YOUTH MATTERS Kelly Wickham...Will that bargain hol turn out to be what you're hoping for?

The checklist of things to remember to take, the hassle of packing and choosing what to cram in, ‘just in case’, the holding out for a decent exchange rate until the last minute and of course the actual excitement of where to visit, where to stay and a general itinerary.

Long gone are the days of visiting your local travel agent to pick up some glossy brochures, full of cheesy smiling families, posing outside the most glamorous locations in next to perfect weather.

Nowadays, it’s on to the internet, the week before or even the night before.

A quick search on your preferred location, star-rating and price range and before you know it, you’ve booked into a hotel which boasts amazing bed and breakfast, and even the reviews back it up.

Next are the flights, and you’ve managed to get one-ways on different airlines, bragging a massive 75 per cent discount.

Although, by the time they’ve added on luggage, tax and ‘a cheeky tipple’ allowances, it’s back up to the full 100 per cent price.

So you’re off, you’ve booked the taxi to collect you at 1.30am, (another explanation of cheap flights is silly travelling times!) which means you haven’t even had any sleep.

Once you arrive at your destination, the four-star bed and breakfast hotel, boasting stunning views over the emerald green sea, has had five-storey hotels built in front of it and instead you are greeted by the sight of tacky towels hanging on balconies, weighed down by random hotel objects such as teacups and ashtrays.

The excellent accommodation is also ten miles from the nearest shops, restaurants or civilisation, which you’re sure it didn’t mention in the reviews, but then at such a good price, did you even check the location?