I finally did it right this year. I’ve never been particularly good at holidays – it’s not something we did much of when I was growing up – and there still seem to be all kinds of obstacles in the way when I’m deciding what to do, such as:

- shall I go with someone else (I’m single) or shall I do a holiday where there will be a group of people?

- is it worth going for the cheapest possible or should I pay a bit extra and get better quality?

- when should I go (running your own business makes going away really problematic at any time)

- how far away should I go, given that a long and difficult journey back often makes me want another holiday right away.

This year, I managed to get at least a few things right, in particular which day I went away. I recommend it to anyone who comes back from a holiday and immediately needs another one to recover: come back on a Friday…or at least a Saturday.

I went on a Friday (went to Turkey actually) and came back the next Friday. It was great because I had the whole weekend to sleep off the journey back, get my clothes unpacked and washed, sort through mail and emails, get my hair and skin sorted (too much sun again!) and get myself (just about) back into work mode again…not easy! Usually I go away from mid-week to mid-week cos those times are often cheaper but I’ve decided I’m not going to do that again if possible.

I know that Fridays and Saturdays are often expensive times to travel, but this year with tour operators and air companies slashing prices in desperation you might be surprised at the low cost. We’ve certainly found some great deals on holidays in our summer holiday bargain alert  including an extra 10% off hotels.com for Moneymagpie readers.

By the way, we send out special bargain alerts every other Friday. They’re free to receive. Just sign up here if you want to be the first to see them.

As for what kind of holiday to go for, I decided on Club Med which is a bit more expensive than some other holidays, though not much more – they’re doing all sorts of deals right now like everyone else. However, it’s good value, there are LOADS of activities, fantastic food and lots of new people to meet.

Would I recommend it to others? Half.

I had a good time and was really able to relax as well as do some sports but I could have done without the 1000-decibel pumping Euronoise they insist on playing round the pool all afternoon (you can get away from it thankfully and I did after the first day). I also can’t recommend the ‘crazy signs dancing’ they like to do every evening where half the ‘camp’ joins in some form of line dancing to five or six tracks played at top volume. 

I refused to join in – with all the jaggedy arm-waving and foot-twirling I felt there was a fine line between the ‘crazy signs’ and the Nuremburg rallies. It’s a bit of a Euro-thing, I’m told. We have Butlins, they have dodgy line-dancing to even dodgier tunes. Oh well, no one’s perfect.

Would I go again? Probably – now that I know where the quiet beach is and how to skirt the ‘crazy signs’ and pumping Euronoise. Still, with such good deals in our bargain alert I’m wondering if I could fit in a short break somewhere else this year if this rain keeps up