Planning a vacation is often the most exciting part of a holiday. Who can resist the thought of spending relaxing days strolling along the beach, pottering through a local market, or sipping wines at a vineyard cellar door?
In fact, studies show that travellers are happiest while planning what they’ll do on their holidays—it’s the anticipation that really floats our boat, apparently, far more than actually arriving at your destination. So get thee to a Google search page and plan away!
Here’s our tips for making that planning shesh extra fun and productive:
- Location, location, location. Spending some extra time thinking about your motel’s location is crucial because you want to make sure that it’s convenient to all the attractions that you’re excited to see on your holiday. The last thing you want to do is arrive at your destination and discover at the last minute you’ll have to spend more time and money travelling even further to take in the sights.
For instance, if you’re heading to a city getaway destination, it’s best to be in the middle of town. Being centrally located in a city means all tourist options are open to you and easily accessible—when you arrive you might even discover more brilliant things to do nearby you didn’t know about.
- What’s for dinner? Great dining options are important, too. One of the great joys of travelling is having the perfect excuse to try out interesting cuisine and fancy restaurants. A quick Google search or a chat with your friendly reception staff should put you at ease that the motel you’ve chosen is within easy walking distance of takeaway food, restaurants, supermarkets and convenience stores. You don’t want to travel a huge distance to eat when you’ve just checked in.
- Head to the beach. If your idea of the perfect holiday is time spent sunning yourself beachside, make sure you choose a motel that’s only a short hop, skip and jump to the sand. Beaches at the end of the road are a huge enticement. Luckily, Newcastle is blessed with many beautiful city beaches and there’s plenty of opportunity to pick up a picnic on the way from Reign Inn. On the way to the beach you can stop at The Olive Tree Market or the Newcastle City Farmers Markets and put together a picnic hamper of local produce to dine on.
- Get your wine on. If you like a tipple and a gourmet snack, having your accommodation central to a wine producing region is a must. The Hunter Valley is only a short jaunt from Newcastle and has a great reputation for it’s wine and farm gate produce. A well located motel means you can discover the origins of the produce you tasted at the markets and take home a case of wine at a discount from the people who made it.
- No lag time. Not all who stay at a motel is a tourist, though. You may be visting a sick relative or someone nearby. That means your location is even more important—you don’t want to waste time traveling huge distances when you’re going to see a loved one. Keep your choice of motel central to the area you’re planning to visit and you’ll be glad of the extra time you have to spend with them.