I watched an interesting documentary about caravans the other day. Well when I say Interesting, I mean that it threw up some interesting information about the history of British travel habits rather than that the subject of caravans is particularly riveting! Caravans had their heyday in the 50’s and 60’s and enabled the masses to travel far further than their finances would otherwise have allowed. Eventually, however, the caravans themselves were superseded by another kind of holiday – the package tour.

Independent Travel

Now things have changed again and the package tour concept is becoming less relevant because it is now so easy to put together your own holiday and book everything independently.  Booking your own trip is often much cheaper than buying a package and you are able to choose the exact accommodation, flight and date options that you want rather than having to settle for a compromise, which a package tour will always be. The internet and budget airlines have together changed the world of holidays once more.

Personally I have always booked my travel independently but putting together my trips used to be a major mission. Sourcing self-catering properties to rent involved purchasing listing magazines and then making a lot of phone calls. Finding hotels was no easier and there were some elements of my trips that required a forensic investigation. I remember having to order a book about American national parks from my local book shop just so I could get my hands on the accommodation details and then I had to keep calling the US to book everything.

In spite of the obstacles I managed to put together many complicated trips involving multiple stops and a variety of activities. It was always possible to get the job done but it was time consuming and sometimes stressful. Not so now. No matter how complicated your proposed trip it is easy to find the information you need online and then to book every element of the trip. Unless, as it turns out, you are looking to arrange a skiing holiday at the Nassfeld Ski Arena in Austria for four people.

Travel Troubles

I have become so used to the ease of booking online that I didn’t see my recent complications coming. Nassfeld is a relatively new resort and the development of the local area maybe hasn’t quite kept up with the increase in visitor numbers. I was looking for a three bedroom property to rent and quickly discovered that my options were limited and that most of those which existed were already booked. To complicate matters, flights were only available on certain days unless you wanted to spend the earth and then some. I spent several evenings chasing down a property and affordable flights and began to wonder if I would ever set foot on the snow in Nassfeld.

I eventually managed to book everything and I am sure that I would not have been able to arrange this trip without the benefit of the information available online. Happily buying my new ski gear was much easier. A few clicks online and I was the proud owner of a fabulously pink new jacket! Of course the internet has changed shopping as much as it has travel. I guess retailers have been presented with a whole new set of problems but for the consumer life is much easier. It is quite conceivable that you could book a skiing holiday and all of the gear you need in 10 minutes flat online. That is unless you want to go to Nassfeld!

Article by Sally Stacey