Make your trips away this year more uplifting and exciting than ever by following our top tips for a successful getaway.
The early bird catches the worm
Book early on in the year for special deals. Bag a bargain in our January sale. We have a host of properties and locations that have a pocket-friendly price leaving more money in your wallet to spend whilst you’re on your holiday.
Split the destination
Can’t decide where to go? Split the destination. Not only does this offer the chance to see two or more places, but it really does make the most of your time off. Take a trip to the Lake District followed by a visit up to YHA The Sill at Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland. Or why not visit the three National Parks, over 600 castles and more than 40 Blue Flag beaches whilst journeying around Wales? Treat yourself to a tour of Cornwall, from the stunning island of St Michael’s Mount to Truro, the county’s only city, there’s no shortage of stunning countryside, rolling hills and thick forests to appeal to those looking for an outdoor escape.
Pick a theme
To jazz things up make your next holiday a themed trip. If you’re a foodie, get booking restaurants you’ve always wanted to visit. Try YHA London Central and head to the food mecca that is Borough Market or why not try the culinary delights that Manchester has to offer, we hear OSMA is the place to be if you’re looking for a flavour of Scandinavia or for a simple bit of street food go to the Northern Quarter where Northern Soul serves up tasty cheese toasties. Maybe your theme could be film locations you’ve always wanted to visit. We’ve done the research so you don’t have to, read our blog on film locations to visit in the UK for inspiration.
Book out of season
If you can then you must book out of peak season. Easter is a fabulous time to visit the busier places like Cornwall and the Lake District, plus you can get really lucky with the weather and it’s much cheaper too. Would there be a better place to do an Easter egg hunt than in the land of Beatrix Potter? We think not. Late summer you’re more likely to have lovely weather and quieter beaches making it the perfect time to pack a bucket and spade for a seaside holiday. Book ahead for October, so many places to choose from that look stunning in autumn with our properties based in woodland and forests, you can see the seasons change.
Learn something new
You learn something new every day or so the saying goes. And why not make that happen even on holiday. Head to a museum and discover all about or the beginning of the railways or the Vikings on a trip to YHA York. We have so many places to stay close to budget friendly free museums and art galleries. From learning about maritime history in Newcastle to going to dinosaur exhibitions close to YHA Bristol and seeing hermit crabs in Liverpool, you can learn something new and all for free. Read more
Get back to nature
Strip it right back and do some quiet travelling. Hunker down in a hidden spot that has stunning walks from your front door at YHA Black Sail. Spot wildlife from our bird enclosure at YHA Eskdale. Hop on a boat to spot puffins at Farne Island at YHA Berwick or walk among the coastal ruins at YHA Tintagel. We have so many hostels where you can strip back the complexities of modern life, switch off the phones (try YHA Tanners Hatch Surrey Hills if you want to whisk the kids away and off their phones, and instead indulge them in walking in a National Park) and get back to nature.
Walk your way around the UK
You don’t have to wait until our next Festival of Walking to get out there, we have plenty of free resources for you to tap into to enjoy walks from many of our hostels. From easy to difficult there should be something for every member of the family. One of our favourites is from YHA Truleigh Hill, an easy walk of 1.7 miles where you can take in views of Brighton, Hove and Shoreham, along with scenes of the Weald and North Downs. There’s also a prehistoric burial mound and you pass the site of a Cold War Early Warning Radar Station built in 1952 and decommissioned in 1958. Pop into the hostel to pick up the map and pop in to refuel, or you can simply download the map and print off at home.
Make a travel planner
Half of the fun of booking a holiday is planning what you’re going to do when you’re there. Once you’ve booked, start making a travel planner to get you in the mood. Research places you’d like to visit or open top buses you might like to ride on (read about this one in Cornwall that takes in an array of stunning places). Ice cream shops you’d like to visit (we can highly recommend Tagg Lane Dairy just off the High Peak Trail that serves real gelato and close by to our Peak hostels) or cycling routes you’d like to try.
Get it booked
So, you’ve had all these wonderful ideas of what you’d like to do, such as seal spotting in Norfolk, coastal path walking in Wales, visiting markets in London, or walking up hills in the Peak District, now it’s time to make sure it really does happen. Turn ‘I’d really like to go’ into ‘I’ve booked’. Book now…
Don’t miss out on discount deals
And finally, don’t miss out on our discount deals. Sign up for our newsletter so that you’ll be the first to know of any special offers. There’s always something to tempt you to book and with camping starting from £8 per night, dorms from £15 per night and private rooms from £29 per night, there is something to suit every budget. Mark Twain, author of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, said, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
What are you waiting for?
Discover more with YHA.
Photo credit: leonidkos, Kevin Eaves, Howard / Adobe Stock
