What do you look for in a holiday?

Whether I work or study I can’t help thinking of a holiday and planning it long in advance. Like many other people I dream to get away from it all for a while and to soothe away stress. I can’t say what type of a holiday-maker I am, because I may feel happy about anything which gives me an opportunity to relax my body, renew my energy and refresh my spirits.

Like sun-worshippers I may go on a seaside holiday. I will laze around on the beach in the middle of nowhere, bronzing myself and gazing at the sea. By the way, I don’t need a five-star hotel with luxury accommodation facilities. I only want my hotel to overlook the sea and to be a stone’s throw away from the beach. There, on the beach, apart from basking under the sun I can indulge in sports activities and, who knows, look for a holiday romance. These watersports enthusiasts look so attractive!

Or I may enjoy an adventure holiday, like a true traveller. I will look round the cities, exploring the obvious attractions and taking the best of the local cuisine. If I get tired of places swarming with people I can always find something completely off the beaten track – for example, a chalet in a bijou village or a boarding house providing homely food – and stay there for a weekend

I may even follow the example of home-lovers and stay at home, spending precious time on my own and with people I like and love.

The only holiday that doesn’t appeal to me is camping. Pitching a camp is tiring and tents always look as if going to collapse. Besides, sitting round the fire singing songs in a place swarming with mosquitoes doesn’t sound like my scene at all.

As you see, my list of holiday must-haves is not very strict. The only thing I really look for in a holiday is something which will make me feel refreshed.

That is my idea of a perfect holiday

Whether I work or study I can’t help thinking of a holiday and planning it long in advance. Like many other people I dream to get away from it all for a while and to soothe away stress. It is not easy for me to decide where to go and what package tour to choose. On the one hand, I am a confirmed sun-worshipper. I need a seaside holiday. I look forward to lazing around on the beach. On the other hand, I am an enthusiastic culture-hunter and believe that travel broadens the mind. So, one of my holiday must-haves is an opportunity to do some sightseeing.

Last year I was happy to go on a holiday which turned out almost perfect for me. The travel agency I always travel with offered holidays at reduced rates because of some last-minute cancellations. I decided to go on a tour to the Baltic. They made all the necessary travel arrangements and I didn’t have to worry about accommodation, meals or entertainment.

I was to travel by air and felt a bit nervous about it. Fortunately, everything went smoothly. The check-in procedure didn’t take me long. The plane took off on time. The flight wasn’t bumpy and I didn’t feel airsick. The air-hostesses couldn’t have been more considerate. After landing I was picked up by a coach which took me straight to the hotel and dropped me off there.

To say that the hotel was up to my expectations is to say nothing. It was a dream coming true. The hotel receptionist told me that the travel agency had reserved a single room with private bath for me. The room was packed with luxury facilities and had a wonderful view of the sea. The hotel was a stone’s throw away from the beach.

I spent the next week as if living in paradise. I basked under the sun and indulged in sport activities. I also went on excursions every day looking round the nearby cities, visiting historical and cultural attractions and taking the best of the local cuisine.

That holiday gave me absolutely everything. I relaxed by body, renewed my energy and refreshed my spirits. Checking out of the hotel I was sure that one day I would get back there.

THE HOLIDAY THAT WENT WRONG

I strongly believe that everybody needs to get away from it all at least once a year. I always look forward to my summer holiday and usually I make arrangements beforehand. Last summer after a hectic year at work I went to a travel agency to book a holiday of my lifetime. When I was looking through brochures, I came across a picture of a fascinating hotel in a sea resort in Turkey. I was captivated by the picturesque scenery around it. I fell in love with it when I saw that the hotel was a stone’s throw away from the sea. The price was reasonable and I booked the tour.

But my holiday went wrong from the beginning. On the day of the departure I arrived at the airport 2 hours earlier. I was shocked to see that all the flights had been cancelled because of the bad weather conditions. The airport was crowded. I managed to fly only the next day. My mood was really bad, but I hoped for the better. The plane went through turbulence and I suffered from air-sickness. Nobody picked me up from the airport and I had to take a taxi, which broke down in the middle of nowhere.

When I saw the hotel, I understood that the facilities promised in the brochure were not up to my expectations. I simply can’t describe it. I was absolutely speechless when I saw it.

The swimming pool was a complete fantasy, just a big muddy hole in the ground. The window in my room overlooked an ugly brick wall. The beach was so far that you had to climb the staircase and take binoculars to see it. There was only one shower on the floor and we had to queue in the morning. The hotel was not finished yet and every day we were woken up by workmen. The beach was always swarming with people. The entertainment life was poor, and I killed time in the local restaurants. But one day I had food poisoning and had to stay in my tiny stuffy room for 2 days. The scenery was monotonous and I wasn’t able to take any nice photos. I was offered no excursions, and being a keen culture-hunter, I was bored to death. I was counting days till the day of the departure. And I gave a sigh of relieve when the airplane touched down at the airport in my native town.