays or special nights for stag and hen groups.

Thirdly the traditional three meals a day offering of parks has probably seen the greatest change. To adapt to the change needs of holiday makers more and more parks have began to offer self catering options rather than providing full or half board and charging extra for meals. Some of the larger chain parks have gone even further and don’t offer any catering, just inviting the restaurants and fast food places to offer food on the Park. However, as the parks themselves have diversified, offering different things to different holiday markets, so has the catering, and some holiday parks now make a virtue of the fact that they offer three top quality meals all day.

One example of a company who stayed ahead of the game was Potters Leisure Resort (http://www.pottersholidays.com/). As the UK’s only Five Star Independent Park they had long been investing to top quality infrastructure, entertainment and catering and the initial costs of the project have been rewarded with a reputation for top quality holiday park experience.

But Potters aren’t the only company offering top quality park style holidays. More and more developments in the UK are building the lodge style accommodation away from the traditional holiday park centres of seaside towns. The inland lodge style developments have specifically moved away from the ‘park’ image and now offer champagne and hot tubs style breaks in a quiet and secluded rural environment.

Parks are springing up right across the UK on the coast and inland and more than ever before the UK holiday park experience offers something for everyone from traditional entertainment in Great Yarmouth, to five star luxury in the Cotswolds. With so much innovation in the industry holiday parks will continue to offer more of what the holidaymaker wants and needs – a top quality holiday experience.

What does someone living in Palestine who has a Jordanian passport need to do to be able to go to the UK for a holiday or to work?
What if they want to live in the UK, what do they need to do then?

Holiday UK Travel & History (Best Places to Visit )part 5