Firstly, I do my research on the place that I want to visit. Starting from what the season of the place will be at the time I want to visit, the culture, religion and food for international travels.

Then I decide on location, whether I want to stay in the city center or on the coast. This usually depends on the tourist attraction places that I want to visit.

I also look at how far the hotel that I want to book is from the airport; I don’t like driving long distances after arriving in a place.

Spa and shopping are usually on my list of things to do. It’s either I go to the spa at the hotel or at a fabulous spa nearby that caught my attention.

Shopping; I do my research before I travel for the nearest designer outlets, how far they are from my hotel, as well as means of transport from the hotel to the designer outlet.

Flights are one of your biggest cost drivers when travelling. If you are on Discovery Vitality you get a discount on Emirates and British Airways flights, as well as Kulula locally. Your discount will depend on your status whether you are on blue, bronze, silver, gold or platinum. International flights need to be booked six weeks in advance to qualify for discount

You also get accommodation discounts on selected places with your Discovery Vitality locally. You need to book 21 days in advance to qualify for this discount.

I also use travelstart.com to book my flights especially if I want to do a multi-city booking - this usually works best.

For accommodation I use booking.com for both local and international travel

Here are my reasons why;

They are usually cheaper than booking directly with the hotel/resort.

There is a variety of properties to choose from, whether you are looking for hotel, lodges, villas or resorts.

Booking.com also shows you how far the tourist attractions places are from the hotel, how far the hotel is from the airport etc.

Additional costs, if any, for example Maldives sea planes/speedboat from airport to the resort is an additional cost.

Guest reviews are so enlightening about the staff and what to expect in the hotel.

Additional 10% discount (genius member) for frequent travelers who use booking.com.

Here are a few places that I booked using booking.com below;

How I book for my travel