| Introduction | | | | all along. She told me she used websites like to |
| We all know someone like my friend Carol. She has | | | | source the best holiday at the best price. However |
| done fairly well for herself and holds down a | | | | there was more to it that this - to Carol what had |
| reasonable job. She works as a primary school | | | | started as a bit of fun had now become a regular |
| teacher here in the U.K. but quite frankly her salary is | | | | pastime. Carol admitted that she spent a lot of her |
| nothing to write home about. Yet, (and this is the | | | | free time searching out the best deals. |
| amazing thing), Carol always seems to be able to | | | | Part of the reason for me asking the question of |
| take the most remarkable holidays outside of term | | | | Carol was that I had a holiday planned and needed to |
| time. Amongst our group of friends she is known as | | | | find a cheap vacation myself. When I asked for her |
| the "supremo of cheap last minute foreign holidays" | | | | best tips she really surprised me. From what she had |
| as she always seems to be away on some Caribbean | | | | told me so far I assumed Carol found all of her low |
| cruise or safari in Africa. One of her very cheap | | | | cost holidays by searching the Internet, but this was |
| family holidays last year wasn't quite so glamorous - | | | | not the case. It transpired that Carol had many |
| she visited Argentina and stayed in some metal | | | | contacts in the travel industry itself and could receive |
| shack type accommodation, but when you are | | | | a personal call from a call at any time with an offer |
| literally booking holidays at the last second you have | | | | of holiday at a discounted price. Because they had |
| to be prepared to take the rough with the smooth | | | | known Carol for a long time, they were familiar with |
| sometimes. | | | | her requirements exactly, they were well aware of |
| All in all, I know that Carol has had some great | | | | her personal situation in terms of here availability and |
| experiences and doesn't regret any of the holidays | | | | the fact that she would be willing to travel at a |
| she has taken. She is the most travelled person I | | | | moments notice. Because of Carol's degree of |
| know, which can only enrich the lives of the children | | | | flexibilty, this made her a very good contact to have |
| she teaches. A couple of months I invited Carol over | | | | for the travel agents which was reciprocated by the |
| to my house for dinner with an ulterior motive in | | | | agents by giving Carol some of the best holiday deals |
| mind. I had been curious about her ability to find the | | | | available. |
| low-cost holidays for some time and finally my | | | | Conclusion |
| inquisitiveness had got the better of me. The | | | | If you are looking for cheap last minute foreign |
| moment I had served dinner I decided to ask her | | | | holidays and very cheap family holidays, keep a close |
| outright how she managed to afford so many | | | | eye on sites like last That said, it is equally important |
| wonderful exotic holidays each year. She stared back | | | | to develop a close relationship with your local travel |
| at me for a moment, with a somewhat perplexed | | | | agent, making them aware of your exact |
| look on her faced as if I was trying to pry into her | | | | requirements in terms of location and price. It may |
| soul for some dark secret she was keeping, then she | | | | also sound obvious but you need to keep up the |
| merely gave the answer that I had been expecting | | | | contact with them. |