Are “value for money Holidays” in Namibia Africa just a pipe dream or are there top insider travel secrets which one must know to make it possible? You can bet your last penny that there are travel insider secrets which your local travel agent and tour operator won’t share with you. I also know that I am not going to be the most popular guy with the industry for revealing these secrets. I can understand their anger -- but in these times where how you spend every cent counts, I thought you ought to know the Top insider travel secrets used by thousands of experts in the travel trade to realize their dream value for money holidays.

I don’t need to convince you that – during tough times or during good times, people make sacrifices on every other budget item except on food, holidays and entertainment. Whether you got a job or not we make a plan to eat. When holidays come around we make a plan to get to a holiday spot. Our night clubs and entertainment spots are full week in and week out with a healthy mix of employed and unemployed people of different social backgrounds. Why’s that so?

Our social status requires us to keep up with the Jones’, show off our tan and exchange platitudes about the exotic places we went to for our holidays -- spiced up with a bit of name dropping here and there. You would not believe who was seated in front of me on that Air Namibia flight from Frankfurt to Windhoek!.

Yea -- I could not believe my eyes either -- Michael Jackson, the king of pop himself with his family ! Guess what ? I got my Michael Jackson autograph on my Air Namibia Boarding Pass. Talk of priceless memorabilia.You cannot imagine the pandemonium on arrival at the Windhoek International Airport as word spread around that the star (and I) was arriving on the SW flight from Frankfurt on the next morning.

This by the way is a true Namibia Travel story as it it is not unusual to occassionaly run into Stevie Wonder and Audley “Kano” Smith the current Director of the Motown Studios Museum (and the #1 Ambassador of Namibia and Africa in the US) at the Windhoek Country Club Hotel or Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie strolling down the dunes at Swakopmund with their kids or Prince Harry barbequing with friends at the Etosha National Park.

Who would not want to share fabulous value for money travel stories like these about their stay at great destinations, famous hotels, lodges and holiday rentals which they had for an unbelievable price? It’s the kind of stuff which animates genuine lively discussions between friends and colleagues at pubs, work, local clubs and after church. Rest assured that this does not only happen in your corner of the world – the phenomenon is universal – that’s the way the human psychology is hardwired.

Therefore the question of holiday budget planning is something that is always at the back of everyone. Unless one opts for an all-inclusive holiday packages, all travel budgets must address and cater for the following five main expense items applicable to any vacation trip:

1. Trip Travel Expenses – The flight, the train, the car rental
2. Holiday Accommodation Expenses – the hotel, the lodges, the holiday apartment
3. Trip Tours & Excursion Expenses – The à la carte outings to local attractions.
4. Holiday Meal Expenses – The local destination gourmet food places.
5. Holiday Destination Souvenirs to eternalize memories about the trip.

Trip Travel and holiday accommodation expenses account for the biggest chunck of any holiday budget and therefore also represent the area where the most savings can be made without sacrificing the quality of the holiday experience.

The term “value for money holiday” rather than “low cost holiday” tries to make a distinction between travel choices made purely on the basis of price and those made on the basis of minimum quality standards, as miserable quality standards can ruin ones holiday experience. For example minimum quality standards regarding the travel, accommodation, tours, meals choices etc. Remember that at the end, we always get what we paid for.

Quality Service has a cost for the one providing service at the level and standard associated with it. Quality services will never be provided unless those demanding it, are willing to pay the price incurred to provide it. The objective of the exercise should be to find a fair balance between the provider and end-user needs, so that they both are able to find value in the transaction.

Having said that, it is fair to say that the value for money holiday option is open to those who:

(1) Leverage Destination Holiday Seasons,

(2) Research and Compare Destination offers,

(3) Planning and Book In Advance,

(4) Make Direct Reservations with the Service Provider.

(5) Organize and share their Holiday Mementos

In the follow-up articles in the Top insider travel secrets series we will address each one of these points in detail and reveal the tricks of the trade used by thousands of experts and clever travellers to realize their dream value for money holidays so that you too can do so.

Click here to return to the InLovewithNamibia Homepage

Click here to Follow Go2Namibia2010 on Twitter

Related Top Insider Travel Secrets Articles:

(1) Leverage Destination Holiday Seasons, ,

(2) Research and Compare Destination offers,

(3) Planning and Book long time in advance,

(4) Make Direct Reservations with the service provider.

(5) Organize and share their Holiday Mementos

Related articles by Zemanta

• ATOLprotected package holidays could be the way to go (telegraph.co.uk)
• Holidaymakers Stranded As Firm Goes Under (news.sky.com)
• More affordable single person holidays, less supplements (travel-rants.com)
• Guide to ATOL holiday protection (telegraph.co.uk)
• the power of angelina jolie (popbytes.com)

• Beauty Products - How To Save Money On Them Beauty products can be quite expensive. Have you seen the price of the specialty makeup or perfumes? Everyone wants to look their best all the time. You feel better about yourself and life in general when you look good. Unfortunately, things that are good for your appearance may not always......
• Book Review: Dave Barry's Money Secrets If you were reader of the Sunday paper in the past, you might remember the regular column written by Dave Barry and syndicated in numerous newspapers, prior to when he stopped writing his column several years ago.  Well, luckily for us, Mr. Barry is still writing, and has turned his......
• Save Money Ideas - Tips For Saving Money This Christmas This holiday season "save money ideas" are more important than ever. The declining economy makes this a necessity for many of us. Our kids are already planning their Christmas want-list with much excitement and anticipation. There are numerous people who love to give gifts because of the sure joy......
• Finding Salvaged Goods To Save Money On Remodeling Your Home. Why pay new in-store prices for something that you can get at a fraction of the cost at a salvage store? Remodeling your house can cost a fortune if you are not careful with your budget, and in addition to the tips I mentioned a while ago about frugal redecorating,......
• The Hidden Costs of Smoking Although many people realize that smoking is bad for your health, few realize just how big of an impact it can have on your wallet. If you are finding it difficult to quit smoking the following information may just change your mind. Let's take a look at just how expensive......

Related posts:

1. Top Insider Travel Secrets | Leveraging Destination Tourism Seasons Image

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Related Content

Subscribe to the post comments feeds or Leave a trackback