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School Holiday Activities

Tip 28 - Finding activities for your kids is now just 3 clicks away

After hours of unsuccessful internet trawling and flicking through out of date phone books for activities for her four children, Jessica McGrath decided to create a centralised information source and Activities4KIDS was born.

“I knew parents needed a one stop shop, where they could find anything from local sports clubs and dance teachers to family weekend activities, something to do on a wet day or someone to run a birthday party at home,” Ms McGrath said.

One of the most popular categories on the site is holiday activities. There are lists of special holiday camps plus fun activities to entertain the kids for a morning or a day. Find out more about Activities for Kids

Tip 27- Travelling with pets
Make the car comfortable for your pet. Take your pet’s favourite toy, plan in advance for nap time, take precautions against car sickness and make sure they visit the potty before you leave on a big trip. Look into a suitable car restraint such as a cage or harness to keep them extra safe.

When traveling long distances don’t forget to stop for frequent breaks for water and exercise for your pet (and the kids) and don’t leave them in a hot or locked car as they will quickly suffer from the effects of heat.

Tip 26 - Travelling with children
Organise ahead and preprare some goodies for the little ones. Avoid sugary snacks and soft drinks. Purchase some colouring books, pencils and take some reading books. Don't forget a comfort item! You can purchase these at any local discount store, it will cost you next to nothing and get to keep your sanity!

Tip 25- Confirm your form of transport
Prior to leaving for the airport, coach or rail stop, call the company to confirm that all is well. You do not want to be stranded waiting for hours on end for your transport to finally arrive. Make a note of who you spoke to and when, as you may be asked for this information.

Tip 24 - Ask, Ask, Ask
Booking a holiday and you're unsure how far it is to the beach? If a BBQ is provided? If linen is included? What kind of breakfast is on offer? No need to take a chance, ask the accommodation provider in advance - what may be obvious to them may not be obvious to you, so don't be afraid to ask!

Tip 23 - Have a Contingency Plan
Check the weather before you go on holidays, so that you can pack appropriately, but always have a contingency plan for hot, cold or wet weather - pack some good books, a board game or ask the accommodation provider about things to do in the local area.

Tip 22 - Give a Gift of Value
Ask most people what they'd really want if they could have anything and they'd answer 'just a break' or 'some time out' - take advantage of TakeABreak.com.au's gift vouchers and give someone special in your life some well deserved 'time out'.

Tip 21 - Take Your Time Out
Think your employer will think the less of you for taking your holiday time due? Think again, employers value refreshed and revitalised staff when they return from a well earned break. Just give your employer plenty of notice of the dates you wish to take off.

Tip 20 - Summer Holiday Availability
Still looking for a summer break? Don't waste time wading through thousands of properties that are already booked out, make your selection in the Quick Search menu and then select 'Only Summer 05/06 Holidays' before you click on GO.

Tip 19 - Search for Specials
Want to make the most of special offers? Select your location, accommodation type from the Quick Search menu, then select 'Only Specials' before you hit the GO button to browse a selection of special offers that meet your criteria.

Tip 18 - Search by Price
Have you got a set budget for your holiday? TakeABreak.com.au allows you to search by price as well as location, date and more. Use the 'advanced search' functionality at http://www.takeabreak.com.au/advancedsearch.htm to find the right accommodation at the right price!

Tip 17 - Find out What's On!
Whether markets, exhibitions or festivals are your thing, make the most of your getaway by finding out what's on where you are going and start planning ahead of time. www.Events.Takeabreak.com.au lists Holiday Events across Australia online, search by location, date or event type.

Tip 16 - Cozy Up for the Winter
Don't let winter stop you taking a well deserved break, go somewhere you can cozy-up in front of a warm log fire, or get the heart pumping with winter activities. Spending time with family and friends on a winter holiday is a great way to relax and rejuvenate. For great places to stay in the winter months, go to http://www.takeabreak.com.au/winterholidays.htm

Tip 15 - Make the Most of the Off-Season
Want to get away from the maddening crowds, and get a holiday bargain at the same time? Think about travelling during the 'Off-season', for many places winter is a quieter time of year (obviously not for the snowfields), so look around for specials and last minute deals that you can take advantage of.

Tip 14 - Get Away without the KIDS
Whether you have children and want to get away for a break, or you don't, and don't want to holiday with a bunch of other people's kids, TakeABreak.com.au lists a full range of adult retreats and child-free holiday accommodation at http://www.takeabreak.com.au/adultretreats.htm 

Tip 13 - Take Your Pet on Holidays too!
Why does your pet have to miss out? TakeABreak.com.au lists a full range of pet friendly holiday accommodation at http://www.takeabreak.com.au/holidayingwithpets.htm Many accommodation providers allow pets to stay ‘outdoors’ and others allow pets ‘indoors’ as well.

Tip 12 - Stay Another Day
Do you find that by the time you get to where you are going and back home again that you are not quite as relaxed as you should be? Especially when you have the kids to look after too! Why not make the most of your weekend away by staying another day - beat the weekend traffic and leave on the Thursday, or come back on the Monday instead.

Many accommodation providers have specials that allow 3 nights for the price of two or a late check out, so ask when you book.

Tip 11 – Book Ahead
Popular holiday destinations book out months in advance, particularly for peak summer and school holiday periods. Many people book in January for their holiday the next year, and Easter bookings start to fill up at this time too. If you want to go somewhere special, somewhere specific or somewhere in the sun, now is the time to start thinking, and booking ahead.

Tip 10 – Book Transport in Advance
Need to get from A to B? Book your transport in advance. Go to Web Car Hire from http://takeabreak.com.au . This international site works with the major car rental companies to help you find and book car hire just about anywhere you are travelling in Australia or overseas.

Tip 9 – Handy Hints for Hangovers
To make 'life after celebration' more bearable the Aussie Hospitality Doctors have compiled a FREE e-book for you and your friends. In it you will find out what causes hangovers, which alcohol is worse for you and local hangover cures to sample - techniques from Puerto Rico to France to Outer Mongolia!

Go to http://www.hospitalitydoctor.com/hangovers.htm  to download your free copy.

Tip 8 – Pack Light!
We know this is easier said than done, but let’s face it, what you need for three days is all that you need for a week... What you need for a week is all that you need for 2 weeks or, in fact, for more. Remember you need to account for all weathers plus day and evening activities - choose layers and ensure you can mix and match the majority of outfits.

So keep it light - pack for four seasons in three days and and then away you go!

Tip 7 - What's Available during the Holiday Season?
Save yourself hours of time and avoid searching through the majority of properties that are already booked out for the summer. To find out which properties are still available during the holiday season, go directly to the drop-down menus at the left of the Take a Break home page and select one of the options from the 'Select Holiday Period' dropdown box.

Tip 6 - Taking Advantage of Special Offers
Looking for a great deal? Check out our ‘specials’ page which lists a range of special offers across Australia that are coming up in the next month. Go directly to http://www.takeabreak.com.au/index.cfm?pageID=15&tid=specials – you can still search within these pages for particular types of accommodation or by region and keyword. This is also a great place to look for off-season offers.

Tip 5 -Making a Quality Decision
Think you’ve found the right place to stay, but unsure of the quality? The AAA star rating system can help you out. For properties which have an official AAA star rating and have entered it into the Take A Break system, the stars are displayed at the top right hand corner of both detailed and summary listings. Properties which do not have an official AAA star rating do not have stars appear in their listing, so when booking, you take more of a chance!

For more information on the AAA rating system, go to www.aaatourism.com.au.

Tip 4 – Vacancy or No Vacancy
To know whether a property has availability for the dates you want to stay, simply click on ‘more details’ or ‘booking enquiry’ from the summary listing and you will find a calendar displayed for each property. The dates that are available to be booked appear in red and you can make a selection from other, available, dates with a simple click and drag of your mouse.

Tip 3 – Looking for Something Specific?
Find your ideal holiday place with our easy and efficient search options.

Select a region, accommodation type, holiday theme/activity or holiday period from one of the four pull-down menus on the left hand side of the page. Select GO in order for your search to be activated.

You can select from more than one pull-down at a time to further refine your search. For example, if you were looking for a Bed and Breakfast in the North Coast of NSW, you simply click on NSW::North Coast from the ‘Select Region’ pull-down and also the Bed & Breakfast selection from the ‘Accommodation Type’ pull-down. Then click on GO.

Perhaps you know what you want to do on your holiday but you do not have a fixed idea where you'd like to go. Make your selection from the ‘Theme or Activity’ pull-down and let TakeABreak.com.au give you ideas and inspire you to plan your perfect escape!

You can also search using keywords such as the name of a town or locality. Enter the keywords in the box at the right side of the page and click "search".  If you have already browsed using the pull-down menus then you have the option of searching your current selection or returning to the home page to search the whole site.

Tip 2 –More Information
Sometimes a search will return a number of pages of listings – the most detailed listings are displayed first, and these are likely to be the ones with the most up to date information and calendars, however you can scroll down and click on subsequent pages to see the entire list. If a property has a button that says "More Information" you will find more detailed information in its’ own property page.

Tip 1 – Specify your Search
The more specific your search the easier it is to find what you want. Each search box at the left of the page at www.takeabreak.com.au helps you to narrow down your search. For example, if you opt for North Coast as the 'region' then you can narrow down your search by selecting Holiday House from the 'Select Accommodation' pull-down. Note you need to click GO for your search listings to appear.