from Alex, Surrey
The Challenge
My name is Alex. I’m a business woman and single mum, so I’m busy most of the time. Taking time to find a holiday for my family is something that I seem to never get round to until the last minute. When I do look online there’s so much choice and I don’t have time to faff so I end up feeling swamped and unsure of what I’m buying. This usually means we end up going on a package deal where we sit around the pool for most of the trip, take the odd day out and don’t really experience the country we’re in.
I wanted an adventure. There wasn’t a lot of time to organise things before we were scheduled to go. So I asked Ching to find me something short haul, something outside of our package holiday comfort zone. I wanted to try something different, a holiday that would be an adventure for me and the kids. Ching suggested we went Glamping and gave us a choice of three destinations – one in France and two in Portugal.
Where We Went
We chose Portugal. I knew it was going to be a great holiday when we got to the airport and realised that the long queue wasn’t ours, because we were on a scheduled flight. We picked up our hired car and headed to the site. I’d been camping before and when I saw the washing up bowl in our tent the first night – I though ‘Oh Oh, have I done the right thing here because we’re still going to have to do the washing up’. But the tent was lovely, a great big cream Tipi safari tent with real beds which was a bonus.
We went with another mum and her family and the children had a great time playing with the camp site’s resident black labrador, Sonny, who would drop a stone in the pool that they would dive down for and then throw for her to chase. It was great sitting outside in the sun having breakfast together and just relaxing and listening to music under the stars in the evening.
What We Thought
We really ventured out and saw a lot of Portugal. In fact we got christened ‘Thelma and Louise’ because we did so much travelling. Instead of having to deal with the ‘one and only beach’ that often comes with a package holiday, we went to a different beach everyday. When we got back I asked the kids to rate the holiday and they said 9 out of 10. And me – I loved all the exploring and I feel really proud of myself. I drove on the other side of the road, navigated us to new places and got over the fear of doing it and enjoyed it.
Would we book with YHP again?
Definitely, because what Ching offers is a bespoke service. She came to my home, and took time to listen to what I wanted. I needed something pretty last minute and she offered me a choice of destinations within my budget. I could have found this holiday for my family, but she took away the faff and gave me the security that it would be a certain standard. The service she offers goes beyond any high street agent where you walk in and everyone is treated the same way and given a restricted set of choices.
